Tag Archives: SW France

Millau: Towers, Markets and Bridges – Guest Post by Angela Wren

Posted on 08/11/2018 by nessafrance

I’m thrilled to welcome back to the blog Angela Wren, whom I had the great pleasure of meeting at an authors’ event in Carcassonne in September. Angela is a Francophile, who has visited many more corners of France than … Continue reading →

Posted in Books/writing, Places | Tagged Angela Wren, Emma Calvé, Jacques Forêt mysteries, Millau, Millau Bridge, Millau glove-making, SW France | 2 Comments

France’s Flower of the Dead

Posted on 06/11/2018 by nessafrance

For a fortnight or so before 1st November (Toussaint; All Saints’ Day) pavements outside French florists’ shops and undertakers, and whole marquees at supermarkets, are heaving with chrysanthemums in pots. But don’t be tempted to offer a pot as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, History | Tagged Chapelle de Teysserolles, chrysanthemums, flower of the dead, French cemeteries, SW France, Toussaint, World War I | 8 Comments

Ça Sent la Rose

Posted on 27/10/2018 by nessafrance

Roses must have one of the loveliest scents of all flowers. They have been cultivated for more than 5,000 years and thousands of varieties now exist. Unfortunately, they don’t do well here in our poor soil and they didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, History | Tagged Château de l'Astorguié, François Coty, Parisot, perfume distilling, Rosa centifolia, rose oil, rosewater, SW France | 20 Comments

French Flavours: Pounti, Traditional Auvergnat Dish

Posted on 14/10/2018 by nessafrance

During our recent visit to Cantal, we had the opportunity to taste again a dish that is traditional to northern Aveyron/southern Cantal: pounti. Before we first visited that area, 25 years ago, I had never come across this dish, not … Continue reading →

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, History | Tagged Auvergne, Cantal, French regional cuisine, Goose Fat and Garlic, Jeanne Strang, peasant food, picoussel, pounti, SW France | 6 Comments

Villeneuve d’Aveyron: Ancient Paths and a Historic Gem

Posted on 07/10/2018 by nessafrance

What do you think this building is? A small château or fortified house? A barn? All will be revealed below. Autumn is the best time for walking in this area. The days are warm and sunny, it’s usually dry underfoot … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places, Walking in France | Tagged Aveyron, Château de Ginals, church wall paintings, Eglise de Toulongergues, SW France, Toulongergues, Villeneuve-d'Aveyron, Walking in France | 6 Comments

Rentrée Time

Posted on 02/09/2018 by nessafrance

Here we are in September again. How did that happen? Surely Easter was only last week. Actually, I don’t mind. This is my favourite month of the year, perhaps because I was born in September (cards and presents welcome). We … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, French life | Tagged autumn, la rentrée, la rentrée politique, la rentrée scolaire, summer, Summer holidays, SW France | 6 Comments

British, French or Irish? Or all Three?

Posted on 13/08/2018 by nessafrance

I don’t write about politics on this blog. Of course, I have my views, but I generally keep them to myself. So I haven’t mentioned the ‘B’ word (okay, Brexit) in my posts so far. However, I can’t ignore it … Continue reading →

Posted in French life, Rants | Tagged Brexit, Carte de séjour, European Union, French citizenship, implications of Brexit, Irish citizenship, SW France | 37 Comments

A Local WWII Resistance Group: Update

Posted on 05/08/2018 by nessafrance

Today, the causse above the riverside village of Cazals is a tranquil place with superb views of the Gorges de l’Aveyron. It’s covered with juniper and scrub oak and the only sounds are birdsong or the occasional whirr of … Continue reading →

Posted in French life, Places, World War I & II | Tagged Allied invasion of Normandy, Armée Sécrète, Cazals, French resistance, Maquis d'Ornano, Resistance in Tarn-et-Garonne, SW France, World War II | 4 Comments

Canicule: the Dog Days of Summer

Posted on 30/07/2018 by nessafrance

It’s either a famine or a feast. We spent the winter and most of the spring grumbling about all the rain; now we’re taking refuge from the heat. Much of the northern hemisphere is experiencing unprecedented levels of heatwave: notably … Continue reading →

Posted in Weather | Tagged canicule, dog days of summer, Dog Star, drought, heatwave, summer weather in SW France, SW France | 21 Comments

