OK, THIS IS IT ! I'M NEVER GOING HOME !

  In recent years we have done a bit of travelling.

We've spent three weeks in the Cotswolds driving and walking through picture postcard villages. 

We've followed the "Black and White Trail" in Shropshire.

We've climbed through many hilltop villages in Provence,

wandered through the old town in Annecy and strolled along its pristine lake .....

but  Sarlat wins the prize  for the prettiest village we've ever seen !

It's constructed of a beautiful honey coloured stone reminiscent of the golden Cotswold stone.

Perfectly preserved in its Medieval grandeur it sits quietly in the Perigord Noir region of France.

Hugely popular with tourists, more than two million visit this spectacular little town each Summer.

Luckily for us the season is drawing to a close and the tourist numbers have dropped to a trickle making the experience for us a very special one.

Waiters and merchants have time to spend talking and joking with us and it is these little moments that make a visit so memorable.

We've wandered the little streets and narrow laneways lined with restaurants where the preoccupation with all things "duck"  could make dining out a trifle repetitive.

We've eaten LOTS of duck dishes, 

sampled and devoured delightful cheeses, 

and lashed out on another slab of nougat !

We've shopped at markets and purchased odd looking tomatoes

luscious figs and the best strawberries you've ever tasted

Using our finds to make a simple, delicious lunch fit for a king.

But we haven't spent all our time eating !

Oh no! 

We've explored the surrounding countryside to reveal more pretty villages

And the most stupendous views you can imagine.

from the village of Domme, high above the Dordogne River.

Two more days here the we move onto Paris.

A bientot !

DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A DESERT TO ME !

F

This is a map of a small village called Guilhem-Le-Desert not far from Pezenas.

It is situated in a valley/ ravine with high hills/mountains on each side and a small stream running through it to the larger river below. 

A large car park at the top of the village attests to its popularity with tourists and you enter at the large village square dominated by a HUGE old plane tree towards the top of the village.

A plaque on the tree says it is 175 years old !

To explore the village you just wander down the narrow lane towards the river.

At this time of year most of the tourists are gone and you have the place to yourselves.

Ancient buildings lean in on every side and spots of greenery and the odd remaining flower break up all that stone and make it very pretty.

The sky is blue and the sun is still very warm but sometimes it can get get a bit cool in the shade of these high walls.

The sound of water leads you to the small stream that tumbles through the village.

This is the back of the Abbey and their kitchen garden which of course had the obligatory grape vines as well as vegetables and roses.

Then you take another fork as you wander back to the top

To join the rest of the visitors in doing what the French do best .....LUNCH !

Au revoir

PEZENAS

Last night, as we're having dinner in the lovely little restaurant, Le Pomme D' Amour, the lone occupant of the next table, who had found our translations of the menu and the following ordering process very amusing, ( " Non, not tonight " to almost everything, "the cook is seeeck !" ) asked us how we ever came to visit the old village of Pezenas.

Le Pomme D'Amour

At night

And during the day.

 He seemed to find it amazing that four Aussies had managed to find this lovely little village not far from Bezieres and chose to stay there. 

My answer was, "Word of mouth." Rather it was " Word of blog ! " because I heard about Pezenas from a blogging friend Marg (blog called Little Miss Sunshine ) and that sent me off to research it. 

So Marg, it's you we have to thank for steering us to this delightful OLD village. 

Once again we are staying in the Old Town, in a very comfortable apartment called Maison sur L'Arc in the Jewish Ghetto section of the Old Town.

Pezenas is a much larger village than St Remy. There is a wide Main Street with centre parking that slices it in two ...

but it is the narrow winding laneways that snake out from there where you find the hidden gems.

Shops like caves with bewildering depths contain all kinds of artisan goods that can give you hours of browsing pleasure and often end with a few tables and chairs for a hole-in-the-wall cafe.....,

Or open out into sunny little squares where a cluster of cafes vie for your attention and the biggest decision is SUN or SHADE ? ??? ( being Aussies we always pick shade ! )

Although Pezenas is delightful in its own right, We chose to stay here for a week because of its proximity to several interesting places.

Like Cap D' Agde

With lots of expensive boats 

And the inviting Mediterranean beckoning

Or Sete

almost reminiscent of Venice except here the water is clean and blue !

Then for something completely different you can spend a day in Montpellier

With its huge central square,

beautiful buildings,

Narrow laneways,

Full of quality shops and cafes

And tree lined boulevardes

Not to mention wonderful feats of engineering

and that's only up to Tuesday !

A bientot !

WHAT IS IT ABOUT WATER ?

Perhaps it is because I come from a country where water is often lacking. 

Where we can go for months, even years at a time without a single drop of rain falling on the parched earth and then it comes down in torrents creating awful floods.

Whatever it is, show me a flowing stream and I'm hooked !

So no surprise that today turned out to be a cracker !

Today we visited the village called L'isle sur Sorgue named because it is situated on little islands right in the middle of the Sorgue river.

In the past good use has been made of the shallow, fast flowing river that rushes around and through L'isle sur Sorgue and at one time there were about 70 water wheels. 

There are still quite a few but their function is now purely decorative.

As usual there is an " Old Town" which has a ring road circling it so you park the car then enter the Old Town via lots of lovely little bridges....

and possibly because of all that water the grass is really GREEN !

Next you move towards the centre of the village via the winding, narrow walkways we have come to expect.

Some are bare and almost devoid of colour......

and some are lined with colourful shops. 

where you can browse - and be tempted - to your heart's content.

Eventually these lead to the heart of the village where the couch resides.

In this case a huge church for such a small village 

and when you enter......

the grandeur quite takes your breath away !

You wander from photo opportunity 

to photo opportunity

until you find yourself out on the river edge where pretty cafes invite you to sit a while.

They are very hard to resist.....and resistance is not what holidays are about !

Then you resume your walk only to discover that round every corner is another delightful view

and thoughts of never going home begin to creep into your imagination .

I think I could settle happily in a spot like this.....

      or this !

What do you think ? Could you drag yourself away ?

Reluctantly, we did !

Cheers.