Hotel Chateau des Jacobins Agen

... slowly waddled back to our car and soaked up the quiet, night time village atmosphere, butterscotch lighting with a touch of fall finally showing up in the air rustling the old elms above. The food, the service, the atmosphere, the village: it all added up to a memorable Provence night. (Even more memorable for Marisa because she was so full she had difficulty sleeping much of the night. But she'll tell you it was worth it.) This is why we came here.

Well, the wine ...

... upbeat “pace.” For us, our next trip will include stays here overnight rather than Arles… just more to do! And plenty of shopping!





Some of our best memories in Provence were just drivin ...

... cars and lorrys. Although we stopped for many water breaks we finally made it to Agen where we drank a beer on a park bench, like a homeless, which we were.

Just outside of the city we set up camp off a foot pass next to a huge river. We cooked our food on the rocks next to the river and as the sun set we listened to some wierd animal sounds which for some reason we assumed to be aligators.

7 days in the small village of Miradoux in Gascony ... living in a surprisingly large 4 bedroom house overlooking a patchwork valley and touring through beautiful ...

It was a long day on the bus, but we finally made it to Provence. On the way we stopped in Avignon to see the Pope's Palace and then made our way to the Roman Aqueduct. After dinner in Provence, we stumbled upon a crazy street party with a DJ. It was fun experience to dance with the locals and get a feel for the flavor of the town. We are off to Barcelona tomorrow!

... br>
20 minutes grumbling thunder preceeded a violent storm, force 8+, rain and big hailstones. Dave went out in pants only to save the awning from being blown off!

Nightingales (rossinol?) sang after the storm, and again in the morning.

... through - so we looked like being stuck on the Lot and having to come back next year after the winter rains. A number of boats had been stuck on the Lot (one for 8 weeks) and the River Lot authority were hoping to let some additional water into the Baise for one day so all the trapped boats could get through. So we headed down from St Sylvestre and stopped at the last lock at Buzet and ...

... words for lost, I just shrugged a lot and pointed to the address I had written down. They very quickly gestured that we should follow in our car and they would show us the way. Very kind of them we thought, even more so when we were still following them 20 minutes later, two villages away, up a tiny dirt road to our accommodation. Our hosts were so grateful to Sophie, for finding their lost guests, and a bit embarrassed that the owner Caroline had been on the phone for the last hour ...

... was helpful beyond expectation. He had never heard of a Statutory Declaration but quickly grasped the concept. I had already written a draft and he kindly offered to type it up on his computer. When I asked him where I should go to fax it to Australia he replied "Mais ici, naturallement!" and proceeded to fax it as I waited. All this at no cost! Margaret felt that I should have offered him a tip, but I'm sure his Gallic pride would have been deeply offended ...

... choice of good local red wine. Just out of Montréal and worth a quick look is Seviac. A Roman villa was discov**ed h**e just thirty years ago. The large excavations dug out large th**mal baths, pools and some fine mosaics depicting pear trees and grape vines. It was used as a burial ground aft** the Romans left. Two skeletons nicknamed Les Amants (The Lov**s) on display w**e unearthed togeth**, seemingly holding hands. They looked a little forlorn in their ...