Sunday breakfast

Sundays are perfect for a long lazy breakfast. We have two major trends in the family, croissant or bread and jam. For me, I have to think... I'll take both! Really an important part of those simple pleasures of everyday life. With real butter! And coffee, lots of coffee!

Oceans, the film by Jacques Perrin

What an impressive dive into the ocean! This film feels like living in the sea with the whales, the dauphins, the turtles... swimming with them at lightening speed. Jacques Perrin doesn't try to give a lecture, he wants us to marvel... marvel at the beauty of nature, the mysteries of the ocean... I left the cinema almost feeling dizzy with all the impressions... if you have the occasion to see it....!!!

My favourite scene, the mummy walrus that holds her baby with her fins....exactly like a human mother would, touching their faces....

Here you find an extract of the film.
And here some of the thoughts behind the film and the technology that was needed to swim like a fish with fishes...
And here som incredible photos from the film, some from behind the scenes, so you see the mini helicopter for example...

Shopping in Saint-Jean-de-Luz with the girls

The rain was pouring down, but more was needed to keep us from pursuing our long time set mission to go to Saint-Jean-de-Luz for the last days of after Christmas sales! The idea was anyway to spend more time in the shops than outside...

We did find some real bargains. I bought some short boots for 20 euros, the girls found lovely white tops with dentelles... We did the whole rue Gambetta, the main shopping street, and on a side street we found a workshop/shop called Atelier Manufactoum where they make beautiful things in leather and tissue, like bags, bracelets.... The owner comes from Hermès, which shows in the details and the finish.

We had lunch at the basque restaurant Chez Kako where we sat down at the wooden table in a typical bistro feeling, joyful noise, people almost touching each other at the tables. We had parrillada de poisson, an assortment of three different fried fish with mushroom risotto.... need I say more... 10,50 euros including coffee!

To finish off the day we then headed to the shopping centre i Bayonne called BAB2. I found a lovely blue silk dress, a skirt for five euros... and we had such a good time just chatting and commenting each others outfits... I already look forward to our next time to go shopping, this time for the new spring collections...!

The beach, a world of its own

Marram grass and buckwheat around it

Seriously, when it's raining this much, you need some beach nostalgia more than anything else. Let's go back to the Contis beach and have a closer look! Because at first, when you see that long white beach stretching out, it’s like a desert. Just sand, nothing else. But when you start looking, there are many things to discover, both animal and vegetal.
The Atlantic coastal area in my region, Landes, is to a great extent a protected area. The balance between then sandy shore and the pine forest next to it is fragile. The plants have a hard time growing in the salty air in the sand, but they play an important role to maintain the sand dunes in place and avoid the sand from spreading further inland.

Another important role is played by that disgraceful debris you see washed up on the beach. A mix of dead crabs, wood and algae. It's no pretty sight, but it gives food and protection to a whole world of small animals that live on the beach and to the birds.

The sand beach is a particular landscape, very beautiful when you look closer. Please respect the signs to protect it, do not pick any plants or flowers from the dunes and don’t walk outside the indicated paths - to keep this beautiful place as it is!

Along the coast you can find 300 different kinds of crustacean. Some examples from Clara’s collection.

Sea spurge

Prickly saltwort, I believe

Sea holly

Swedish ladies night at Lycée Hôtelier

Yesterday I went to a Swedish ladies night out at the Lycée hôtelier in Biarritz. We usually meet at somebody’s place, but this time we wanted to support the education of the future generation of fine hotel employees. Dinner was delicious, the discussions animated but the highlight of the evening was to observe the students!

First, when I arrive, I’m greeted at the reception with the two biggest smiles I have seen for a good while. I smiled back and walked on to the bar. Four youngsters lined up behind an impressive bar all watch me arrive, smile and greet me. I almost giggled, but at the same time, it IS very nice to be met with attention. I felt like a VIP!

In the restaurant they were all disguised... I mean, dressed very nicely... but you could see that the younger ones were not totally comfortable....

The menu changes every night and you need to reserve a table in advance. Lunch is 15 euros, dinner 24 euros. I had a small crème brulée with parmesan and tomato, then duck liver and apple in a brick (photo), followed by a millefeuille with pilgrim mussels. Dessert was chocolate filled macaroons with mascarpone ice-cream. Truly delicious!

Horseriding in the ocean waves

There are plenty of places to go horseriding nearby and I've been wanting for ages to go riding by the ocean... but most places only accept experienced riders for those outings.

