Weekly Green Tips #46 - Eco-Easter Ideas

Week 46 - 7 Eco-Easter Ideas

Like any time of celebration Easter can come with a lot of extra unnecessary packaging and unnecessary waste so why not buck the trend this year and go for an Eco-Easter.  It's easier than you think and both your pocket and your teeth will thank you!

Our Easter Weekend

Posted by Rosie

In France, Good Friday is not a Bank Holiday and the Easter school holidays take place so many weeks after Christmas, regardless of when Easter falls. With Easter being fairly early this year it meant that the boys don't start their Easter break until this coming Friday evening (and for schools in other regions it is even later) ... so whilst people in the UK had a day off and were tucking into hot cross buns, here in Normandy we were at work and the boys were in lessons.  We did however take an Easter delivery, a new sheep and her lamb.

Mabel or Korma Katie?

They are yet to be named with some dispute between Simon and me as I mentioned yesterday.  He wants them called Korma Kate and Vindaloo Vinny and I like Mabel and Monty.  What do you think?

Saturday was also work as usual getting the gite ready to greet guests.  However by Sunday we were able to celebrate Easter and had a lovely late lunch with friends ... one of whom, I found out, learnt much of her pub trade in the pub I used to drink in when I lived in Gloucestershire!  The New Inn in Coln St Aldwyns in case you were interested.

Luckily in France Easter Monday is a Bank Holiday (Jour Férié) so with no school, I arranged an Easter Egg Hunt for the boys and the children in the gite.  I think they all look sufficiently pleased with their haul don't you?

Searching for Easter eggs

5 happy children at Eco-Gites of Lenault

After lunch we packed up the car and headed to the beach with the dogs ... as did vast numbers of other people it seemed and the beach was really quite busy.

Ouistreham Beach

It was certainly MUCH busier than two weeks ago when freezing temperatures kept all but the hardiest of folks away.  On that visit Harry didn't want to go in the water and his enthusiasm hadn't much improved by Monday.  The boys, in comparison, were keen and whilst we stayed wrapped up nice and warm they donned wetsuits and went in.  Harry didn't follow them, although I think he actually wanted to!

Some-one is not keen to go in ...

... but he does want to really!

We worked out though that it was the waves he didn't like and he quite happily follow Tom into some of the large pools left as the tide went out.

That's better - no waves.

For history lovers, this beach at Ouistreham, north of Caen in part of the D-Day Landing Beaches known as Sword Beach. On June 6th 1944 thousands of British troops landed on the beach to begin what would be the start of the end of World War II.  It's hard to believe, looking at the calm sea and yellow sand, what carnage took place here just over 70 years ago.

How was your Easter weekend.  Did you manage to get out and about or did you stay home and eat too much chocolate?

Easter at Eco-Gites of Lenault, Normandy, France

Posted by Rosie

Bookings have come in thick and fast since Christmas and now we only have a handful of school holiday dates left for 2015.  One of those is Easter week.  Could we therefore tempt you to come and spend Easter in Normandy this year?

Sat 4th -Sat 11th April 2015 is currently available and whilst we cannot be flexible at the end of the week, due to an existing booking, we can at the beginning.  So if you wanted to come a bit earlier that would not be a problem.

Do you need a bit more convincing?  Here is just some of what this region of Normandy has to offer at Easter time:

Chocolate

French chocolate is delicious and their Easter creations are wonderful.  Eggs feature but also you'll see plenty of chocolate chickens, fish and rabbits, all beautifully wrapped.

Spring

By Easter spring will be on it's way.  The road verges and paths will be full of wild flowers and the swallows will be on their way back for the summer.  We may have ducklings by then and if the weather has been dry our piglets will be out in the fields.

Warmer weather

In fairness I cannot guarantee this but on many Aprils in the past it has been warm enough to eat out in the garden, and the gite garden is nicely sheltered. 

