There are Disney holidays...
...and then there are holidays where, completely unexpectedly, you find yourself living inside one of your favourite films.
Our recent trip to rural France became exactly that.
I've always loved Beauty and the Beast. Not just because of Belle (although, let's be honest, she has always been my favourite Disney Princess), but because the entire film feels wonderfully cosy. Cobbled streets, little bakeries, flower-filled windows, old stone buildings and rolling countryside... it's one of Disney's most beautifully imagined worlds.
The funny thing is...
I don't think it's imagined quite as much as we sometimes believe.
As we wandered through sleepy French villages, it became impossible not to hear that familiar opening song playing in my head.
"Little town... it's a quiet village..."
Every narrow lane looked as though Belle could appear around the corner carrying another stack of books.
Every old stone house felt like it had stood there for hundreds of years.
And yes...
I may have quietly found myself singing,
"There goes the baker with his tray like always..."
more than once.
Although, can we take a moment to appreciate something I've never really thought about before?
Poor baker!!
Belle spends the entire opening song dreaming of adventure because every day feels exactly the same.
Meanwhile this poor chap is simply getting up every morning, baking fresh bread, serving his neighbours and quietly keeping the whole village fed!
He's become the symbol of routine, when in reality he's probably the hardest-working person there.
Justice for the baker!
Then We Saw The Castle
One afternoon we were driving through the countryside when something incredible appeared.
Through the trees...
Towering above the landscape...
A magnificent château.
It was the beautiful Château du Verdier.
Now, I know full well that this isn't the Beast's castle.
But for a few wonderful moments...
my imagination completely ignored reality.
Hidden amongst the woodland, surrounded by peaceful countryside, it looked exactly how I'd always imagined the castle sitting beyond the dark forest.
You almost expected Philippe to wander past.
Or for the castle gates to slowly creak open.
Or perhaps Mrs Potts to be waiting inside with a warm cup of tea.
Disney has a wonderful habit of changing how we see the world around us.
Most people probably drove past that château and simply thought,
"That's a lovely old castle."
I looked at it and immediately wondered whether Lumière was busy preparing dinner.
That's the Magic of Disney
One of my favourite things about collecting Disney figurines is that they capture little moments from the films that instantly transport you somewhere else.
The Maurice figurine reminds me of those bustling village scenes, where everyone knows one another and daily life carries on exactly as it always has.
The Belle with the enchanted rose feels completely different.
Peaceful.
Hopeful.
A reminder that beauty can often be found in the quietest moments.
Those figurines sat waiting for me when I came home, but somehow they meant a little more after walking through villages that felt so wonderfully familiar.
You Don't Need a Disney Park to Feel Disney Magic
Of course, nothing replaces walking down Main Street or hearing Disney music drifting through the parks.
But sometimes Disney appears when you least expect it.
A quiet French village.
Fresh bread from a local bakery.
A castle peeking through the trees.
A familiar song stuck in your head.
For a little while, I wasn't simply remembering Beauty and the Beast.
I felt like I was walking through it.
For me, that's a memory I'll treasure almost as much as any day I've ever spent inside a Disney park.
