Annette Charlton | A French Collection

Our French Life: The Year New Year’s Eve Came Early

A New Year’s Eve Party is always on New Year’s Eve isn’t it? Are you sure? Now you have to understand it was the very first time we stayed at our house in Brittany, and actually, in France at all. One quick trip to France some six months earlier we looked at houses, agreed to purchase one, and after the sale transaction was completed we made the trip to France with the family to renovate it and have guests stay.

The Year New Year’s Eve Came Early

Immediately after getting the keys from the real estate agent and taking down the ‘For Sale’ sign, we got busy renovating, furniture assembling and gardening, and after three weeks of this we were exhausted. We’d been to French department stores, French hardware stores, French supermarkets and had learned to accept that things were very different in France and while everything was possible, it all just took much longer, especially as we knew very little French and could speak even less.

Annette Charlton

Annette lives with her family between their homes in France and Australia. She’s been featured in International magazines including French Property News, on ABC National Radio, numerous blogs and travel websites. You can connect on Instagram or Facebook.

www.afrenchcollection.com

Our French Life: The Year We Forgot Christmas

The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t

A French Christmas Tale of how we almost forgot to celebrate Christmas lunch on our first ever Christmas in our French home.

A hot baked turkey with roasted vegetables and “all the trimmings” is still very popular in Australia – even when the ambient temperature reaches 35⁰ outside in the shade, although cold platters and gourmet salads are increasing in popularity. For a couple of months leading up to Christmas magazines start to feature both options with strong preferences often being voiced when the Christmas menu gets discussed amongst families in preparation of the big day.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

French Pigeonniers: Little Pigeon Houses

French Pigeonniers

Have you seen a French pigeonnier when travelling through France? Have you driven along country roads and seen unusual structures that are circular or square with a un-proportionate height to ground space and with small holes in the walls?

We have seen these little buildings with their pitched roofs standing alone in a field, often silhouetted against the sky and tried to guess just what they were and what their purpose was. I imagine that if you’ve travelled through the French countryside you may have seen these structures also. We now know they are pigeonniers or ancient pigeon homes.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Nativity Play at Corlay, France

Nativity Play in Corlay, France

A Nativity Play with live donkeys, sheep, lots of young children, a baby and candles, what could go wrong? A lot as it turned out when we went to our first Nativity Play in France. But first let’s find out what a Nativity Play is.

What Is A Nativity Play

Ever wondered what a nativity play is and where to see one? A nativity play is usually held in a church or school hall around Christmas time and has children role-playing as Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, shepherds and the Wise Men.

The play recreates the scene of Jesus’ birth and tells of how Mary and Joseph were visited by the shepherds and Wise Men.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Paris to Provence – A French Festival in Melbourne

Paris to Provence French Festival

The Paris to Provence French Festival brings France to Melbourne once a year in a big way at Como House and Gardens in the luscious, leafy suburb of Toorak and this year I headed there with my daughter to attend the festival and celebrate her 21st birthday at the same time. What a good idea I hear you say.

So with plans to eat and drink our ‘French’ way through the weekend and meet some amazing Francophiles who were participating in the Festival, we started with a celebratory pre-flight champagne and then jumped on our flight full of anticipation.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

French House Chic by Jane Webster

Jane Webster the amazing and courageous Australian who swapped her suburban Melbourne life to that of château owner in rural Normandy, France has just released her elegant new book French House Chic.

French House Chic is described as “a glimpse inside the most private of French residences: from supremely elegant Parisian apartments to lavishly upholstered sitting rooms in French country estates” (French House Chic) and is a natural sequel to Jane’s bestselling books At My French Table and French Ties.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Our Story #4: Aussies in France

Our Story #4: Aussies in France is a memoir of incidents and personal observations of our life in France, like the importance of the ‘right’ Saint, the power of a stick pin, styled by a French supermarket and “Madame, your chimney’s on fire”.

The Importance of the ‘right’ Saint

We read the local advertisement, checked the date, double checked the date and when the time came, dressed ourselves head to foot in the warmest clothes and headed out in the dark with snow steadily falling to find the little village that was putting on the school play we had seen advertised in a local Tabac.

We had dashed into the Tabac on our way home from the butchers to pick up last-minute fresh baguettes, stinky oozy cheese and obligatory wine.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com