Tourist attractions

All the main tourist attractions will be open but considerably quieter then in summer.  You'll have more time to marvel at the Bayeux Tapestry and less crowds to deal with at Mont St Michel.  You never know, our local zoo at Jurques may well have new arrivals.

Chocolate

Did I mention chocolate?

Wine, cider and calvados

You can come and stock up on plenty of white and rosé for the summer ahead at delightfully low French prices.  And seeing as we are in Calvados with all it's apple orchards you could also take home some cider and calvados, the spirit our department takes it's name from.

Events, Exhibitions and Activities in April

If you are wondering what to do on your break here this page gives a list of what's on  in Normandy in April 2015.  Or you could just chill in the garden whilst the kids wear themselves out in the play area! 
 

Chocolate

Don't forget the chocolate!

Talking about chocolate, if you visit with children, we will be happy to arrange an Easter Egg Hunt for them.  For adults we'll add some Easter goodies into your welcome box.

Eco-Gites of Lenault sleeps 5 plus a baby and the week at Easter is just £425 which if my maths serves me right works out at less than £61 per day and a mere £12 per person per day if 5 people stay.  We also have a code to give you 10% off with Brittany Ferries and we are just an hour south of Caen ferry port.  Further details on all the ways to get us can be found on this blog post.

For further details please visit our website or email us by clicking here. You can also ring us on 0033 231 09 27 51 (Up to 8pm Uk/9pm French time please).

Will it be you who we wish Joyeux Pâques to this Easter?  

Finally ...

Posted by Rosie

... the boys are on their Easter (?) holidays!

In France, both the Spring half term and Easter holidays are spread out over 4 weeks.  At both February/March and Easter schools get 2 weeks off but 1/3 of the country get weeks 1 and 2, the next third gets weeks 2 and 3 and the final third gets weeks 3 and 4.  They rotate round and this year Normandy is on the late one.  We think the logic behind it is to extend the time school children can go skiing which is a large part of the French economy in mountainous areas. 

So whilst most of the UK is, I suspect, back at school Tom and Ben are finally enjoying their well earned freedom!  And as a result, I have hardly seen them.  

Tom the athlete

On Saturday Ben and a friend were enjoying the car rally that came down our road whilst Tom was busy coming fourth in at athletics triathlon event.  On Sunday they had a friend over and today they have been at a birthday party.  In between it has been dodging the rain to go on the trampoline and playing with another friend who I took and brought back from the party they all went to.

The countryside is their playground

It is one of the great things about living here at Eco-Gites of Lenault in rural Normandy that they can head off and the countryside is their playground.  Although we live pretty much in the middle of nowhere they have plenty of friends locally resulting in a steady stream of children heading through the door and helping to keep away those dreaded words "I'm bored".

There is some computer and TV time when tiredness hits or the rain turns from showery to persistent but there are also puzzles to be done (Tom is bravely tackling a 3000 piece old world map), books to be read, games to be played (we may just be addicted to Carcassonne!) and helping the kitchen (thank you for our pancakes this morning Ben!).  There are adventures to be planned and parents to be avoided when those dreaded words of tidy up, homework and bedtime are heard.

Add in to this a trip to England to look forward to and a rugby tour for Ben and I think the boys might well need a holiday to get over the holidays! 

This week then, with no long school hours there is plenty of time for the boys just to be themselves.  For more kid-related fun why not head on over to the Letkidsbekids website and see what other youngsters have been up to recently.

Eggs eggs and more eggs!

Posted by Rosie

So Tom might nearly be a teenager and Ben only is 16 months behind him but they proved on Monday that they are not too old for an Easter Egg Hunt.  I hadn't thought they would want one but I was wrong so supplies were hurriedly bought.  I read of others doing their hunts on Good Friday - but that was no good as it is not a Bank Holiday here in France and the boys were at school.  On Saturday there were normal sports for the boys - athletics in the morning for Tom and rugby in the afternoon for Ben so no time then.  Sunday should have been ideal but for the fact it was raining and Ben had designated Easter Sunday a Pyjama Day meant the Hunt was delayed again!  

