Unmasking the Allure of Lagrasse
I enjoy traveling around Occitanie, the region surrounding Uzès. You can visit the sea or the mountains in a day. I spent a few hours unmasking the allure of Lagrasse in the Corbières wine region on one outing. While there, I couldn’t escape the stories of a religious cult that lived in this part of […]
Le Plus Beau Village: Monpazier, A Model French Bastide
Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, I never cared much about history. In fact, for years, I had a recurrent dream that I’d never really graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill because of a missing history credit. The surprise came to me in my dream as a letter asking me to return my diploma. My resistance to […]
Le Plus Beau Village: Saint-Jean-de-Côle
North of the Dordogne, near Brantome, lies Le Plus Beau Village Saint-Jean-de Côle — one of the prettiest villages in France. Within its tiny confines, the town of about 300 people features everything you’d wish for in a beaux village: a château, a Romano-Byzantine Church, a Priory (Abbey), a village square, and a combination of […]
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
There’s a new obsession running around in my head: “Visit as many of France’s ‘Les Plus Beaux Villages‘ as I possibly can.” So far, I’ve seen only 13 out of some 156 “authentic” Les Plus Beaux Villages. I have a lot of traveling to do. Les Plus Beaux Villages 156 communities in France are distinguished […]
Discovering Najac: A Mini Rocamadour
Along the way back to Uzès from my first visit to the Dordogne, I received an email from my good friend, artist Andy Newman.”If you like Rocamadour, stop by the mini Rocamadour, Narjac
7 Days in Dordogne: Rocamadour
Day five of the seven-day Dordogne marathon trip with my long-time friend, Julie, was one thing we looked forward to the most– Visit Rocamadour. The village carved into a hill just before the border of Dordogne, Rocamadour, takes at least a half-day to explore. You should arrive early to catch the best view because it […]
7 Days in Dordogne: Market Day in Sarlat
Sarlat. You’re the winner. Of all the places I’ve been on my Dordogne tour these past five days, I like you the best. Take a look at market day in Sarlat! Ok. I’m a sucker for market days Maybe what I fell in love with in Sarlat was the fabulous handbag I bought. The town […]
7 Days in Dordogne: Cahors to Sarlat
We finally got it right on the third day of the seven-day Dordogne tour with my friend from kindergarten. We narrowed down the “to-do” list for our seven-day Dordogne tour to a manageable number of places to see in one day. We developed the concepts of “walkabouts” and “drive-by photo shootings.” In other words, […]
French Spa Tour and Cure: Through the Pyrenees
The second day of the French Spa Tour and Cure started with a drive through the Pyrenees to the “beaux village” of Saint-Bertrand-De-Comminges. French Spa Tour The journey from our overnight at L’hostellerie des Cédres to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges was a brilliant plan, thanks to my trip guide extraordinaire, Nevenka. She knew the view from Villeneuve-de-Rivière along […]