“Genius is the recovery of childhood at will.”

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People who know me in person could think it’s a quote by me. It’s not though. It is by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud (1854 – 1891), born in Charleville. As part of the decadent movement, Rimbaud influenced modern literature, music and art. He was known to have been a libertine and quite restless, traveling extensively on three continents before his death from cancer.

I love this quote as it stands for a fearless, open minded, free and (un)controlled state of mind, being close to yourself and not bothered by convention or opinion. Especially the ‘at will’ is interesting because it reflects the power of the mind to provoke / create.

Rimbaud (age 17) began a short and torrid affair with Paul Verlaine, also a poet but 27 and

Homemade Cider (part 2)

After pressing all the juices out of the must, you fill the canister, add the yeast and close the lit with a water lock. I didn’t know that the temperature is supposed to be around 20º Celsius. This is never the case in our house so we had to stoke it big time. Placing the canister closer to the heater did help as well. 🙂

The water lock will prevent fresh air coming in the canister meanwhile it helps to escape the produced CO2. The Carbon-dioxide in the canister also prevents the start of any other bacteria and fungi ‘poisoning’ the cider.

The Production of alcohol takes place in the first days. The yeast seperates the sugars in Alcohol and CO2. The produced gasses will burst out through the water lock. It’s just

Looking for a super gîte?

Check out our official website at supergites.nl.

A gîte  is a French holiday home that is available for rent. Gîtes are usually fully furnished and equipped for self-catering. Many owners choose to handle their own rentals, and you can find these by searching online on the multitude of listing sites or by checking with the local tourist information office. [wikipedia]

A gîte is generally an old farmworkers’ cottage or converted outbuilding. This type of holiday accommodation is sometimes regarded as ‘basic’ in terms of facilities; however, some gîtes will have excellent facilities. Now that called a super gîte.

This blog tells the story behind the first Supergîte; on how we got there and how we’re doing today. Happy reading.

Homemade Cider (part 1)

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Ever since we have an orchard full of apple trees we wanted to make our own cider. Wouldn’t you be proud if you’d be able to bottle your own alcohol from your own fruits? And after all what is it about? Collecting the fruits, squeeze them, put them in a canister, wait and bottle – right? We found out the hard way that it is not that easy.

Here’s part 1:

the Preparation is KING. First you have to get the right apples. Best is to have a selection of apples from sweet to sour and even bitter varieties. By mxing different ones the taste is more likely to be successful. To sweet and the yeast will explode. To sour and the yeast will