Blogs from Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Europe - page 51

Hello Everyone: Please note that i am typing on a french comp and the letters are in diff places. We are currently in Nimes and leave for barcelona tomm. London was amazing as was Paris. Normandy was great n it was so emotional to walk on DDay beaches n in Bayeux *the first town liberated. U can almost C the american n british tanks in the streets. The weather has been crazy... cold most days...warm others. I dont hv much time to go into details today ... as there are so many fabulous details to tell. Below is a bit of an overview thus far: Favorite places: Paris - *The Latin Quarter - its packed with bars and every type of restaurant one can imagine. the owners of the restaurants stand outside to try to convence ... read more

Wir sind am Samstagabend, 28. Juli Richtung Burgund abgefahren. In ca. 3 Stunden haben wir das Örtchen Pierre-de-Bresse erreicht, genauer gesagt Aloise...Dort wohnt Dorle und Mafra Marty, bei denen wir zu Gast waren. Sie wohnen in einem wunderschönen Landhaus mit Riesenumschwung, wo wir von Anfang an begeistert waren. Gleichzeitig mit uns waren eine Familie aus Österreich dort. Die drei Jungs Elias, Leon und Sämi hatten grossen Plausch daran, mit uns Fussball zu spielen...Klein Sämi ist ein süsser Fratz (siehe Foto ;-) Am Sonntag haben wir eine Velotour entlang des Doubs bis nach Verdon-sur-le-Doubs unternommen. Da es am Doubs entlang aber keine richtigen Wege gab, fuhren wir durch viele kleine Dörfer und Wiesen, was sehr schön war. Und alles flach :-) Nach einem Nickerchen am Ufer der Saone und einem Käfeli in Verdon fuhren wir gemütlich retour...'Zuhause' ... read more

Carcassone, Bas-Langedoc, 28 & 29 July The locals I met in Marseilles made a lot of fun of Carcassone, saying is was not the real France. The place is so tourist-orientated that this perception is not too surprising. However I did notice locals stocking up at the Saturday morning produce market, proving that people to actually live here. La Cité - is one of Europes largest city fortifications. It looks like something out of Disneyland with turrets, witches-hat roofs and a dry moat. There is also a castle within the walls. The small, winding streets are chock full of restaurants and kitschy souvenir shops selling everything from jewellry to clothes to medieval costumes and armour, in fact anything possible to separate tourists from their money. At night the illuminated La Cité appears quite magical. Ville Basse ... read more

Here's the view from Tim's parents' house in Fuilla, in the very south of France (practically in Spain). We spent a lot of time on this terrace, mainly eating tasty food and drinking Muscat de Rivesaltes. This is an aperitif wine, so obviously it's very uncouth to be drinking it by the bottle, but the beauty of staying in a house in a tiny village is that there were no French people to see and disapprove! It was very sunny and lovely here, in contrast to the floods and gloominess back in Angleterre. ... read more

Today is the Fourth of July and in France, it means nothing! But, because we are American, Dean Dawson arranged for all of us to go to an olive farm and olive oil processing plant for a little picnic of wine, olives, cheese, bread, and olive spreads. We were taught the process of how to make olives into olive oil and we were able to sample some of their oils and olive speads (like a tapanade). We also had some wine samples, which was not my cup of tea, so to speak, because I am definately not a wine drinker, but I tried some anyways. The view was incredible! There were rows and rows of olive trees and there were pebbles along the path and a beatiful view of a town in the distance. The ... read more