What April showers?

Well. Didn’t March and April simply whizz by?!
As I mentioned in February, losing my granny meant some time spent in England, mainly to celebrate her very long life and her legacy of close friends and family. It was wonderful to see so many dear people who had loved her much as we had. Her tiny terraced house warmly welcomed a large party of 10 (8 sleeping there) family members and there was vibrant life and bustle of all ages: she would have loved it! We remain four generations who get on well together and so we began as we meant to carry on and after returning home again, a slightly altered composition of 8 of us – plus dog – then spent two weeks together in Brittany… I can confirm that much fun was had by all.

Not to mention that we have been pursued by plenty of fine spring weather throughout and our seaside holiday suffered no more than a combined 15 minutes of rain on two brief occasions, April or no. Children, adults and dog played on the beach, around the property and in the small house, everyone was always busy with something, even if it was just sitting in the sun, and relationships were cemented between the oldest and youngest members of the family as well as new adult relationships between sisters.

The camellias were still out…

…as was the wisteria!

So ssssh… here’s a secret: northern Brittany in April and September is not to be sneered at! It’s just as nice the rest of the year, but more likelihood of rain in winter and tourists in summer – as you can see, we didn’t have to share the beach with many people! The children wore warm clothes and hats on their top halves and skipped around just as happily in the waves as if they were in swimwear, in fact, the sea temperature is much the same the year round thanks to the Gulf Stream that passes by. Kite-flying was another hit – rarely a shortage of wind! Another thing is that dogs are allowed on the beach outside the high season (June-August), so assuming you are a responsible dog owner who scoops the poop, it’s no holds barred in digging for Australia…

Even the odd overcast day offered some rock climbing

while sunsets are breathtaking at any time of year!

The baby grew as we watched and progressed to her rightful position in the high chair 😉 She seemed to be telling us “finally!”

We also got to mess around in a boat and enjoy the view from the “other” side!

Plus everyone helped with jobs, in this case repotting and then demolishing the old rotted planter (a satisfying task for the 8 year old!):

Of course, while we were gone, spring sprung at home in Switzerland, too –

BUT… it is April, after all…