Chateau Clement Vals-les-Bains

... just on the outskirts is where they make the good stuff.

On our way up to Burgundy, we went through Boujoulais to try a couple more wines. Of course we're barely missing Boujoulais Nouveau, the big festival that happens in 2 weeks, but we still got to try some very good Gamay. And at unbelievable prices... some of the best of the best Boujoulais is around 5 bucks a bottle. We drank that with lunch.
Then it was off to Burgundy... Stay tuned!

found a great little town in Provence.. and as they say "when in Rome (Provence)"... we had a great meal in true french restaurant... happy to be away from tourist food... and had some very nice red wine........ just a stopover but a friendly little place and nice hotel...

on the road again...

... en bois dur. Souvent ce sont des bois presque fosilisés dont on peut voir de façon très marquée les veines celles-ci dessinent des arabesques qui vont être utilisées pour donner sens à la sculpture. Au départ le sculpteur n'avait pas le droit de modifier la racine , juste la polir aujourd'hui il a le droit de sculpter le bois ...

... au cœur de la vieille ville de Valence a pour particularité d'avoir été rénovée entièrement des mains de leurs propriétaires.
A la truelle et au marteau, Henri-Jean n'a pas rechigné devant le gros œuvre allant jusqu'à fabriquer de la fausse pierre. Diane s'est ...

... et un Parc Naturel (Vercors).
Valence sur Rhône - Située sur le grand itinéraire européen nord-sud, Valence sur Rhône séduit par sa vieille ville, ses rues piétonnes, ses places ombragées, ses belles façades aux couleurs pastels.
Vallée de la Drôme-Diois - Terre nourricière, la région recèle des trésors qui font le bonheur des gourmets ...

... just give her a E50 note and hope for some change! The same with the butcher - we left yesterday with a piece of beef which cost the same as a small African Nation would have on the blackmarket - needless to say that the children have now been quietly prepped that we dont walk into a shop BEFORE we have looked into the windows first and decided what we want so we can avoid ...

... and swimming (lovely cool fresh water from the Alps and
the Massif Central). This huge flat valley, surrounded by beautiful
mountain ranges on both side I imagine would also be an ideal location for a family holiday.
The Chateau itself is really lovely and the 63 acres of grounds include
a forest, private 'mountain' with 100 mile ...

Only for Brenda! Driving down the upper Ardeche gorge on the outside of the road with 1m retaining walls and vertiginous views. Big lorries using all the bend were coming the other way ...

... meteen in en zei dat we ze samen moesten uitdrinken! =) Een uur geleden heeft hij ons ook de weg getoond naar de dicotheka in Montélimar. Dus die gaan we één van de volgende weekends eens een keer uitproberen. Nog 38 dagen! 37 36 WEEKEND 35 WEEKEND 34 WEEKEND 33 32 31 30 29 WEEKEND 28 WEEKEND 27 WEEKEND 26 25 24 23 22 WEEKEND 21 WEEKEND 22 WEEKEND 20 19 18 17 16 WEEKEND 15 WEEKEND 14 WEEKEND 13 12 11 10 9 WEEKEND 8 WEEKEND 7 WEEKEND 6 ********** 5 4 3 2 Tot snel! 1 Xxxx

... region) wineries. This was on a tour bus (VW vanagon actually) so as to not mix wine tasting and driving of the new car. We also spent some time in Avignon's city center which was very nice. Lots of shopping possibilities. I say possibilities because when we actually decided to do some shopping it was on a Sunday and literally everything was boarded up....d'oh. Enjoy the photos!