L'Hacienda Marguerittes

... bit grotty and run down and a bit poor… that does not normally put us off though so not sure what was wrong. The town was under going a fair bit of renovation and rejuvenation work and has a hell of a lot of potential as great place to visit…so perhaps in 5 years that is exactly what it will be. We went for a wander and found the amphitheatre which was like a mini coliseum in the center of town. It ...

... didn’t even really resist. They knew the status to being ’Roman’ and that it would bring them instant infrastructure, roads, money, etc.

But enough of all this Roman talk - we’re in France after all! Italy will come when we set sail tomorrow night. For now we’re dining on our last few snipits of cheese, provincial bread and aioli sauce.

... was home to Van Gogh’s most famous time of painting from 1888-1890.

Shadows on the hills.
Sketch the trees and daffodils.
Catch the breeze and winter chills.
In colours on the snowy linen land.

I was just thrilled to be in the same place that inspired this painter. To know that I was beneath that same starry starry sky ...

... and get the plane to Singapore. We should be sleeping in a hotel bed this time next week at Bintan Island and while this has been a fantastic trip I will be glad of a bigger bed and some luxuries.

Very warm regards to you all - we are missing the dogs heaps and we pat as many here as possible.

More news soon but not sure where from - it may not be until Bintan.

X X X

... that will linger in the memory, well beyond the consumption, and without really knowing what we were ordering. After complimentary salads to start, Alison had sliced duck on skewers (the waiter asked, in the manner of steak, how madame would like it), and I had a pot of seafood (Marmite). Both superb. We followed, in the same manner with desserts that were unknown to us, but proved to be delicious – Alison's was a chocolate tart ...

... in Asian restaurants and we didn't feel that was very authentic (oh, and they wouldn't let us share - they tried to make us order a plate each, no thanks!) so we ended up at a little cafe ordering hamburgers..... which came out as a half-cooked mince meat patty thing.. quite unappealing. But doused in a whole lot of sauce they were edible and we were on our way to continue exploring Avignon (read: find an internet cafe to satisfy our facebook cravings ...

... 29579;月௚ 0;相机在照É 02;一张我和( 060;汤的照片 3601;exhausted了，镜& #22836;也收不回 去了，此情 ;况一直持ಱ 3;要第二天Ą 89;上充好电 290;

... 34920;演，& 750;常有趣。
王月在一ߑ 0;小摊上买É 02;一只会猪 483;的木头猪
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注：Hotel: Logis Toppin 强烈推荐， ;二星的价੬ 4;，三星的ũ 36;量。

After the grand-parents visits (who BTW didn't seem THAT terrified by trip I'm about to do...pfew reassuring!!!), I started my French roadtrip by a nice stopover in Lyon where I could celebrate my sister's birthday and at the same time go out with all my "salseros" friends in Lyon 3 nights in a row...getting my moves ready for latin America ...

... Rough Guide, this is one of the great villages of southwest France. It occupies a spectacular position on the flanks of the steep, densely wooded gorge of the little River Dourdou, a tributary of the Lot. For all its glory, Conques is not easy to get to. Whilst classified as one of Frances most beautiful villages - a title bestowed on around 120 of Frances prettiest towns, it is mysteriously hidden in the wilderness. We drove through the dark along a long and winding road on the banks of ...