Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on December 20th 2025. It’s been around six weeks since my last blog and I expect some of you are wondering where I’ve been. The answer is simply that I haven’t been anywhere at all, just living quietly and happily at Le Shack,Continue reading “Happy winter”
Author Archives: maryjane678
Gorgeous graveyards, thundering waterfalls and a tumbling bear – cycling to the Pyrenees
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on November 7th 2025 We arrived back at le Shack on Tuesday October 28th – and then left again a week later on a cycling trip to the Pyrenees. The weather forecast was good so we made a last minute decision. This isContinue reading “Gorgeous graveyards, thundering waterfalls and a tumbling bear – cycling to the Pyrenees”
By train to the Alps – cycling around Lake Annecy and the best food market in France
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on October 24th 2025. Another train journey! A longer one this time, just over 3 hours to Annecy, one of the most attractive towns in the Alps with it’s cobbled streets and picturesque bridges over the canals, all set against the backdrop ofContinue reading “By train to the Alps – cycling around Lake Annecy and the best food market in France”
Snakes and shoes
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on October 17th 2025. I’m going to begin this blog with a video and leave you guessing as to where I am. I’m not really a museum type of person but there are two museums a short train ride from Valence that appealedContinue reading “Snakes and shoes”
Life on a boat going nowhere
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on October 10th 2025. Our life tends to be full of experiments. We’re always trying new things, seeing what works and what doesn’t. Sitting on our boat in a marina and not going anywhere is a new experience for us but for theContinue reading “Life on a boat going nowhere”
Autumn bike ride
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on October 2nd 2025. We’ve just finished our autumn bike trip and I thought I would share it with you. ‘ I’ve got this down to a fine art,’ I said, very pleased with myself, as I looked at the tiny pile ofContinue reading “Autumn bike ride”
Pyrenean safari
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on August 25th 2025. Our roof is finished and we decided we deserved a day out so we hired a car and headed for the mountains for a day trip. Temperatures are on the rise again here and we lost a few degreesContinue reading “Pyrenean safari”
Cat on a hot tin roof
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on August 13th 2025. I should preface this blog by saying that we don’t have a tin roof. Neither do we sadly have a cat any longer, but we do have a very hot roof. France is enduring another prolonged heatwave and itContinue reading “Cat on a hot tin roof”
Running from the heat
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on Sunday 27th July 2025. We have just arrived back at Le Shack. This may come as a surprise as in my last blog, almost a month ago, we had just arrived in Valence on the Rhone, a pleasant but temporary stopping pointContinue reading “Running from the heat”
Falling in love with Valence
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on 29th June 2025. There are times when I arrive somewhere new, whether a town, village or even just a mooring, and I fall in love with it. There is an instant connection, a gut feeling that I could be happy here, evenContinue reading “Falling in love with Valence”
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