Bleu.

OK, so I was totally convinced that pink is my favourite colour....and then, when I was sorting through photos of our trip looking for pink, I discovered that I have obviously been nursing just a tad of a fetish for the colour blue, as well. This new fixation may have, just possibly, started in Paris in the window of Laduree, which was a show stopping melange of pretty pastel rose....et bleu:

If that is a sight to delight your heart then what about this - l'heure bleu when you are sitting in the Louvre forecourt at the Cafe Marly.....quaffing champagne while all four children are at home in the apartment being looked after by a very capable babysitter:

While my two year old may be happy to be tizzed up in pink, the boys, being boys, automatically gravitate towards blue:

Although, if you ask the five year old he will no doubt tell you that his favourite colours are in fact, gold, silver and yellow.

Look at one of my favourite dresses, which I wore earlier in the week for a jaunt to Aix en Provence:

There are accents of blue everywhere you turn in France:

Not to mention in Uzes:

This is the Ducal Palace:

The Duke of Uzes and his family live here. He is very important, so much so, that his red and yellow flag flies from the tower when he is in residence.....just like the Queen of England. We can see it from our upstairs windows....yet I've still to spot him out and about around town:

The title of the Duke of Uzes is the premier title in the French peerage and comes right after the princes of the blood. There may have been a revolution, however, somehow, the Duke of Uzes' ancestors managed to escape....if, and let's be hypothetical here, France were still a kingdom then his particular role would be to call out 'The King is dead. Long live the King' at each state funeral and to defend the honour of the queen mother. Didn't I say that he was very important.

This is one of the rooms that they take you on on the tour inside the Ducal Palace:

Here is a close up of some of the Duke's blue and white collection:

It's beautiful isn't it. I've been acquiring some blue and white for myself:

The plate featuring the Lancaster Bomber was a present for my husband....and just in case you are wondering, he loved it, as he has a bit of a thing for WW2 aircraft...as you do. It was hurriedly bought from a table outside an antique shop in Tetbury....we had twelve minutes on the ground there and twelve minutes only.....otherwise we would have missed the bus. A chunk of our time allocation was spent helping Faux Fuchsia recreate the 'Princess Diana out the front of the Tetbury newsagent' photo, circa 1981.

We made it to 'Highgrove'....on the bus....where they strategically don't let you into the gift shop until after you have consumed a champagne cream tea....which is probably why I bought the Isis flower brick as a souvenir.

It is no secret that I nurse an auction obsession which has been nurtured while we have been here in Uzes....so far we have bought antique Christofle cutlery....OK, so it was only the knives as we may have become momentarily confused during the bidding for the forks and spoons and missed out.....this picture of a rose in a blue and white vase and the platter. Conveniently, there is a website which shows you the auction calendar for upcoming sales throughout France and you can tinker with it to show what's happening nearby.

On Saturday, while my husband was in the UK looking at....surprise, surprise, WW2 aircraft for the weekend....I lugged myself and our four children into an auction house in Avignon. Trust me, this was no mean feet as it was tucked away in an industrial estate out in the back blocks. Not only did I have to navigate the car but once actually there I had to ensure that our four children didn't trash the place and lodge my absentee bid using my very veggie, unsophisticated French. This may have caused a few looks of derision to be cast my way.....yet I had my victory....securing both lots that I bid on for the lowest estimate.

The blue pot came from one of my favourite shops in the village and is made of Uzes pottery:

But wait there's more.....last week I drove myself and the two year old to the Les Olivades factory near at Saint Etienne du Gres and came home with discounted blue and white fabric....which I'm seeing turned into cushions, backed and piped with contrasting emerald green and hot pink, to go with my existing  toile sofa and turkish carpets on the upstairs landing....all the way back home in Hobart:

Anyway, this morning on my jog....yes, no skiving off for me.....I was thinking about Vita's tower at Sissinghurst:

I've just finished reading her novel 'All Passion Spent' and I don't understand how it's escaped my notice until now. I loved this book....it sent shivers down my spine, hearing Vita's voice from across time, exploring themes relating to a woman's ability to control her own life....with the conflicting issues of marriage, children and old age.....issues which are are as pertinent now as they were back when she wrote it.

Anyway, enough chatting, must wrench the baby out of bed and dash over to a brocante that I discovered this morning, when, of course, I didn't have my wallet....to buy this:

Have a lovely weekend!

Rx