Friday 24 July 2015

My Happy Place.


We all have that happy place. That place we go to in our mind when unhappy, anxious or stressed. I quite often visit my happy place when I have the dreaded trip to the dentist! As you know I have recently just returned from my holiday and the place we visit is my happy place. I suppose that I have two happy places if I'm honest. Bali  is one, the place we spent our honeymoon, that once in a lifetime trip unlikely to ever be repeated again. Yes it holds many wonderful memories but isn't truly my happy place. 

My true happy place is the South of France. Particularly the Dordogne where we return to year after year. We have truly made so many memories there that whenever I need to put myself in my happy place this is where I go. 




I got the love for this place a fair few years ago when my (now) husband took me there on one of our first holidays together. I fell in love with the scenery, the weather, the atmosphere and the food and of course the wine. I think because of this he knew that this would be the ideal place to propose to me back in 2009!


I remember the day so well. I hadn't been feeling particularly well over a couple of days, can't remember why but just remember that I'd spent a few hours in bed sleeping and Adi kept asking me if I was ok and would we be able to go out for dinner on the evening. 

I had been wanting to get engaged for so, so long. We'd been together for nearly 9 years and I did wonder if we would ever get married and I admit, at times I would get so upset that he hadn't popped the question. I remember worrying that perhaps he just didn't want to fully commit to me!

So I remember getting ready for our evening out together and not getting dressed up a massive amount, I still clearly remember Adi asking me if that was what I was wearing with a look of shock on his face as I was really quite dressed down! I remember getting changed into something a little more dressy and it didn't occur to me once that he was going to propose that evening. 

We had a lovely meal and he knew my wishes that I would have hated to be proposed to in a restaurant so it didn't happen there (thank god). Instead, afterwards we walked along the beautiful cobbled streets and he pulled me to a stop and got down on one knee and produced a ring (nawwww)! I genuinely thought it was a joke and was telling him to get up, until I saw that actually the ring was real and this was happening. *Cue floods of tears and hysterical behaviour*........obviously I said yes!

He had chosen me the perfect ring and proposed in the most perfect way, I spent the rest of our holiday on cloud nine, I was over the moon. 


From that day on the Dordgone, particularly Sarlat hold a special place in my heart and always will. I've also been fortunate enough to share some great holidays with close friends there too which makes the memories even more special, this makes it my happy place. 

I dream that one day we may actually live there. I would love that. I have this dream/wish that we buy a gite and run a small complex of holiday homes and spend the rest of our life there together, enjoying everything that this lovely part of France can offer. We'd sit by the river, we'd take walks in the fields and drink enough wine that we'd probably need to buy our own vineyard. It's very unlikely to happen, we don't speak the language (although we could learn), we don't have the finance's (at the moment) and would it be fair to uproot our children for our own dream? I just wonder whether our quality of life would be so much better, who knows.

Well one can dream, yes??

So tell me, where is your happy place?


The Reading Residence

Binky Linky

Mummaknows

Lou Messugo

56 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous happy place, and packed full of so many special memories for you, too. You never know, one day you might be there x Thanks for sharing your happy place with #WotW

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  2. How lovely! I think my happy place is home and as gushy as it is, home is with Mick.

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  3. Oh what beautiful memories your happy place holds!xx

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  4. Dreams can come true - maybe you will be there one day. Thanks for telling us about your happy place:-)

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  5. Looks like a wonderful place. My happy place is Berwick Upon Tweed, we went there on June 26th for a week and it was such a busy yet relaxing week, I was heartbroken about coming home

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    1. Bless you, it's horrible when you feel like that isn't it X

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  6. What a lovely memory to have and make your happy place even more special. I hope that one day your dream of living there comes true

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    1. It certainly does, I hope my dream comes true too :-) x

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  7. Awww I never heard this story properly...I can imagine Adi getting all panicky when you were not well and dressing down! It looks gorgeous. Please move out and we can come all the time!! xx #wotw #binkylinky

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    1. Haha, yup I really did look a bit of a scruff before I changed. I would love to move but think we'll be staying in the UK for the foreseeable future. X

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  8. Funnily enough I have been thinking of France so I really enjoyed this. My happy places changes a lot. At the moment it is London.