Our guide Philippe

But in September 2009 I managed do make my dream come pretty much true... with Nadine, a friend, and Philippe, the owner of Atlantic Equitation in Contis, situated about two kilometers from the sea. Just by looking at my photo I think you understand that Philippe is a superguide, passionate about his horses and about this region.

On one of those beautiful days he took us through a haven of pine trees with heather and ferns. The calm of the forest, the smell of the pine trees. Heaven.

Then we arrived at the Contis stream, a stream that gathers several small water streams and lead up to the ocean. We took the horses through the water in the stream, with water upp to our thighs, all the way up to the dunes and the ocean... glittering in the sun. Suddenly the salty smell of the ocean, the wind in our hair. The horses walked out in the waves of the ocean and we just.... sat there in AWE, holding on to a very precious moment. There is no picture from that moment, because Philippe didn't want us, beginners, to go galopping on the beach and that was exactly what the horses wanted to do, so I held on firmly to my reins! But for me, this moment will stay in my head for a long, long time...

Here I have my back to the ocean and look at the Contis stream. The water is low so the boats are a bit tipped

We galopped several times on the way back home, but shorter distances in the forest, which honestly probably was enough of an adrenaline kick for me anyway... but I still dream of galopping away on the beach one day!

The next day, another magical sunny day, I returned with the children.

Clara on top of a blockhaus, left by the Germans since they tried to protect the shore during the second world war.

Somebody out fishing

Details of the stone wall that keeps the Contis stream in place. All the streams leading out to the ocean, except one, Courant d'Huchet, are kept in place like this, because otherwise they move south every year because of the Golf stream current.

The Contis lighthouse. The only lighthouse along the Landes coast. During summertime it is open for visitors and if you walk up the 196 steps you have a mighty view as a reward!

Contis is a small sea resort. Perect if you are in for a quiet family vacation, swimming in the ocean, riding on your bike. 

Zaho sings Je te promets

I promise to you.... one of the most beautiful songs from 2009.... Dima, the album, is from 2008 but this song was on the charts 2009. And the clip is beautiful too. Don't miss!
Je te promets

Salmon and sesame seeds

Sorry about the many food postings! Really, I thought I would write about philosophy and history, but food just keeps popping up! But that's what it's like to live in France. We eat a lot of food, we talk a lot about food and we think a lot about food.

But this recipe isn't even French. It comes from a Swedish book with low glycemic index recipes for the whole family.... doesn't sound much fun, but don't worry. This is really good and fast enough for any mother with small children...

Cut fresh salmon in cubes and add some salt and white pepper. Dip them in a bowl with and egg and then in a bowl with about 1 dl of sesame seeds. Be generous with the sesame seeds! Fry the salmon cubes for 4-5 minutes (depending on their size and if you want a raw part in the middle or not). Done! Serve with whatever you like with your salmon. You can also try the same recipe with chicken, just fry them a bit longer.

If your Swedish is good enough, check out the book: GI för hela familjen by Ulrika Davidsson.

Drink Madiran wine and live longer

Red wine is supposed to be good for your cardiovascular health - in a moderate consumption pattern of course. But did you know that the Madiran wines are supposed to be healthier than the others? They presumeably contain twice as much of the healty ingredients as a normal red wine! This is one part of the French paradox, that Frenchmen stay slim and have fewer heart problems even though their diet is high in saturated fats. The other part, in my opinion, has to do with duck fat, but I'll get back to that.
According to Times, 30th of November 2006, the Madiran wines contain 2-4 times more of procyanidines compared to other red wines. That means that two small glasses of wine daily, is enough to lower a high blood pressure. Le Quotidien du medecin, a French medicine magazine, said in December 2006 that these ingredients are good for your heart too. The explanation to all this lies in the grape tannat.

The wine district Madiran is situated across three departements, Gers, Pyrénées Atlantiques and Landes, north of Pau in Aquitaine. Not in the mountains, but on hills where the vineyards benefit from a mild sea climate and clay mixed with chalk.

In the Madiran wine district, four kinds of grapes are allowed. First the famous tannat, which represent 40-50 percent of the total volume. The grape tannat gives the unique taste and structure to the wine. It is often mixed with cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, to obtain more softness and finesse. The fourth grape, fer servadou, is rarely used.

