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  • CATMAT
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CatMat le grand tour 26

15 weeks long service leave exploring France, England and Scotland together. Read more
  • Currently in
    🇫🇷 Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, France
  • Glencoe highlands

    Jun 5–6 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Adore being on a bus tour - great fusion of young backpackers and us oldies ! We have been captivated by the colours and climate of the rugged Scottish landscape and the enchantment of Highland folklore .

    Elderly lovers turned to stone by wicked fairies - the Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye.

    The Three Sisters otherwise known as Bidean nam Bian in the Glen Coe valley echo the ancient wisdom our Katoomba sistas. Now off for more whisky tasting !

    Enjoying watercolour painting in Scottish rainwater to capture memories slowly in my coach art studio.
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  • Oban

    Jun 4–5 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Inspired by working alongside wee lassie Fiona - a magical trip around Scotland has begun today our tour finished in Oban. Matt and I both with Scottish ancestry, feel deeply at home amongst this foggy mystical rainy green rock embedded landscape..Read more

  • Giant horses - Kelpies

    June 4 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    The kelpie is a shape-shifting, malevolent water spirit from Scottish folklore. Typically haunting lochs and rivers, it usually appears as a majestic, white horse. The creature tricks unsuspecting victims into mounting its back—where their skin magically fuses to the hide—before plunging into the deep to devour them.

    A key identifying trait is its hooves, which are backward compared to those of a normal horse.

    The beast can shape-shift into a human, usually as a handsome man. The tell-tale sign of a human-kelpie is the presence of water weeds in its hair, or hooves hidden beneath its boots.

    And... they glow red in the dark !
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  • Edinburg

    June 3 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    YOGA in kilts, kelpies in steel that glow red in the dark, giant green chesterfields. Fish creamy soup - Cullen Skink - The 🦄 Unicorn as a national symbol, dragonflies and honey ginger whisky - two Scottish great grandfathers from Glasgow and Edinburg ' I adore Scotland!! Oh and did I say yoga in kilts ( CW here !!)
    Scottish summer, rained about 4 times on every one of the 10 days with a regular icy wind from the arctic. The locals were in shorts as it was so warm😂😂
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  • Bristol

    June 1 in England ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Whirlwind 1 night tour of some highlights of Bristol and surrounds with our friends Russell and Alison. It was her birthday and we celebrated it in style with views of the suspension bridge, a walk through the sacred spaces of Chalice Well - dedicated to nature and universal spirituality and the magestical view from the Tor. Glastonbury Tor is a 158m hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless tower of St Michael's Church,Read more

  • EAST DULWICH

    May 28–Jun 1 in England ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Awesome long weekend with our British Besties in London ! Azure blue mani pedi with Cece and Jess; Changing of the Guards and Brunch with Jess; ,Animae movie marathon with Penny and oh so much cheese and wine with Julian and Tim !

    Fabulous to meet the Studio Ashby design team and hang out in Jessica's village home, framing her artworks, trying out local wine bars and chilling out with the girls xx
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  • Medoc wine tasting

    May 28 in France ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    We found a Kia EV2 and got to inspect it! It's the baby brother of our EV3 at home.
    We went wine tasting in the haut Médoc région which curiously actually is on calcaire, limestone, not usual for the Médoc région, and so they grow more Merlot than the classic Cabernet Sauvignon. The 10yr old wine we tasted was excellent , a well balanced fruit and vanilla oak with still quite a bit of tannin.Read more

  • Saint emilion

    May 26–28 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Wonderful tour of troglodyte church with french guide. Stories of the life of saint emilion, Franciscan monk, 3 miracles; making bread and wood from underneath his cloak, taking bread from the oven with bare hands to feed others without burning, . Little alcove where women will fall pregnant, the young guide kept her distance😆.
    The calcaire was dug out and sold when making the church. Town was sacked 4 times during the years of religion then during the revolution.
    Huge inside, no photos allowed. Crypts for the rich hewn from stone.
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  • Cabrerets

    May 15 in France ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Cute private castle overlooking a private moulin turned mini hyrdo turned museum in 2001 after flooding. Gorgeous flowers in their gardens crammed between the sheer hill cliffs and the wide Lot river.

  • LAUZUN - ART RESIDENCY

    May 15 in France ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Incredible week at Maison Du Fort in an artist in Residency week long program - Charcoal, ink, printmaking, plein air, collage, street sketching, wine, cheese, feast repeat!

  • Saint cirq Lapopie

    May 15 in France ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Exquisite medieval village perched high overlooking a wide river. Stunning views, wonderful architecture and a surrealism connection and exposition (André Breton).

  • Cahors

    May 14–16 in France ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    A medieval town surrounded on 3 sides by the river, decimated during the 100 year war and the Black Death (lost 80pc of people), rebuilt in wood as the forests had regrown. Had an amazing architectural tour on the town followed by an amateur french theatre play on a marriage pulled apart by the bride and groom's sister's husband who run off together.Read more

  • Padirac cave system

    May 13 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Ridiculous. 100m deep. 42km long underground river in a limestone cave with stalactites. Breathtaking, the silent pole pushed barges, the huge caverns.

    Time to play with the watery azures from my paint palette ! Spectacular colours, translucency and earth borne palette.Read more

  • Martel

    May 13 in France ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Cute little medieval town, beautiful square with canon.hmm. we've been here before! 2 years ago, for 15 minutes😂. Markets were on, Cath found special jewellery, some modern art and I got a special chestnut Nutella style jar of spread.Read more

  • Brive

    May 12 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Wow, the Cannes film festival opening night came to Brive. We stayed with the local film president who arranged us to be guests at the opening night in the cinema with nibblies with the French crowd, then watch the wonderful opening film Electric Venus, then eating dinner and wine with their friends until 1am. A wonderful night!Read more

  • Turenne castle

    May 11 in France ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Perched high over the incredibly beautiful Limousine countryside, this run down castle stunned with the tall tower and the Ducs who lived there independent of France until the mid 1700s.

    Beautiful quotes of poetry hand written on slate boards for quiet moments of refection when gazing at the view.Read more

  • Murol castle

    May 9 in France ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Stunning view over the valley of a small cute 13th century castle. They had a popular medieval jousting display and story in french plus tour which brought the castle to life. Just wonderful

  • Vulcania

    May 8 in France ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    An amazing park dominated by a golden twisting roofless volcano structure that details in a varied and very interactive way everything to know about volcanoes. Could have spent 2 while days here.

    Into the subterranean world of a Viennese postmodern architect inspired by Dante's Inferno to educate and amuse us on the importance of vulcanology in France.
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