I should start by saying Happy New Year, and wishing you a gentle, healthy and enjoyable next 12 months.
I don’t know about you, but I really can’t get my head around the fact that we are already a few days into 2026. They say that the older you get, the quicker the time passes and I have to say that’s what we’re finding. Weeks pass by too quickly, days flowing past with the speed of a river in flood, each month collapsing into the next with unnecessary haste, pulling memories with it in a cloud of dust.
As I start writing this post, we’re on a plane, heading home after a whistle-stop stay for Christmas & New Year, with our youngest (who now has Pusscat living with him) back in Devon.
It only seems like 5 minutes have passed since we were on our way there, yet it was 10 days ago and we have done Christmas, New Year, visited family and friends and spent a day at a rugby match too
Twelve months ago, we started the year, high on the Luberon, watching the first sunrise, its golden rays creeping towards us, as the world shifted slowly into 2025. It was the perfect way to see in the New Year, in a place that we love, drinking coffee, and chatting as the shadows of the previous year were chased away by the thoughts of what was to come. Starting last year
It has turned out to be quite a year, although I didn’t really appreciate quite how busy it had been, until we started tumbling towards 2026.
We had somehow crammed a lot into 2025, from a first trip to Venice (which proved to be much more magical than we had ever imagined it would be) Exploring Venice
To another long cycle ride back to Provence from Devon, after a summer of selling my jewellery at events, back in England.
We took a different route, this time, organising our route and timings to watch the first away match of the season for Provence Rugby, at Angoulême, and making it back to Aix, in time for the first home match there too.
It proved to be another great little adventure, covering 1000km and this time, we carried camping equipment with us too. Although a series of storms meant that we didn’t camp as much as we had hoped.Day 2 – Well that was soggy!
There is something wonderful about doing an A to B ride, as you are always looking forward, and never retracing your steps. I love the planning of the route, almost as much as the ride itself, looking for the roads less-travelled. We take our time to find the quiet ways from A to B, rarely taking roads that have lines down the middle, and just enjoying pedalling along the quiet, back-lanes of rural France. It is an incredible country to cycle around. Day 9 a lovely day’s ride
It may sound strange, but I really enjoy the opportunity these long rides give us, to strip life back to the basics. On a bike, we have no option, but to take just what is necessary, as we have to carry it with us, and so have to be happy to turn the pedals to get it up the hills. Whittling everything down, to the point, where we have just what is absolutely necessary is a fascinating and grounding process. Although I do understand that it would be some people’s worst nightmare!
Then after a few days back in Provence, we set off on the holiday of a lifetime, spending 6 weeks, exploring the incredible countryside of Japan, enjoying the simplicity and ease of life in a small campervan. Once again, we travelled incredibly light, with most of our luggage capacity taken with our bikes and cycle kit, and bedding for the van too (there is something nice about having our own bedding & pillows).
We had been looking forward to it for over 12 months and it far exceeded our expectations. The 6 weeks slipping by far too easily, as we walked, and cycled our days away, immersed in the beauty of the places we visited. Day 33 – Perfect day
In the 6 weeks that we spent there, we only scratched the surface of the country, finding it hard to move on from the quiet, beautiful spots we found. The warm welcome from the people we met will stay with us for a long time, and we still look at the map wondering whether we should head back to visit areas we didn’t get to, on this trip. It is very tempting.
In between all this, we had been hopping back and forth between Devon and Provence, seeing family and friends, with lots of visitors coming over to us too.
I took my oldest and dearest friend for her first trip to Paris, on her birthday, spending a busy day, walking around the city, before enjoying champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was an amazing experience (especially as I hate heights).
And as the year hurtled towards its end, we had a fun and rather unexpected day, driving over the Alps to Turin, to collect a painting that we had bought at an online auction there. An auction and an adventure.
It’s funny, as in many ways, it felt as if we had a gentle and slow year, but looking back on it now, it really wasn’t.
Which brings us to this year. It’s hard to believe, but in April, we will have had our little house in Provence for 10 years (which is the longest we have had any house). It seems very strange that we have been here so long, putting down deeper roots than we ever imagined, when we first started our french adventure, all those years ago. Living the dream – a few early lessons
It was a long-held dream, and what started as a much-needed escape has now become a delightful normality and we enjoy how our life has shifted and settled here.
Of course, as this is now home, it comes with all the stresses and strains of normal life, from the joys of french paperwork, to dental and doctors appointments. In fact, this year starts with me having a minor operation, this coming week, so it’s not all lavender-scented days, drinking coffee in cafés and wafting around markets. Although there is still plenty of time for that too.
But we’re already busy planning, for the year ahead. We have a few little adventures booked, and a few more being planned too.
We have always wanted to watch the Paris-Roubaix cycle race, and this is the year! So we’ve booked a house for a few days and hope to take the bikes and explore a bit of the area, whilst we’re there too. All we have to do now, is decide where we will go, to watch the excitement. We have a few ideas, but are yet to finally decide on the best spot
Then there is another adventure planned, to head over to the pretty town of Pezenas, for the huge Brocante that takes place there, at the start of May. Hopefully the weather will be settled enough for us to cycle over and back, or do a mix of trains and bike rides again, which was such fun, when we did the same, a couple of years ago. So it’s all a bit fluid, at the moment, but that’s part of the fun. Bikes and Brocante Day 3 … Antiques in Pezenas
We will have a summer of events again, back in the UK, as I do still enjoy having my little jewellery business there. So I have been busy sourcing new pieces and making them, whilst I’ve been back in Devon, ready for the new season.
And hopefully, after that another long bike ride, but just heading off from home and seeing where we end up. We are already planning various options, as we can effectively head off whenever we want now, and want to have a few ideas ready to go. So we hope that we may be able to fit a few more into the year, in between everything else!
We also fancy doing a walking holiday and have been looking at the Fisherman’s Path, along the Portuguese Coast, as an option for the autumn, when it will be cool enough to walk there.
So we have lots in the pipeline.
I know we are lucky to be retired and to have the time and to be able to think about doing all these adventures. It’s strange, as when we are away, we tend to spend less than when we’re at home, so having bought the camping kit now, our cycle trips certainly don’t break the bank, so time is the biggest factor for us.
We also are very aware that there will be a time, in the future, when we won’t be able to do the things that we enjoy doing now. It is sad, but it’s also a fact of life, and as the years go by, it’s also to be expected.
So roll on 2026. I have a feeling that we’ll be staring 2027 in the face, before we have had time to think.
Vaucluse Dreamer 