Hotel Jeanne d'Arc Limoges

Set upon the River Vezere and quite pretty due to its 15th and 16th century Maisons a Tourelles, which looks like miniture castles due to their turrets. The rain had stopped for our little walk around the village but started again when we got back to the car - great timing!

Stayed last night in a pretty little medieval village of Solignac, right on the town square next to the villages 11th century church, which is on the pilgirmage route - Santiago de Compostela. It had rained last night and was still raining so our wander around was brief! Our plan today was to stop at several little villages in the area, of which they got progressively prettier.

... around their necks. They remained this way for several minutes.

At 4 pm an explosion was heard. On this signal, the soldiers fired the machine guns and gunned everyone down. They shot at leg level, rather than chest level. They attempted to comb through the bodies to make sure that they had gotten everyone, then they set the barn on fire. Many men were wounded by the gunfire, but ...

... ex-pat friends whom we visited for coffee or lunch, and also their extremely amiable French neighbours, who make use of the lack of fences to
wander over and say bonjour, bringing a bunch of leeks, or a basket of beans, or whatever else is thriving on their land that day. It's all very sociable and mutually supportive and a far cry from the stereotype of the ...

Distance covered: 22 miles

We chilled out for the day by taking it easy in an Internet cafe. Well I say Internet cafe, but there was no coffee. Just loads of nerds playing Half life and Warcraft. In fact it was the nerdiest place I had ever been (except the maths help sessions in the uni library.... obviously). Then, about ten grown men (early 30's) came in dressed as soldiers, commandos, and mercenaries. It ...

Distance covered: 35 miles cycle and 15 car

So we woke up early for the first time and set off in the blazing sun with high spirits. We were absolutely destroying the miles and there was even talk of getting a record (70+ in a day!!). But then an absoulte disaster occurred. About 15 miles away from a city my rear wheel disintegrated. It would be impossible to walk it. Maybe a hitch from a ...

Wednesday we decided upon a more somber itinerary. We went to Oradour-Sur-Glane, a town about 2 hours from where we are staying and the site of a horrific WWII massacre. Before I get to the massacre site, let me briefly tell you about lunch. We ate lunch in a restaurant just outside of Oradour. This was our splurge meal, and it was rather expensive, but it was a really neat experience. The restaurant was set on the site of a chateau, and ...

Ahh, first full day of driving. Which meant that we were running out of gas! First time driving in France, don't speak the language, don't know what kind of gas this rental car uses, plus it's getting late and we're driving in the countryside (lovely farms I might add). And we have no idea where we're going to sleep! And we're getting hungry ...

... 6 months in central America ? Surprise ! In the idea of continuing my hooks up with friends, I am now in Los Angeles with one of my best friends. Relaxing is the motto of my time here. Of course, there is a little bit of going from optical store to optical store but it is mainly about the dogs, the bunnies, barbecues, hikes and chilling out with friends, a good location to hook up with some people I had met in Bali as well ! What a small wonderful world.

... of them down. Only a couple dozen survivors out of several hundred deaths. The Germans then burned what was left, and this is how the village was found the next day. It has been preserved as a national memorial. There is an informative and shocking museum, which is is the only way to enter the village. Most French kids come here on school trips.