Friendship blooms in Burgundy

Can you imagine living in a house straight out of a fairytale?

Les Libellules - the dragonflies

From a tiny window in the tall red turret, you survey your lands. Some cows and sheep are grazing in the nearby green and golden fields. All is quiet and peaceful.

From the high window you can survey your lands

The beautiful garden with wonderful treasures to explore

In the garden, roses climb along the wall and honeysuckle perfumes the air. A large pond is full of gorgeous green frogs just waiting for a kiss. Across the pond skim dazzling dragonflies ready to transport fairies to magical palaces high in the trees. But watch out for the crows. They share their secrets with the ‘bird whisperer’ who lives here with her knight in shining armour and her cat with the piercing green eyes. This is where she weaves her stories and conjures up delicious treats to tempt those that visit. Allons-y

Honeysuckle perfumes the air

Having first connected via Instagram, I had read Lindy’s two excellent books, ‘Damson Skies and Dragonflies’ and ‘Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine’ plus she had written a guest blogpost for me in 2023.

Lindy Viandier and Mr V (Marc), currently split their lives between Paris for work and their 300-year-old house, Les Libellules, in rural Bourgogne. It’s a renovation project but one that doesn’t feel rushed as they are definitely living a full life in Burgundy.

I was very excited, when I shared our French travel plans with Lindy, for Chris and I to be invited to visit them.

On arrival, we were met by Lindy and Marc who showed us around the extensive garden which was blooming with fragrant roses. There were more pockets of the garden to be explored, like le potager (vegetable patch), fruit trees and even a large mare - a manmade pond where once horses and cattle drank. We could hear the frogs chorus and I managed to spot one electric blue dragonfly, but it was moving too quickly to photograph.

Can you spot the frogs in the mare?

le potager and some of the gems to be found around the garden

Pussy Willow soaking up the summer sun

We were introduced to Pussy Willow and Pierrot, Lindy’s much-loved cats. They popped up here and there taking time to relax in the summer sunshine.

Pussy Willow enjoying another sunny spot

Lindy took me on a tour of the house to see the renovations already completed and those still in progress. It was fun to see the places Lindy talks about in her books. It is a monumental project but looking very promising. Meanwhile Chris and Mr V tried to work out our van problem with the rental company. This was not possible without fluent French and we sincerely thanked Marc for his efforts.

In one of the kitchen areas

We enjoyed a multi-course home cooked lunch prepared by Lindy. We set the table on the terrace to enjoy the glorious summer weather. Our meal of gazpacho, Rillettes de thon with bread, salmon and tomatoes, cheeses, strawberry with mint salad was delicious and made with ingredients from le potager. Some of the recipes are in Lindy’s two books:

Gazpacho – recipe in Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine

Rillettes de thon – recipe in Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine

Strawberry salad with fresh mint– recipe in Damson Skies and Dragonflies

The meal was like nothing we have ever tasted. The quality of food was Michelin star but you wouldn’t have had the setting in a restaurant. Outdoing the food was the conversation that flowed as we shared our stories, discussed food, renovations and even French politics. Lindy and Marc were lots of fun. Chris, normally an avid food photographer, was so busy enjoying the meal and company, that he completely forgot to take photos of the dishes! During the meal we enjoyed glasses of rosé and a bottle of chardonnay we brought along from Savigny-les-Beaune, our base for the week. Finishing with a coffee, of course.

After lunch, Lindy and I chatted about her books and her new writing plans. It was lovely to see the watercolour painting of Les Libellules, painted by our mutual friend, Catherine B, from my Avignon blogpost, alongside the original photograph of the house.

C’est moi and Lindy Viandier discussing her books.

Back outside, Chris treated Lindy and Marc to a photoshoot. I think they enjoyed themselves.

Couple photoshoot

Then we had a last wander through the garden where Lindy explained to us her connection with the crows and Mr V set about some pruning.

Lindy speaks to the crows while Marc gets into the pruning

We went to meet for the first time but left as old friends.

It was time to head back to our accommodation in Savigny-les-Beaune. Au revoir et grand merci to Lindy and Marc for your hospitality and friendship. Don’t forget to check out Lindy’s books and Instagram.

Please join me next time for more adventures in Burgundy. À bientôt!