This dominating grape tannat makes the young Madiran pretty rough and tough. They need to be stored for at least 2-3 years before they are ready to be drunk. Madiran is actually the only wine with a compulsory storage of minimum one year. It is easy to get hooked on Madiran wine. The tannat grape has something special and once you get used to it... other wines easily seem.... bland. It is a wine that might seem too much on its own, when you are wine tasting without food, but try combining with some meat and you will understand what I mean by getting hooked!

In the same district you will also find a white wine, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, a very nice white wine that is close to the Jurançon wines in taste. That hint of acidity that does it! The grapes allowed are arrufiac, gros manseng, petit manseng, courbu, sauvignon and sémillon. The dry white wines have a hint of acidity and a freshness that I adore. The half dry and sweet ones still have that acidity but coupled with aromas of almond and exotic fruits. The sweet wines are obtained by letting the grapes dry out on the branches, concentrating the aromas... but do not mix them up with the dried Sauternes grapes, rottened by a mushroom... these ones are simply dried.

Tannat photo from Wikipedia

Winter is over

Maybe not really, but I found three beautiful spring flowers in our garden. Yellow crocus, to let us know that spring is coming...

Birthday snack

We don't do birthday parties here. We have birthday snacks! Goûter d'anniversaire in French. In my old home country Sweden, we had birthday parties and, most important, birthday cakes. A cake with some kind of filling and lots of whipped cream and strawberries on top! Here, the birthday cake is just a cake!

A happy 8-year-old

So with my neighbour we organised a typical birthday snack for her Ana and my Clara. 14 participants, lots of gifts, a treasure hunt where the treasures were little paper bags with some candy, two organised games, a birthday song with candles to blow and some dancing.... three hours passed quickly!

Young breakdancer

My husband asked me to be more precise: children have birthday snacks, adults birthday parties!

Eat your soup!

Yesterday, since it was her birthday, I asked Clara what she wanted to have for dinner. I want soup, she said. This might sound a bit strange, but if I tell you I usually serve crêpes or waffles as dessert with the soup, maybe you understand her choice. This time I even made some whipped cream to go with the crêpes and the strawberry jam.... This is a classic win-win situation. I get them to eat vegetable soup, the children get crêpes and everybody is very happy.

Onion soup has always been French onion soup to me. I still remember my first onion soup with that slice of bread on top and lots of melted cheese. Yummy! I still love onion soup. But it took me a while to realise that Frenchmen eat a lot of soup. You don't see it at once, because it is a family thing. Like my husband's family. When he was a child, they would have a vegetable soup for starters every day!

Maybe the soup eating habit is declining..my husband says it's more a thing of the generation of his parents... but when you enter a French supermarket, you will be astonished by the variety of readymade soup in packs of 1 litre, like the ones on the photo.  Of course a home made soup is better, but I always keep a couple of ready made soups at home, for those days when cooking need to be faster than fast....

Link to a recipe for French onion soup.

First and last fashion info

I'm no fashion victim. Those who know me, know I'm more on the evil side of the fashion thing... maybe getting a bit better now, with bigger children, but still far from a trendy woman. But I sometimes read blogs about fashion. Or more, I watch the photos. Like modern art.

And one of them really stands out. And she writes in English too. Love her writing, love her photos. Ladies and gentlement, I give you Garance Doré! If this is any news to you, it means you're just as bad as me.... don't forget to look at the comments, she gets them by the hundreds...

By the way, her boyfriend is the Sartorialist. What a couple... he's doing those amazing photographs. They both make me want to express myself more...

Dingue dingue dingue with Christophe Maé

You love him or hate him. I can't get this song out of my head! Dingue means crazy, mad or incredible. In this song he is mad, mad, mad about a girl... and the video is funny.

Oyster love - how to order oysters

Let’s imagine you have decided to try oysters – maybe after reading my story. You open the menu.... and realise that just asking for oysters will not be enough. You have to be more specific. Frenchmen are not difficult about food – yeah sure - but they are very precise.

