Blogs from Limousin, France, Europe - page 6

K - Colondannes is a commune in the Creuse department in the Limousin region in central France. Still unclear?! Well, if you stick a pin in the middle of France then you are pretty much there. Apart from Limoges this area of France pretty unknown to tourists and also perhaps underestimated by the French. Parisian friends of Don and Mum's were very concerned that they had bought a place in "the armpit of France"! We are told that they have since altered their opinion after visiting as in fact the area is very pretty, with rolling fields and small hamlets. It is not as stunning as the more famous areas such as Provence or the Dordogne but is also not as touristy and has a really French feel. It is also far better value for money ... read more

The sun seems to have vanished. Not been there at all today just hidden behind very heavy cloud and some rain. A pity, as we have been enjoying having it hanging around but weather forecast does predict an end to the gorgeous blue skies of the last few days. Today we start our slow return home, by heading northwards in stages, with first stop near Limoges. We drove cross-country across the pretty, pastoral, Midi-Pyrenees countryside just to the west side of the Massif Central. Cows everywhere, most a pretty burned gingerbread colour. This area is the Millevaches park region, but though we counted, we only got up to 987 so think some have gone missing somewhere. A pleasant drive which crossed back over the Dordgogne and Vezere rivers and then the Vienne through the Corrreze region ... read more

Some more R&R was the name of the game when we set out for a long weekend in Rural France. Scott and I headed to Standsted early Saturday morning for our first Ryan Air flight in a number of years. It is the only airline that touchs down where we were heading. Which was I'Abbaye du Palais hotel near the small town of Bourganeuf. We landed at Limoges airport and were zooming into the country side and a lovely sunny day within moments. It was green, green, green with lots of wooded areas - very pretty. Before arriving at the hotel we visited St Lenoards. It had a old church (listed) and the streets were lined with sweet old houses. We tried to order lunch but our complete lack of French meant we were unable to ... read more

This morning breakfast felt like the League of Nations as we were joined by Owen a retired policeman from New Zealand and his wife Pat. They had moved to NZ many years before and were spending time travelling to Britain to visit family hiring a car and travelling to France for a bit of culture. They ended up in an arguement with the Ozzies who had decided to tell us all that there was no history in Britain compared with France. We left them to their heated arguement. Collonges la Rouge -(south east of Brive) what an expressive name for such a tiny little village. The name says it all - you expect rust red houses and you get them in abundance. Collonges sits in the midst of meadows and walnut orchards. Every house is built ... read more

We have 4 one nighters(one night in each town)on our way back to Marseille where we have to be by Saturday to drop OO back and get ourselves ready for the train ride to Paris on Sunday morning. So we plan to wander through the French countryside, taking in the sights as we do so and not overstretching ourselves with too much mileage each day. We must say we have enjoyed France even though we were personally not looking forward to having to interact with the people who we thought would be arrogant towards English speakers like ourselves who have only a small grasp of the French language. We have found quite the opposite and we love the beautiful countryside we have found on our travels and the way life in the smaller towns and villages ... read more