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| My Grape Village, Laura Bradbury |
the second memoir about life and renovations in Burgundy by Laura
Bradbury. You can read my review of her first book My Grape Escape here. Although I would
recommend starting with book one, it isn’t essential.
Laura and French husband Franck
are back in Burgundy to work on another semi-derelict rental project with a
tight deadline, however, this time they have the added complication of two
daughters under five to settle into a new life and school in France. I really
enjoyed Laura’s writing style in her first memoir as she writes in a very
readable and honest way and is not afraid of telling the bad along with the
good. Her openness shows us a slice of real Burgundian life and I’m pleased to
say her second book did not disappoint. It was lovely to be back with them and
sharing in their new plans, the excitement, the stress, the worry and the
celebrations, of which there were a few.
We are not all able to marry into
a French family like Laura, but she gracefully shares the French way and
traditions of her French family. These often involve large family gatherings
where good food and local Burgundian wine play as important a part as the
people. I did wonder, with all the social niceties to be observed, how there
would ever be time for renovations, but I’d quite like to have been at their
kitchen table for aperos too. There are many differences between the life in
Canada the girls were used to and their new life in France, but the children
adapted really well, although I could sympathise with the worries Laura was
experiencing. She also often made me laugh when she was describing the
challenges she faced, like learning to drive a geared (stick shift) car in the
narrow streets of Beaune and finding a proper sized tree for their first family
Christmas in France.
Both of Laura’s books are
available in paperback and ebook format and links to Amazon are below.
If you would like to experience their Burgundain life firsthand, or see the finished product of all their hard
work, you can check out their rental site here. I know Laura is working on her
next memoir and I can’t wait.
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