Let me guide you through the three basic parts of determining what oysters to order. First of all you need to know that oysters are classified by size from 0-5, where 0 is the biggest and 5 the smallest. The most demanded size is 3 - not too big, not too small – and also my personal preference. If you hesitate, take the smaller size.
Next step is to understand the other classification, which basically takes into account the part of meat compared to the weight of the whole oyster. On the menu you will see:

• huîtres fines : flat oysters with a quota between 6,5 and 10,5;
• huîtres spéciales : quota above 10,5 ;
• huîtres fines de claire: the oysters have been in clear water for at least one month with 40 oysters per m2;
• huîtres spéciales de claire : the oysters have been in clear water for 4-5 months with 5-10 oysters per m2

Third step is to choose the origin of your oysters. Different breeding places give different taste. Do you want an oyster from Bretagne, from Arcachon, from Marenne-Oléron….? I would say you have to try different origins to see what pleases you the most, but basically the flat oyster comes from Bretagne and the southeast of France and they have a saltier taste with more iodine, while the Japanese oyster is the most common elsewhere. From the Arcachon bay in Aquitaine the most reputed ones come from the Arguin sandbank, the breeding place that is the closest to the open sea.

The best time for eating oysters is late autumn until early spring. In summer the oysters get milky due to their reproduction and the taste is not so good. If they suggest oysters called Quatre Saisons, because you can eat them all year, you should know that they are genetically modified and cannot reproduce. Personally I prefer to follow the seasons and eat normal oysters!

Sorry, this got a bit long…. I’ll make a new post to talk about the next step, what to do when you finally have that platter of oysters in front of you...

Open Japanese oyster photo from Wikipedia

Merqueyssac, 150 000 hand-pruned boxwoods

Or when somebody completely goes nuts! You can really ask some questions about where the idea of creating this came, but the result is awesome. This is a truly magical place. And the view is incredible.

I'm talking about the Merqueyssac garden, close to Roque Gageac, in the Dordogne region. According to tradition the garden was designed by the famous gardener Le Nôtre. But it is the owner of the castle from 1861, Julien de Cerval, who created most of today's garden by planting tens of thousands of buxboms. He was a passionate lover of gardens and inspired from travels to Italy. After his death, the gardens grew wild and it took a hefty renovation project to restore them and open them for the public in 1997. And five fulltime working gardeners just for the ongoing pruning work...

I was quite hesitating about going here. A garden, how interesting can it be? Especially with the children. But David at our hotel in Sarlat insisted and told me I would not regret going there. He was right, I believe almost anyone can be fascinated by the madness of the project and the beauty of the resulting romantic garden on top of a spur overlooking the Dordogne valley and some of the most famous villages around.

We walked through the gardens all the way to the view point, about a kilometre. From that spot you have a vast view over Roque Gageac, Beynac, Domme and the Castelnaud castle. Sublime.

Seemed silly, but I really appreciated the little bus that came to pick us up and took us back to the castle. There we passed the café terrace that looked lovely. Next time I would love to come back on a Thursday evening in summer, when they lit up the whole garden with thousands of candles along the pathways.

Official site for the Merqueyssac gardens

The gardens measure 22 hectares and includes over 6 km of walking paths. Open every day the whole year. The gardens are situated in Vézac. Possible to walk around with a light buggy, like I did. And the children loved the labyrinths created by the buxboms...

Photos of the gardener and the candles: Laugéry.

Txotx to you!

Rembember I told you that I love January. There's the oysters, the galette des rois and then there's the beginning of the cidrerie season! Cidrerie is a phenomenon unique for the Pays Basque. If I have to be really honest, the best ones are on the Spanish side.. But the cider here has nothing to do with the Breton sweet cider. The basque cider is more like apple wine. It is done with a mix of apples that are sweet, acid and bitter, which gives a drink that surprises at first, but then becomes addictive.

In the beginning there were the apple orchards in the Pays Basque. After the harvest in september-october, the cider was ready to drink beginning of January. They organised cider tasting, but of course you cannot only drink, you need to eat something. The people would bring their own meat, some eggs, walnuts to accompany the cider. Little by little the tradition grew and real restaurants developed around the barrels of cider. The season starts in January and ends when the barrels are empy, which usually occurs by the end of April. People come in busloads to enjoy the typical cidrerie menu, which consists of cod omelette, chuleta (côte de boeuf), fried cod with vegetables. Dessert is quince marmelade served with cheese and whole walnuts. And the real traditional ones still accept that you bring your own meat, like in the old days.... Sometimes you don't get your own plate, but everybody share the serving plate!

I think you start to get the idea, a cidrerie is a place where you go dressed in jeans, settle in at a big wooden table with benchen, prepared for a very festive and happy moment!