Monday it was then.  Boys were told to stay in the house and eggs were hidden. 

Ready, Steady ... GO!!!

They're off

Ben finds a big chocolate bunny

Searching through the herb bed

Easter Sunday was not without egg discoveries, though.  When we eventually persuaded Ben out of his PJs he went out for some fresh air and whilst nosing around in the empty pig field he found 2 duck eggs in the shelter!  That makes 3 nests of eggs we currently have and only 2 ducks! I have no idea who is laying what or where or how old these eggs might be but the water test revealed them to be relatively fresh. (They sank in a bowl of water where-as old eggs sort of bob on their ends and off eggs float).

This stash was not as large as the one of hens' eggs I found in an abandoned hen house last year mind.  Naughty hens!! 
 

Egg stash!

Did you get up to any fun activities this Easter?  Do let us know in the comments and then you can head on over to the Let Kids be Kids linky where I am sure there will  be more Easter related blogs to read!

Easter Accommodation in Normandy

Posted by Rosie

Easter,  Pâques,  Pascua, Ostern, Pásco, Paskalya .... it doesn't really matter what you call it, what counts is the fact that thanks to a Bank Holiday on Easter Monday you can STILL enjoy a full weeks holiday here at Eco-Gites of Lenault this Easter.

 

Monday 14th - Monday 21st April is available for you to book.

 

The hens are already busy laying Easter Eggs and we will make sure there are some extra special Easter goodies in your welcome box.  Easter is a wonderful time to visit Normandy.  Let me see:-

• All that chocolat français - so delicious.
• New Spring life everywhere - birds are nesting, blossom is blooming and the swallows will be on their way back.  With any luck we will have bought our lambs by Easter too.
• Warmer days and now that the clocks have changed, longer evenings too.  
• Enjoy meals in the garden with just the sound of birdsong for company.
• The tourist attractions are open and quieter than in peak season.
• Chocolate - did I mention chocolate?
• Oh and wine - you can stock up on all that Chardonnay and Rosé ready for this summer.

You can have all this for just £400 for the week for up to 5 people and a cot.  Now if my maths is right that is just £57 per day and a mere £11 per person per day if 5 people stay.  Oh and if you travel here by Brittany Ferries we have a code that will give you 10% off your crossing.  We are just an hour south of Caen ferry port, 1½ hrs from Le Havre and 4 hours from Calais.

This blog here gives details of events that are taking place this April in Normandy.  If you visit with children we will arrange an Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday.  Perfect if you want to keep the kids entertained for a while whilst you relax in the garden with a glass of wine or local cider.

Shorter stays within April including Easter week are also possible.  For further details please visit our website here or email us by clicking here.  You can also telephone on 0033 231 09 27 51 (Up to 8pm UK/ 9pm French time) asking for Rosie or Simon.

For those of you with school age children in England this is your last time for a full week at Eco-Gites of Lenault within school holidays until Christmas ... and we don't want to be talking about that for a lot longer yet do we?!

Flower Power

Posted by Rosie

Spring Flowers in Normandy

OK, so it was -3ºC when I took Tom to the bus stop this morning but the sun is now shining and it will soon warm up (she writes hopefully), after all it is March and Spring and there are wild flowers EVERYWHERE.

One of the things that I love about living in Normandy is the fact there are so many wild flowers.  The year starts with the snowdrops; quiet and unassuming, braving the cold and acting as the warm-up act for the bigger show to follow.  One day a bit later you notice something yellow, the first brave primrose.  And then suddenly all the roadside verges, footpaths and field edges are bursting with flowers of so many varieties.  I was driving home last week and I just had to stop the car and take a closer look at all the flowers.  Luckily I had my camera so I could share this Magic Moment with you - isn't it stunning?