The Story of Notre-Dame des Grâces

Posted on 19/07/2018 by nessafrance

Set at the edge of a grassy plateau overlooking the verdant Bonnette Valley, this little chapel is visible for miles around. It commands a magnificent view of the countryside, with the ancient province of Quercy on one side and the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Bonnette Valley, Catherine de Gorsse, Charlotte Grey, Château de Mondésir, Lacapelle-Livron, Notre Dame des Grâces, SW France, Templar commanderie | 9 Comments

Summer in Southwest France

Posted on 03/07/2018 by nessafrance

Summer is here, les grandes vacances have begun and the foreign number plates in the area have multiplied. And to go with them, a little present from the French government: a drop in the speed limit on secondary roads from … Continue reading →

Posted in French life, Places | Tagged Chapelle de Teysserolles, fete, French markets, lavoir de Caylus, summer, summer fêtes, Summer holidays, SW France, Teysseroles fête | 11 Comments

Saint John’s Day Customs in France

Posted on 25/06/2018 by nessafrance

Yesterday marked la Fête de la Saint-Jean, which occurs on 24th June each year, although the festivities normally take place the night before. It’s a not uncommon example of a pagan celebration taken over by the Catholic Church to commemorate … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, History | Tagged 'Mon amant de Saint-Jean', bonfire, French fête, la fête de la Saint-Jean, Lucienne Delyle, pagan celebration, solstice, summer solstice, SW France | 9 Comments

Every Château Tells a Story #16: le Château de Saint-Michel de Vax

Posted on 17/06/2018 by nessafrance

What a boon the internet can be – in small doses. And we’ve had only a small dose of it recently. More about that in a later post. I can find out almost anything, without moving from my computer in … Continue reading →

Posted in Châteaux, History, Places | Tagged Claude Simon, French châteaux, French Revolution, Jean-Pierre Lacombe-Saint-Michel, Les Géorgiques, Saint-Michel-de-Vax, SW France, Tarn | 6 Comments

Buried Treasure at Teysseroles Chapel

Posted on 11/06/2018 by nessafrance

I’ve written before about the visit of the departmental archaeologists to Teysseroles, where we are helping to restore the 15th-century chapel. This is a requirement when works are planned at a historic monument, to ensure that nothing of significance is … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Teysseroles chapel | Tagged archaeological dig, burial customs, Chapelle de Teysserolles, graves, historic monument, Parisot, SW France, Teysseroles, Teysseroles fête | 24 Comments

A French Country Wedding

Posted on 04/06/2018 by nessafrance

Weddings were in the air a fortnight ago, with the latest royal event. As is often the case, my historical research appetite was whetted. So let’s go back a century … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, History | Tagged Christian Signol, fête de la Saint-Jean, French marriage ceremony, French marriage customs, Marie des Brebis, marriage, SW France | 10 Comments

Whitsun Walk on the Wild Side

Posted on 22/05/2018 by nessafrance

Pentecôte (Whitsun) is the time for our village’s annual fête. It’s become a tradition for Caylus Notre Village (CNV), an association that promotes and protects local monuments, to organise a series of guided walks around the commune as part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Places, Walking in France | Tagged APICQ, Caylus, Caylus Notre Village, Fête de la Pentecôte, lavoir, Moulin de Genebrières, SW France, vintage cars | 14 Comments

Loze: a Tiny Village on the Causse

Posted on 14/05/2018 by nessafrance

Sometimes life takes you over. I’ve brought out two books in the space of a month and sung in two concerts, in Gaillac and a tiny hamlet near Puycelsi, in the past 10 days. I’m notorious for trying to do … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Bonnette Valley, Lacapelle-Livron, lauzes, Loze, Mas de Monille, Moulin de Vignasse, rural depopulation, SW France | 25 Comments

Orchids in SW France

Posted on 26/04/2018 by nessafrance

If my memory is correct, we first saw our house here in SW France 21 years ago today. The weather was glorious, as it has been recently – very welcome after a gloomy few months. In 1997, we noticed in … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature | Tagged common orchids, orchids, orchids of SW France, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne, wild orchids | 26 Comments

Cuckoos and Winter Weather 2017-18

Posted on 02/04/2018 by nessafrance

If you live almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, you don’t need me to tell you that it has been a dismal, gloomy winter. The technical reason, apparently, is a “heatwave” in the Arctic, which has pushed the Arctic Jet … Continue reading →

Posted in Weather | Tagged rainfall, signs of spring, SW France, SW France weather, Weather statistics, winter, winter weather | 10 Comments

A Little-Known World War II Incident: the Croat Mutiny in Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Posted on 19/03/2018 by nessafrance