The cider is normally served à volonté, which means that you can drink as much as you want. It is served straight from the barrels. Every time they open a new barrel, they shout txotx, which means cork. When they take out the cork the cider starts flowning and everybody line up to fill their glasses. Don't fill it too much, the cider should be drunk at once and you will want to try different barrels. They each contain a different mix of apples and thus a different taste. Usually the mood is very festive with lots of laughing and singing..... !! Nothing better than a night at a cidrerie to forget the dark winternight outside...

You'll only find cidrerie in Pays Basque, most on the Spanish side but some on the French side. Today there are also restaurants called cidrerie than work like normal restaurants, with à la carte and cider served in a bottle. That can be very nice too, but it's not the real thing.
I've tried a couple of different ones. One is five kilometers from Sao Sebastian i Spain, Saizar. Best chuleta I have ever had, and believe me, my standards are set extremely high. By midnight there was general singing of Spanish songs.
Like I said, the cider has a freshness and a hint of bitterness that surprises at first, but when you have gotten used to it, no way you go back to sweet cider. The alcohol rate is about five percent. Remember that the Spanish eat late if you want to book a table. Don't even try to book before 9PM!

Some adresses: Listing of cidreries in the Guipuzcoa region in the north part of Spanish Pays Basque. Txopinondo, a cidrerie in Ascain, close to Saint-Jean-de-Luz. I've been told it's a good place to go. Cidrerie Aldakurria, don't know about it, but the site talks about a traditional cidrerie and their own apple orchards, so it sounds promising. Cidrerie Chez Txotx, in Biarritz and Bayonne. Good food and atmosphere, but not a really traditional cidrerie. Cidrerie du Fronton in Arbonne. My friend Mathilde who lives there recommends it. Cidrerie Ttipia in Bayonne, my husband was there with some friends and he liked it.

Photos: Plate with chuleta, glasses of cider, restaurant room and dessert.

Promis by Emmanuel Moire

What a voice, what a presence. Great artist. He became known in France after participating in the musical Roi Soleil, Sun King, about Louis XIV.

She loves food and Bordeaux

Stella de la Rhune is the pseudonym for Hélène Frebourg. She lives in Lacanau, just outside Bordeaux, and spends a lot of time in Bordeaux. Enjoying good food is one of her favourite activities... and she works to create links between the producers of food and the consumers! I love what she does and her incredible energy!

She is responsible for an association called Club Networking & Gourmandise (Gluttony) ,  where people linked to food in various ways, meet, eat and mingle...

In a recent post she put a list of good links if you want to learn more about Bordeaux. For those who do not read French, I've translated some of them:

The wine seller Oenolimit, situated on the square Fernand Laffargue. Ambitious and eager to let you discover new and fresh wines from Bordeaux! The site was not finished when I checked it.
The guide books Féret, where Bruno Boidron serves as a history guide. Partly in English.
The Bordeaux wine commity CIVB. To learn more about wine and how to drink wine. In English
Bordeaux wine school. In English.
Bordeaux tourist office. In English.
The Town Hall site. In French
The Mayor's Alain Juppé blog. I have read some posts and it was interesting. I believe French politics have a long way to go to learn how to use the internet to their advantage. Juppé, a man that has defined many aspects of modern Bordeaux, seems to be one of the ones the most up to date.  In French, obviously.
CUB the urban community of Bordeaux. Here you can follow some of the big future projects for Bordeaux, like a new bridge across the river Garonne or the extension of the railway station area. In French.
Tourisme in Gironde. In English.
Tourisme Aquitaine. In English.

I want them all dead

I didn't exactly grow up on a farm. I'm more of a citygirl than I ever would like to admit. Now I live in a small village, more on the countryside and sometimes nature comes a bit too close...

When we moved here I soon realised that we had a problem with moles. Easy to spot molehills, those mounds of earth on a line in your garden.... Of course, in the beginning I wanted to try the soft approach. Those cute little moles!  Get them away from the garden, but not kill them, just scare them. We tried vibrating sticks, putting smelly garlic and as time went on, the moles were becoming less cute in my mind. I decided to take a more muscled approach to the problem and started documenting myself on the subject.

It was like entering Alice world of wonders, full of myths and legends, never knowing what is true or false. The remedies suggested were all fantastic... put broken glass in their holes, they bleed to death even with a small scratch.... pee in the holes, they can't stand the smell of humans... and so on and so on.

After a scientific search, examining various methods including explosives, poison and smoke, I concluded that traps seemed to be the best method to catch them. To kill them. Forget about being nice, this is us or the mole.... But so far they elude me. I retrieve the traps closed, but with no mole. Except one. So far....

