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Category Archives: Places
Every Château Tells a Story #15: Le Château de Puylagarde
The village of Puylagarde has several distinctions. First, it’s the highest village in our département of Tarn-et-Garonne at 425 metres. On a clear day, you can see the Pyrénées to the south and the Monts du Cantal to the north … Continue reading
Vaour and the Templars
Situated on the edge of the former royal Forêt de Grésigne, the town of Vaour conveys a strong sense of history. This is not surprising, since traces of Neolithic tombs and later occupation can be found in the forest. … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Commanderie de Vaour, Crusades, fôret de Grésigne, SW France, Tarn, Templar commanderie, Templars, Vaour
18 Comments
20 Years of la Vie Française
Last weekend marked the 20th anniversary of moving into our house in France. We had arrived in France a few days earlier, but we regard the occupation of the house as the true anniversary. This year I had a long … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places
Tagged culture clash, France, French culture, French restaurants, la vie française, living in France, moving to France, SW France
13 Comments
Varen: Haven by the River Aveyron
I never cease to be amazed by the new things (to me) I discover in this region, where I have lived for 20 years. We haven’t set foot in Varen for ages and even then we didn’t stop to have … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Château de Varen, French Wars of Religion, Hundred Years War, Le Moulin Varen, Lexos, patrimoine, River Aveyron, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne, Varen
16 Comments
Water, Water, Everywhere – But Not a Drop to Drink
The joys of living in a rural French commune. We currently have to collect our drinking water daily in bottles from the Syndicat des Eaux (local water board), which for us involves a round trip of about 18 kilometres. The … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places
Tagged drinking water, rainfall, rural life, Source de Livron, SW France, tap water, water
16 Comments
Discovering a Former Railway Line
Do you enjoy travelling by train? I do, except of course when it’s cancelled or held up by the wrong sort of leaves or by vandals removing the copper from the electric cables, as happened to us recently in Sweden. … Continue reading
All Fired Up: Bread Ovens
You may have seen these small, domed buildings, often tacked onto the back of a house, in French villages. They’re part of le petit patrimoine, not significant enough to merit historic monument status but important vestiges of past times, nonetheless. … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged baking bread, bread, communal bread oven, Flouquet, four à pain, four banal, French bread, patrimoine, rural life, SW France
15 Comments
Restoration of the Lavoir in Caylus
Lavoirs, or wash-houses, are features of the landscape around here. In times past, this is where the women (naturally…) did their laundry. They were normally constructed by a spring or a stream, so if the women were lucky, there was … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Caylus, Caylus Notre Village, lavoir, lavoir de Caylus, patrimoine, rural life, SW France, wash-houses
12 Comments
Finding Our House in France
Today is a very special one on La Lune. It’s 20 years ago to the day since we first saw our house. During our five days’ house-hunting in France, among the legion of properties we saw only two fitted the … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places
Tagged Aveyron, French property, living in France, Lot, property-hunting in France, real estate, rural life, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne
23 Comments
#Paris in the Springtime #2
Here’s part 2 of the story of our first visit to Paris in 15 years. We had only three days in the capital, and so we were determined to make the most of it. Our shoe leather was definitely more … Continue reading
Paris in the Springtime #1
People often say to us, “You must visit Paris all the time!” Actually, we’ve been there only twice as tourists in our 20 years in France, and I’ve been there for the day (!) a couple of times for work. … Continue reading
Posted in Places
Tagged France, Impressionist painting, Impressionists, Latin Quarter of Paris, Marais, Montparnasse, Musée d'Orsay, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Vermeer
7 Comments
Puylaroque: Tranquil Village with a Turbulent History
The panorama from the viewpoint at Puylaroque is magnificent. Beneath the rocky outcrop on which the village stands, the plains of southwest France roll away towards the Pyrénées. On a clear day, you can see the mountains, but that is … Continue reading
Forgotten Love Letter Saved for Posterity
Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways. In this case, it saved for posterity a wonderful letter that would otherwise have been consigned to the flames with a heap of junk.
Posted in History, Places, World War I & II
Tagged Espinas, farming, Flouquet, living in France, love letter, rural community, rural life, SW France, World War I
5 Comments
A Cut Above the Rest: Laguiole Knives
The Aveyron town of Laguiole sits at the edge of the stark and empty but stunningly beautiful Aubrac plateau. We passed through there several years ago on our way to the Aubrac cattle transhumance, which takes place every year in … Continue reading
Posted in Aveyron, History, Places
Tagged Aubrac, Aveyron, Jean-Louis Calmels, Laguiole, Laguiole bee motif, Laguiole cheese, Laguiole knife, Michel Bras, SW France, transhumance
12 Comments
A Walk Around Castanet
Last week, the weather here was truly appalling, especially on Wednesday and Thursday, with high winds and torrential rain. And other parts of southern France suffered much more than we did. This November has been particularly wet, although not cold. … Continue reading
Posted in Places, Walking in France
Tagged Castanet, châtaignes, rural depopulation, rural life, SW France, sweet chestnuts, Tarn-et-Garonne, walking, Walking in France
13 Comments
Appetising Return to Belcastel
Last time, I wrote about a ghostly story linked to the château de Belcastel. This week, we had the opportunity to make a return visit to this plus beau village in Aveyron. Not only does it occupy a delightful setting … Continue reading
Posted in Aveyron, Food/drink/recipes, Places
Tagged Aveyron, Belcastel, Château de Belcastel, food, Michelin star, Plus beaux villages, Restaurant du Vieux Pont, SW France
16 Comments
Every Château Tells a Story #14: Le Château des Bordes, Lot
When I started this series about the châteaux in our area, I had no idea that so many of them exist. There are the obvious ones – Najac, Saint-Projet, Belcastel – but also less obvious ones. Some are just … Continue reading
Posted in Châteaux, History, Places
Tagged Château des Bordes, Châteaux, French châteaux, Gourdon family, journées du patrimoine, Lot, patrimoine, Promilhanes, SW France
11 Comments
5 More Hidden Gems in Southwest France
This coming weekend the annual Journées du Patrimoine take place throughout France. You can visit historic buildings and monuments, some of which are not normally open to the public, and many of them offer free entrance. I have already … Continue reading
Calvignac, Lot: Untold Stories?