Our local Médiathèque (library) is a hive of literary activity. In addition to the literary festival that takes place every October, there’s a series of author talks throughout the year. On Saturday, we heard Adrian Weale, a former UK army … Continue reading →

Posted in History, World War I & II | Tagged Communist partisans, Croat mutiny, Croat revolt, Louis Fontanges, Occupied France, SS, SW France, Villefranche de Rouergue, World War II | 31 Comments

On the Carpet: the Tapestries of Montpezat-de-Quercy

Posted on 12/03/2018 by nessafrance

I’m pleased to say that I have done one of the five items I listed in my January post of things to do in 2018. It’s now getting a bit late for the truffle market at Lalbenque, but that will … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Black Death, Cardinal Pierre Dés Prés, Collégiale Saint-Martin, Flemish tapestries, Hundred Years War, Jean IV Dés Prés, Montpezat de Quercy, SW France, Tapestries of Montpezat-de-Quercy | 7 Comments

Five Museums in SW France You Must Visit

Posted on 04/03/2018 by nessafrance

If you read Life on La Lune regularly, you’ll know I’m a history girl. And there’s plenty of it around in our part of France if you just scratch the surface. Also, many museums in France open for free on … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Albi, Bordeaux, Centre Jean Moulin, Figeac, French museums, Fromagerie Papillon, Musée Champollion, Musée du Beret, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Nay, Roquefort, SW France | 17 Comments

All Aboard le “Moscou-Paris”

Posted on 25/02/2018 by nessafrance

It sounds rather like a jolly luxury express, doesn’t it? A competitor, perhaps, to the Orient Express, with starched white tablecloths, gleaming silverware and sycophantic stewards. If only it were. In fact, le “Moscou-Paris” is the meteorologists’ nickname for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Weather | Tagged Caylus, le "Moscou-Paris", record low temperatures, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne, Weather, weather forecast, winter weather | 17 Comments

Eight Years On…

Posted on 11/02/2018 by nessafrance

A little celebration is in order. Life on La Lune will be eight years old on Wednesday, which just happens to coincide with Valentine’s Day. Since February 2010, I’ve published some 586 posts, learned an awful lot about France … Continue reading →

Posted in French life | Tagged Beaumont-de-Lomagne, Château de Saint-Projet, French property, garlic, Jardins du Quercy, Limogne-en-Quercy, Oradour-sur-Glane, pastel trade, SW France, truffles | 13 Comments

Neither Resisters Nor Collaborators: Returning French STO Workers in 1945

Posted on 04/02/2018 by nessafrance

Certain aspects of World War II remain taboo subjects in France, even among people who were not around at the time. For those of us whose country has not been occupied for hundreds of years, it’s difficult to imagine how … Continue reading →

Posted in History, World War I & II | Tagged Daniel Crozes, forced labour, French resistance, Fritz Sauckel, Lendemains de Libération, Pierre Laval, Service du Travail Obligatoire, SW France, Vichy France, World War II | 18 Comments

That Which Should Accompany Old Age

Posted on 21/01/2018 by nessafrance

Yesterday, we visited our elderly neighbour, whose wife died nearly two years ago. We often feel guilty that we don’t visit more often, but Monsieur F is almost 90 and now rather frail. He is very difficult to understand, even … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities | Tagged elderly in France, farmers, Farrebique, rural depopulation, rural France, rural life, SW France | 25 Comments

5 Things to do in SW France in 2018

Posted on 07/01/2018 by nessafrance

Meilleurs vœux pour l’an 2018 à tous mes lecteurs. I will still be writing 2017 on cheques until the end of February. Have you made New Year’s Resolutions? I find those lofty aspirations are all too easily broken. However, the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Lalbenque, Les Arques, Montpezat de Quercy, Musée Fenaille, Musée Soulages, Musée Zadkine, Ossip Zadkine, Puylaroque, Restaurant les Sens, Rodez, SW France, truffles | 13 Comments

Life on La Lune French Christmas Quiz 2017: the Answers

Posted on 30/12/2017 by nessafrance

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that le Père Noël was generous to you. How did you get on with the quiz? No cheating, I hope. Without further ado, here are the answers. See how well you did.

Posted in Quiz | Tagged France, French Christmas quiz, French trivia, General knowledge, general knowledge quiz, Life on La Lune French Christmas Quiz, SW France | 7 Comments

Life on La Lune French Christmas Quiz 2017

Posted on 23/12/2017 by nessafrance

First, let me wish all my readers a very Happy Christmas. Thank you for reading the blog this year. I always enjoy reading your comments and emails. Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the Life on La Lune … Continue reading →