Spring flowers near Eco-Gites Of Lenault, Normandy, France

Throughout Spring we will be delighted with smiling anemones and celendines, trumpeting wild daffodils, shrinking violets, quivering cowslips, upright orchids, nodding bluebells and pungent wild garlic to name but a few.  Each flower a marvel of nature and each a beauty in their own right.  And with them comes the butterflies and the bees.  Oh and I haven't even mentioned the blossom that is all on the cusp of flowering.  Without a doubt, Spring is definitely here in Normandy!

Bluebell and friend

Purple spotted orchid

Spring flowers at our back gate - Eco-Gites of Lenault

Orchids, bluebells and cowslips

Apple blossom

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If you would like to come and enjoy our flowers we have availability in the gite through to early May and including Easter week.  And over the last week-end April 26th we are offering a discount if your stay includes Saturday 26th April.  Details are on our Facebook page.  For further details about booking a holiday here at Eco-Gites of Lenault please visit our website or you can telephone 0033 231 09 27 51 (up to 8pm UK time please).

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I'm joining in with 2 blog links today - Magic Moments from The Oliver's Madhouse and What's the Story from Podcast, Grappling with a Box of Frogs.  Why don't you click on the links and see what other stories bloggers are sharing today.

Spring and Easter Events in Normandy

Posted by Rosie

Virtually all our school holiday dates are now booked with one noticeable exception, Easter.  We have had a cancellation giving you an extra chance to come and stay at Eco-Gites of Lenault during school holiday times.

Maybe you are unsure of what to do in April - maybe you think it will be too cold or wet?  Whilst I can't predict the weather, I can say that April is often lovely here (and to be honest I have had lunch outside most days this week in mid March!).  It is a time of wild flowers and blossom, of lambs and of Spring.  But if things do turn a bit chilly the wood burner will keep the whole gite warm and you can always order one of my home-made suppers which now has a hot pudding option - rhubarb crumble no less, to go with the main course of lasagne. 

As for things to do I have been having a search and immediately came up with LOADS of special events:

Tulip Festival at The château de Vendeuvre - Tulips are not just for Amsterdam and we have our very own Normandy Tulip Festival to enjoy every afternoon throughout April.  Over 30,000 tulips, daffodil and grape hyacinths have been planted giving a veritable carpet of flower power.

Deauville Music Festival - From 19th April to 3rd May Deauville will host a series of chamber music and choral concerts, with those on Easter Sunday being free of charge.

Houlgate Kite Festival - This annual event will take place between April 25th and 27th and is an attraction not to be missed.  Hundreds of fantastic, huge and extremely colourful kites will amaze visitors to this seaside town with 3 days of kite flying and exhibitions. 

Danish Art Festival at Le Havre - celebrating the golden age of Danish art with over 200 painting from the 19th century Danish artists in display at the MuMa Museum of Modern Art.  Exhibition finishes May 12th.

Juno Beach Centre - Exhibition entitled "Grandma, what was it like during the war?"  This exhibition will run alongside the permanent displays at the Canadian War Museum on Juno Beach until October.

Exhibition of the Bell of Peace and Freedom - Bayeux Cathedral.  A new bell has been cast in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in June 1944.  On 26th April there will be a celebratory interdenominational service and the bell itself will be on display until June.

There are literally hundreds of events, exhibitions, parades, guided walks, concerts etc planned to celebrate what was ultimately the beginning of the end of the war.  Whilst many will be taking place in the week around June 6th there are plenty of others from now and all the way through to the Autumn. Click on this page for more details.

If I have tempted you to come and visit us at Eco-Gites of Lenault this Easter - or at any time in Spring please do visit our website for further details.  You can also telephone on 0033 231 09 27 51 up to 8pm UK time or email us by clicking here.

Oh and I almost forgot - CHOCOLATE! Just think of all the delicious French chocolate you'll be able to buy when you visit us!

Joyeuses Pâques tout le monde!