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| Tuesday, 12-Apr-2005 00:00 |
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Center Parc Longleat
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we took our granddaughter to Center Parc at Longleat for the weekend and stayed in a cabin in the forest, with wildlife all around ... outside and in!
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| Friday, 29-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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more wildlife in the garden
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some months ago, i posted a photo of our local woodmouse eating nuts from the squirrel proof bird feeder. Chris was surprised he had managed to get through the squirrel proof cage. well yesterday morning, when i went to fill the seed feeder i spotted something moving inside it - much to my surprise it was the woodmouse, who had squeezed through the tiny holes where the birds get the seed. he sat inside there for ages, even when I unhooked the feeder and put it on the table, and in the end i had to take the lid off and tip it up on the grass so he could escape through the top before i could fill it up (i was a bit worried he had eaten so much seed that he couldn't get out!)
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| Saturday, 9-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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Golf up a mountain!
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While we were staying at Ceret, we drove up into the Pyrennees, to a golf course called Domaine de Falgos. On the way, we were sure that it must be a mistake, as the road coiled higher and higher up into the hills, with steep drops on one side and high tree clad cliffs the other. But surprise, when we were about to give up altogether, we reached the top of the road and found a lovely golf course perched up on high - it was like the alpine meadows in The Sound of Music!
It was quite late in the afternoon, but time for Tony to play nine holes while I walked around taking photos.
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| Friday, 8-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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Ceret
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Next we drove to Ceret, which is a town in the foothills of the Pyrennees, south west of Perpignan. Once again, the forecast showers turned into bright warm sunshine (this is all quite amazing, as generally whenever and wherever we go on holiday it rains!). We stayed here for three days and on Saturday it was market day ... a really splendid market, selling just about everything you could possibly want.
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| Thursday, 7-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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Carcassonne
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Walt disney's inspiration?
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we just had time for a quick look around Carcassonne, it seems a shame that everything has been taken over by shops selling tourist stuff - but I suppose thats how they fund the restoration. And how does one place have so much dog mess smeared over the cobbles? It was hard to look at the buildings, we had to keep our eyes on where we were walking the whole time! 
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| Wednesday, 6-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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driving through the Gorges de l'Aveyron
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This is a very pretty part of France and we enjoyed our stop for lunch at St Antonin Noble Val.
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| Tuesday, 5-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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Cuq Toulza
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On Tuesday morning we left Cordes and drove to Cuq Toulza - located between Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne. The weather forecast had been pretty poor, so we were really pleased find ourselves driving along empty roads through warm and sunny landscapes. If I had stopped to photograph all the lovely scenery we would still be driving!
We were staying at Cuq en Terrasses, a beautifully renovated 18th century house perched on top of a hill alongside the church and the Chateau. If you get the chance, stay there ... the food and welcome were magnificent http://www.cuqenterrasses.com
The room we stayed in had views across the valley, ripe figs on the terrace outside the back door, walnuts in the garden, red squirrels darting around the trees, a visiting ginger cat and the most wonderful ceiling you can imagine (see #3). Heavenly!
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| Monday, 4-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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Cordes sur Ciel
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on this day, we arrived at Cordes sur Ciel. The guide book had told us it was beautiful, but we had no idea just how stunning.
extract from DK's Eyewitness Guide to France:
Gloriously sited Cordes, lining a ridge above the river Cerou, is sometimes knwn as Cordes-sur-Ciel: a fitting description as the town seems suspended against the skyline. during the 13th century Cathar wars the entire town was excommunicated. Devastating epidemics of plague later sent it into decline, and the town was in an advanced state of decay at the beginning of this century.
Restoration work under the care of the artist Yves Brayer began in the 1940s. The ramparts and many of the gates which the town's founder Albigensian Count Raymond VII of Toulouse, built in 1222 have been well-preserved. Also intact are Gothic houses ... which line the unbelievably steep cobbled streets.
The final picture in the set is a scanned postcard (try as I might, I could not persuade the mist to settle just below the town!). My french is not up to much, but i think what Albert Camus said was that, having found Cordes one need travel no further and day after day the beauty lifts all solitude.[i]
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| Sunday, 3-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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at St Emilion
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St Emilion is famous for its fine red wine, but I hadn't realised it is also a beautiful medieval town. We spent a fascinating morning there. The monolithic church was dug out of the chalky cliff by followers of the hermit St Emilion, who lived in a cave in these parts in the 8th century.
The panorama was taken from the 13th century ramparts (i had to split it into three so you could see the detail)
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| Saturday, 2-Oct-2004 00:00 |
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Trip to France - Blaye, near Bordeaux
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For our holiday this year, we drove around France for a couple of weeks ... I'll add a few photos of our trip over the next days.
We arrived at Portsmouth early for the overnight ferry, so had a look around nearby Bosham. The following morning, the ship arrived in St Malo just as dawn was breaking, but we had no time to look around as we had a long drive south to Blaye where we stayed for the first couple of nights.
This ancient citadel town is sited on the banks of the river Gironde, just north of Bordeaux. There is an excellent museum showing the history of this fortress. It was fascinating seeing all the houses and shops still lived in inside the citadel walls, though many have been converted into restaurants etc for the tourists it is easy to imagine how life must have been centuries ago.
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