Normandie Impressionniste Festival begins 1st June 2010.

Inside Rouen Cathedral The major cultural event of the summer here in Normandy promises to be The Impressionist Normandy Festival which begins 1st June 2010, continuing throughout the summer until September 2010.
Horse Drawn carriage in Rouen.
The Festival's website is rightly very proud of the event:
Initiated under Laurent Fabius and numerous governmental authorities, including the Regional governments of Upper and Lower Normandy, the counties of Seine-Maritime and Eure, the Cities of Rouen and Caen, with the support of major businesses, this multidisciplinary celebration is on an unprecedented scale for France. For the public, it will be the perfect opportunity to discover exceptional cultural heritage and all the creative talent of Normandy, homeland of the Impressionist movement.La Dame au Balcon. Henri Ottmann.
One of the special exhibitions is to be held in the Fine Arts Museum in Rouen.

It is entitled "A City for Impressionism" and will include paintings by Monet, Pissarro and Gauguin, many of which will be on show to the public for the first time.

The streets in Rouen's historic district are lined with ancient half timbered buildings, and here you will find many excellent small cafes and restaurants.

Click here to read my Monet's Garden at Giverney post

Champ de Coquelicots, Environs de Giverny. Claude Monet.

Nearer to home, I'll be able to visit the Corot exhibition at the Saint-Lô Fine Arts Museum and the Millet exhibition at the Thomas Henry Museum in Cherbourg.

Hopefully we'll get a chance to visit Rouen once again to see the light shows and illuminations at the Cathedral.
Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet.

More from the Festival website:
Impressionist Normandy encompasses the entire territory of two separate regions (Upper and Lower Normandy) and as such, is an unprecedented initiative in France. The event will take place simultaneously in dozens of cities, towns, and villages. The main Norman institutions, as well as numerous other public and private partners, will be associated with the festival. In addition to the desire to bring together an entire geographical area, the fact of multiple locations also illustrates the precedent established by the painters’ own penchant to wander through the countryside in search of new subjects to paint. Certain exhibitions will be sent to other countries and thus will act as "ambassadors” for Normandy. As an unofficial & unpaid ambassador of Normandy I'm very happy to be able to promote our adopted region of France in with my blog.

If you are planning on visiting France this summer do try and see one of the amazing exhibitions going on throughout the region, and let me know if you'd like some company!

I'm linking this post to Frenchy's wonderful, 1st June French Obsession meme

@Le Château des Fleurs.

I have been lucky enough to have visited the Fine Arts Museum twice now and these photographs were taken during one of my visits.

Weekly Words to Live By # 170

My body is the garden of my soul, of my soul.

My body is the garden of my soul.

Soul of Healing Affirmations - Deepak Chopra

Please visit Tracey @Notes From A Cottage Industry for more interesting quotes & ideas.

Fête des Mères

Tomorrow, the last Sunday in May, France celebrates the Fête des Mères or Mother's Day, two weeks later than other countries around the world.
A lovely tradition here in Normandy (maybe in other parts of France too, although I can't be sure) is for local shopkeepers to present their female customers with a single long stemmed rose.
This morning at my local boulangerie I came away not only with a wonderfully fresh pain paysan for lunch but a beautiful red rose shyly presented to me by Madame's young son.

Wishing you all a lovely Fête des Mères wherever you are.

Alphabe-Thursday: S stands for so much!

I was So Spoilt for choice this week when considering which Stunning Shots to Showcase in my Alphabe-Thursday "S" post.
So, I created two mosaics of photographs taken by the talented Mr B during our recent visit to the (Sh)Château des Ravalet.

Above: Scrollwork; Swag; Sunken grotto and Succulent plants Surrounding a Sign.

Below: Stone fireplace; Shadows; Shabby (Sh)Chic garden furniture for Sale; carved Stone window decoration & Still life Surround a Swan Swimming.

I hope that you have enjoyed this Stroll around the grounds of Ravalets Castle now Shimmy on over to Jenny's blog "Off On My Tangent" and See who else has Signed up today.
Thanks to a heads up from my friend Sarah @ Hyacinths For The Soul I am also linking this post to Claudia's Friday~ Finding Beauty~ meme @ Dipity Road and also to Laurie's A Few of My Favourite Things Saturday get together @ Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie.
Be sure to pop in and visit all these lovely blogs and say "Hi" to three very interesting and clever ladies.

Weekly Words to Live By #169

"Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection". Lawrence Durrell.

Please visit Tracey @ Notes From A Cottage Industry for more pearls of wisdom.

R is for Reiki.

Time for Mrs Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday lesson and I'm so happy that this week the letter to discuss is "R".
For me R means Reiki.
What is Reiki?

Reiki is universal energy, and is accessible to all, regardless of belief, age, colour, or creed.

Reiki is holistic healing, working on mind, body and spirit.
Reiki can do no harm, it is always working for the higher good.

What does the word and symbol Reiki mean?
Loosely translated Reiki means "the free flow of universal life force energy".

In Japanese Rei means spirit, ghost, soul or spiritual conciousness, it can also be interpreted as free passage, universal and ever present.

Ki means life force energy.

Reiki as we know it today was rediscovered towards the end of the 19th century by a Japanese Doctor: Dr. Mikao Usui, and is based on the teachings of centuries old Sanskrit Sutras found in a Zen monastery in Tibet.

Dr. Usui dedicated the rest of his life to healing and teaching Reiki and was decorated for this by the Emperor of Japan. He died in the early 1930's, and his teachings were eventually brought to the West by Madam Hawayo Takato.

The 5 Reiki Principles:

Just for today, I will not worry.

Just for today, I will not anger.
Just for today, I will honour all living things.

Just for today, I will earn my living honestly.
Just for today, I will live an attitude of gratitude and show kindness to all things.

After a relaxing Reiki treatment walk slowly to Jenny's and enjoy all the great blogs gathered there this morning.

White Wednesday in Normandy.

Wherever my eye rests in the garden at the moment I see white blossoms fit for a bride.
Last years sickly, white clematis is making a healthy comeback against the ancient stone wall which surrounds the garden.

Pittosporum tenuifolium Irene Paterson below came home from the garden centre with me last week.

Not to be outdone, Mother Nature provides beautiful white hawthorn flowers to perfume the garden......... and sprinkles delicate wildflowers along the lanes.

I'm linking this post to Kathleen's weekly meme White Wednesday @ Faded Charm where you will find a wonderful selection of whites to please your eye.