To be continued.

Photo from Wikipedia

Bordeaux on French television

The other day there was an excellent program on TF1, one of the major French television channels, about Bordeaux. In fifteen minutes they showed many beautiful images from Bordeaux and talked about both its glorious history and modern Bordeaux. Bordeaux has a reputation to be a calm city, so I liked that they showed a more joyful and lively view of the city, by mentioning the many concert locals for example.

They also talked about the importance of Bordeaux as a harbour and how slave traffic enriched the city during the 17th century. This part has been hushed down for obvious reasons, but it remains an important part of the history of the city. Finally they talked, of course, about the wine industry. Today it faces a big crisis with 20% less in foreign sales for the 12 000 winemakers in Bordeaux.

Take a look even if you don't understand French, the pictures are very nice!
TV program on TF1 about Bordeaux

The photo shows the bridge Pont de Pierre by night.

French kissing

I'll never forget what happened on the first morning of my first visit to France. I was staying in a family with a daughter about my age. The first morning she came up to greet me, put out her head in front of her and tipped it on the side. It looked completely ridiculous and for two or three very long seconds, I didn’t understand what she was doing. My mind was racing as I tried to figure out how to react. Then I realised, she wants to greet me with cheek kissing!

I felt extremely foolish. Especially since my French teacher had talked about French greetings.

Now I knew I had to cheek kiss, but it takes time to get into the finer details. How many kisses? One on each cheek, like most Parisians do, or a third one like people in Bretagne.... or even four, like in the south? And which cheek do you start with? Remember not to touch the cheek, the kissing is done in the air, with your cheek barely touching the other person's cheek.

One of our French friends always goes for four kisses - making the most of it!  Smack!

Penne d'Agenais, plum flowers in the French Tuscany

The medieval village Penne d’Agenais in Lot-de-Garonne lies on top of a cliff that can be seen miles away. The village has been at the centre of many fights for power during the centuries.

It is early evening in March, the light is fading. As we come closer to Penne d’Agenais we see fields and forest in this softly rolling landscape. Along the road there are hundreds and thousands of plum trees blooming. The white flowers float in the darkness. So beautiful. Suddenly a rock towers in front of us. That is Penne with the silhouette of the Peyragude basilica.

We're here to visit Kristina, the Swedish mother of a French friend from school. Her father participated in the Bernadotte White Buses Mission during spring 1945, saving the lives of hundreds of Frenchmen. Revisiting one of those grateful men she met her future husband in Cannes, where she married at nineteen.

When I discovered Lot-et-Garonne I was already divorced, says Kristina. I came here to help a friend that was moving here, found an old farm from the 18th century and decided to stay. It took me years to carefully restore it. This region is called the French Tuscany, because we have the same flowing hills, rich fields and wine yards.

Saturday morning Kristina takes us to the market in Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Around the place the houses have several different fronts. We admire the beautifully presented vegetables and fruits. We arrive in Penne just in time for lunch and at Kristina’s favourite restaurant, Le Peyragude, we have a wonderful meal. The restaurant fills up quickly and the sound of the voices rises! Many seem at home here, like they come often.

Then we go for a walk up the steep streets, up to the basilica Peyragude. Next to it you find the ruins of the Lionheart castle. The children are fascinated by the ruins, the caves under it and most of all, by the 30 meter deep well where they supposedly threw their enemies to meet a slow death! From the basilica the view stretches far out over the fields and the hills. Kristina tells me that many artists and craftsmen are attracted by Penne.

We rest with a coffee at Café des Arts and decide to make a last quick stop at Pujols before heading home. Pujols is on the list of the 100 most beautiful villages in France. It lies high, but on top of a plateau. When I take a picture of a house covered in flowers, the owner walks out. Sorry, I was just admiring your house. No problem, we are used to it, he answers.

For our next visit Kristina has many suggestions for things to do. Rent a boat and go for a trip on any of the rivers Lot, La Garonne or Baìse. There are over 200 km of water to explore. Or visit the kingdom of water lilies in Latour-Marliac. They delivered the flowers to the famous lily pond for Monet in Paris. For your stay, try Kristina's place, Al Cross, five minutes from Penne. Go there before she sells it, to her regret she is getting too old to maintain such a big house - see ad.

Tourist office in Penne d’Agenais
Tourist office in Villeneuve-sur-Lot

The children and the ruins of Richard Lionheart's castle