Pézenas

The owner of the apartment we’re renting told us the town of Pézenas was worth a visit, so we drove about an hour to take a look. Arriving around lunch time, we had a mediocre meal at a restaurant chosen at random – I should have done some advance research! Pézenas’s old town is filled […]

Les Gorges de l’Hérault

About a 45-minute drive away, the gorges of Hérault are a national park and a “grand site de France.” As we drove in, it wasn’t very impressive. It’s not super hilly as you approach and once you arrive, the road runs along a river in a small gorge, which I expected would be scenic. Not […]

To The Sea!

We’ve visited three resort towns along the Mediterranean coast so far: Carnon, La Grande-Motte (the big dune) and Le Grau-du-Roi (the king’s inlet). They’re all on the barrier islands, backed by a series of lagoons, that run along the coast all the way to Marseille. It was really windy on Wednesday when we visited Le […]

Le Lac du Salagou

We drove about an hour northwest to a large lake, the Lac du Salagou, for a hike. The day started off quite cloudy and the mistral (a strong, cool, dry wind from the northwest) was blowing. We were glad for all our layers as we started out over the wine-colored dirt. But wait, I’m getting […]

Montpellier

We’re down near the Mediterranean in Montpellier for a month. Our rental is quite the change from an Umbrian hillside. We’re in a residential neighborhood near the historic city center and can walk to everything we need. A good bakery is a mere eight minutes away, the grocery store is 15-20. We still see beautiful […]

Out and About

We’ve visited several of our favorite spots – the beaches at Cameros and Pentrez, which we can easily walk to, Pointe de Dinan and Cap de la Chèvre – and enjoyed a new one – a hike at Pointe du Van, about an hour away by car. So many beautiful views, it’s hard to choose […]

Crêpes

We were very pleased when the gîte owner asked if we would like to get together for a dinner of savory crêpes, made right here in our rental. We have few in-depth interactions with locals when we’re traveling, unfortunately – we’re taking in the culture at a distance. Interacting in French and eating crêpes sounded […]

Temptation

France is full of temptation. Most of it’s food – for me, at least. Everyone knows the baguettes and croissants, but there are so many other delicious things. The local farmers’ markets have incredibly fresh fruits and vegetables And there are so many things you can cook with such great ingredients – or, even easier, […]

It’s good to be back

We’re starting a trek through Europe (M likes to call it the great circle route) with two weeks in Lézargol in Brittany. This is our third time at this rental, and it’s just as delightful as ever. As we drove into the familiar beautiful countryside after a night in a hotel in Brest, we breathed […]

Strasbourg

Strasbourg’s city center, the Grand Île, is a great place to stroll. Two rivers converge in the city, forming the island and giving visitors beautiful views in all directions. La Petite France, which began as a quarantine area for French soldiers who had brought syphilis to the city, has morphed to the most picturesque (and […]