I often find the smaller places in rural France more interesting than the big cities or the real tourist honeypots. They have their own intriguing histories, their hidden features, and to me these are more satisfying than the roads much … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Calvignac, Château de Cénevières, Exoplanet Lot, Hundred Years War, Lot, River Lot, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, SW France
19 Comments
5 Hidden Gems in Southwest France
This region contains so much to see and do that it’s easy to visit only the obvious places, those that get the most publicity: the plus beaux villages, the Viaduc de Millau, the better-known markets, the famous festivals. Dig a … Continue reading
Caylus Car Rally Revived
Our village formerly held an annual car rally. This wasn’t a race with souped-up vehicles – fortunately – but a “rallye touristique”, i.e. following a circuit between checkpoints around the commune. The event faded, as these things do, but … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places
Tagged Caylus, Caylus Notre Village, lavoir, lavoir de Caylus, patrimoine, rallye touristique, SW France
13 Comments
Every Château Tells a Story #13: Le Château de Cénevières, Lot
The Château de Cénevières towers over its village and the River Lot, which meanders far beneath. The castle commanded a formerly important strategic position and the river, which was once well-plied trade route. My local writing group went on an outing … Continue reading
Posted in Châteaux, History, Places
Tagged Antoine de Gourdon, Cénevières, Château de Cénevières, de Braquilanges family, Lot, Parisot Writing Group, patrimoine, River Lot, SW France
12 Comments
C’est la Fête!
It’s that time of year again when every street corner (and your windscreen if you stop for long enough) bristles with posters advertising local fêtes, vide-greniers and concerts. Some of the early ones have had to contend with appalling weather … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places, Teysseroles chapel
Tagged bastide, Beauregard, chapelle de Teysseroles, Fête de la Musique, fête de Teysseroles, Lot, SW France, Teysseroles
15 Comments
Inside le Château de Najac
At least a dozen years have elapsed since I visited the interior of the ruined château de Najac in Aveyron. This imposing 13th-century fortress is a landmark for miles around, best seen from the opposite slope on a misty autumn … Continue reading
Posted in Châteaux, History, Places
Tagged Aveyron, Chateau de Najac, French châteaux, medieval life, Najac, patrimoine, Plus beaux villages, SW France, Templars
18 Comments
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie: A Plus Beau Village de France
About a month ago, I revisited Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, to interview a writing friend, Tracey Warr, who was spending time there as a writer in residence. Saint-Cirq is a plus beau village de France, overlooking a meander of the River Lot.
Posted in History, Places
Tagged André Breton, le Cantou, Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Lot, River Lot, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, SW France, Tracey Warr
10 Comments
Cantal Revisited
I’m always torn between sharing places I love with other people and keeping them to myself. After a fierce internal tussle the altruistic side won. The Cantal is a part of France to which we keep returning, although our last … Continue reading
Posted in Auvergne, Places
Tagged Auberge des Montagnes, Auvergne, Cantal, cantal cheese, Cère Valley, Elancèze, La Roussière, Pailherols, walking
31 Comments
Our Village Fête: Yesterday and Today
We went to our village’s Fête de Pentecôte (Whitsun fete) last Monday. It’s still an important local event, but in times past it was among the bigger fêtes in the region. We have a lovely book of photographs showing our … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Caylus, cazelles, Fête de la Pentecôte, Fêtes in France, gariottes, lavoirs, patrimoine, Pentecôte, pigeonniers, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne
18 Comments
Every Château Tells a Story #12: le Château de l’Astorguié, Parisot
Last week marked the 19th anniversary of the first time we saw our house (no, it’s not the one above). Looking back at estate agents’ details of other properties reminded me that a small château close by was also for sale … Continue reading
Bach, an Ancient Village on the Causse de Limogne
This was a week of excursions. Yesterday, we rehearsed and sang in the biannual scratch choir concert in Puycelsi, a hilltop fortified village in the Tarn. As always, it was an inspiring event. The concerts are held in aid of the … Continue reading
Every Château Tells a Story #11: Le Château de Mazerolles, Aveyron
As you round a hairpin bend just before the hamlet of Mazerolles, you get a breath-taking view of Najac across the valley, crowned by its ruined château (pictured below). This must have greeted the chatelains of Mazerolles (above) every morning … Continue reading
Posted in Châteaux, History, Places
Tagged Aveyron, Chateau de Najac, Château de Mazerolles, French châteaux, Mazerolles, Najac, Rouergue, SW France
10 Comments