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  9. What a lovely memory - I think my happy place is Cornwall with the family, so many lovely memories. x

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  10. It looks perfect to be a happy place place I don't really have one I suppose anywhere as long as I am with my wife and children thanks for linking to the Binkylinky

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  11. I've never been to Bali, but it sounds and looks very exotic. I've been to Paris and would love to go again and explore more of the city, although I imagine my girls would just like to go for Disneyland! Thanks for linking up to the #BinkyLinky

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    1. Nothing wrong with Euro Disney, I'd like to go back there at some point too! x

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  12. I love this story! 5 years and two kids later my significant other and I talk about when we will get married but still no ring!! Haha Bali was one of the first places we went on holidays in our 'younger years/before kids'. Loved it and such great memories. Thanks for linking with #famjamlinky and I hope you come back next Wednesday!

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    1. Isn't Bali wonderful, we always said we'd go back on our 10 year anniversary, only 5 more years to go so we'll have to see! x

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  13. What a beautiful post and how lovely to have your beautiful pace in Bali. Such lovely memories and clearly it makes you very happy.
    #WoTW

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  14. I can understand why this is your happy place. The memories that you had in there is so romantic and special! My happy place is home, the Philippines which I havent visited for 5 years. But its in my head as well and I escape there once in awhile when everything is too much in real life. #wotw

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    1. I'm not surprised that is your happy place, home is where the heart is. X

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  15. There is something quite magical about little French Towns, the ones which aren't touristy or commericialised x

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  16. Awww what a gorgeous sounding proposal! Would it be sad to say my happy place is home? I love adventures and travel, but there really is no place like home!

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  17. What a gorgeous story and we are actually in Sarlat right now! We arrived a few hours ago!

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  18. What a lovely story, no wonder it's your happy place. I am kind of sad that hubby proposed in our old house - would be nice to visit somewhere with those memories

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    1. Thanks for the comment Kara, still lots more memories to be made in the future X

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  19. What a wonderful post, it's no surprise it's your happy place. I think we have a few but they're not quite as accessible. Getting outdoors in Surrey works wonders for me as does travelling. Tahiti will always be a special one though as that's where we had our honeymoon :)

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    1. Tahiti sounds fabulous, maybe one day you can go back and relive the memories X

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  20. aw what a lovely post, i think i have to say my happy place is the shore x

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  21. I love the Dordogne too, I haven't been since I was a child but really want to return. Such a lovely post - how nice to have somewhere that holds so many happy memories.

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  22. What a lovely post. It's so nice you have so many happy memories from one place x

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  23. What a lovely story, having read this I doubt I can tempt you over to my corner of France after all (my last comment on your holiday write up) but if ever you want to explore another area, then you're very welcome! My advice would be to follow your dream, if it's really what you want, don't let life pass you by with regrets. I'm living that dream right now and it's pretty good!!! (But you do have to learn French to make it work). I'd be happy to advise/answer any questions you might have and I believe that offering your children a chance at a bilingual life is priceless. #AllAboutFrance

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    1. Ahh thanks for the lovely message, I can be persuaded but I think I will always be drawn back to the Dordogne, I love it so much. We are just in the process of buying a house in the UK now we're too much of scaredy cats to make the leap at the moment I think. Thanks for the comment! x

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  24. What a lovely post - it has made me think where is my happy place! Gosh I have a few - but actually my home is joint top of my list with Cala Galdana in Menorca. Kaz x

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    1. It's always nice being at home isn't it! Thanks for the comment x

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  25. We got engaged on Christmas, so every Christmas is like our honeymoon all over again! You can totally move to France, just have to cut the cord and jump for it! It's the best decision we've ever made (after getting married, of course!)! :)

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    1. I do wish we could but it just feels like such a huge leap, maybe in a few more years time when the children are a little older we might reasess and see how we feel. Thanks for the comment! x

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  26. My happy place is the farm in The Cotswolds where I was brought up - so not a place in France where I now live ... but I hope the happy place for my boys may well be the place we live now (in Normandy) where they are making childhood memories. #AllAboutFrance

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    1. How lovely, The Cotswolds is lovely. You are so lucky to live in France, jealous :-) X

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