Canal de la Robine

We’ve been taking regular long walks along the canal that runs through Narbonne. What a great addition to a city landscape! To the south it becomes rural pretty quickly, but to the north we enjoy walking through town and seeing lots of live-aboard boats. To the south are generally spiffier-looking boats, then country. But it […]

The Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus

Who knew saints would share a basilica? And who knew there was a patron saint for temperature… no, wait, that’s Celsius, not Celsus. M was particularly taken with the architecture and ornamentation of this basilica… he kept taking pictures long after C and J had headed outside to the warmer air. This used to be […]

Carcassonne

Last week we visited the medieval city of Carcassonne, which claims to be the second most-visited attraction in France (the Eiffel Tower is first). Given all the narrow streets, we were happy to be here in January without the crowds! Look how long the shadows are – and this was at noon! C was visiting […]

Béziers

Béziers claims to be the oldest town in France… who knows how many other towns claim the same thing? (Perhaps I’m feeling a little jaded, having just read up on the “Cathar” castles in the area, many of which were built after the Cathars were killed (by Catholics in a crusade).) Regardless, Béziers is a […]

Welcome to Narbonne

We left the Dordogne a week earlier than originally planned, worn down by the rain and okay but not the greatest accommodations. We came three and a half hours south and a little east to the small city of Narbonne, which is just a few kilometers from the Mediterranean. Three and a half hours isn’t […]

Castelnaud

Standing guard over our favorite bakery in Castelnaud-la-Chapelle is the Château de Castelnaud. We visited with our friends S & B during the week before Christmas on one of the rare sunny days of our two months in the Dordogne. (S & B get all the credit – they brought the sun with them on […]

Some Things Are Different in France: Poultry

Yesterday we decided to try a roast chicken from the supermarket. Like at home, they’re prepackaged in a bag and kept warm. We got it home and wanted to heat it up a little. But when we got it out of the bag, it looked a little odd… At first J thought they had stuck […]

Hiking Périgord: Langlade

You’d think we’d know better by now…but no. When the forecast changed from rain to sun for the afternoon, we headed out for a hike actually expecting to stay dry. We started in the nearby village of St Vincent de Cosse, walking up a road that turned into a forest track. Seemingly in the middle […]

Sarlat’s Christmas Market

Sarlat is all dressed up with Christmas teddy bears and the holiday market is full of people sipping vin chaud (hot mulled wine) and contemplating gift purchases. We had thought vin chaud was an evening thing, but there people were, imbibing before noon! Father Christmas (Père Noël) shows up on posters around town, but we […]

Cahors

On Tuesday we drove an hour (but only 47 km (29 mi)) to the town of Cahors on the Lot river. The drive was beautiful, curving through valleys covered in the first frost we’ve seen. We had a fine lunch at Le Bergougnoux and then walked around town. Cahors is a pretty town, but hard […]