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SPRING TIME

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 11:27:43 GMT

How it has been in south-west France

This springtime this year in the Lot et Garonne has been one of the best we have ever known with a sequence of flowers in the countryside and gardens that has taken our breath away. Perhaps it is a plant reaction to the sequential heat-waves we had last year. Plants flower bountifully when stressed as a way of compounding chances of survival. Here are some examples of my garden over the weeks in May. My peony even sprouted a new colour flower like a cross pollination.

Other images are those taken on walks with local walking groups, distances of 8 to 12 kilometers a time through wooded glades, beside burbling streams and rocky cliffs, undulating farmland and forest, beside vineyards. We see animals, landscape, flowers, historic buildings and at this time of year wild orchids.

One weekend we walked in a group with the association ‘Bien Vivre a Villeréal’ which arranges a walk with a professional for each season. So we had a botanist who identified and explained flowers, plants and trees to us and talked of medical uses, properties and characteristics. We covered only a few kilometres very close to home but with a depth of observation which we rarely have. Next time it will be comestible plants.

In Marseillan, spring is a time to see flamingos returning to the far reaches of the Etang. That too is very special even if not well captured on photo due to their shyness.

Marseillan and area

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 18:34:24 GMT

Marseillan and area

Marseillan is on the Mediterranean coast of France on the inside edge of an inland sea, once of interest for salt commerce and now a renowned area for the ‘coquillage’ fishery, especially enormous oysters and mussels. There is nothing nicer than sitting in a small restaurant by a port sipping the local ‘Picpoul’ and eating fish. The coastline is marshy and home to a great variety of flowers and wildlife. Travelling to and from the beach you might see a small group of flamingos balanced on one leg, feeding in the middle of the water.

Marseillan, like its neighbour Agde, was founded by Greeks about 200 B.C. Buildings date from 800 years ago when the city wall was constructed and still dictates the plan of the town. The Cap d’Agde offers spectacular coastline walking along rocky volcanic cliffs and also has a marine archaeology museum showing everything they have and continue to dredge up from the sea and the Herault river. There is also a Roman villa in the locality, and a museum of pre-history and dinosaurs on the actual site where numerous dinosaur eggs have been found.

The Canal du Midi which runs from the Atlantic ocean to the Mediterranean and is navigable by pleasure boats, passes by Agen, Lot-et-Garonne and ultimately opens into the Etang near Marseillan and is a world heritage site. It is worth visiting to see locks in operation and cycling on the canal paths or taking a boat trip.

Marseillan is home to the produce of ‘Noilly Prat’ a fortified herbal martini-type wine, known worldwide as the ‘chef’s secret’ and visits to the chai are recommended. There are organized walks to the ‘garrigue’, the landscape of olive trees, vineyards, thyme, and cicadas, hot and arid, a museum of flora and fauna and sailing lessons. Sports lovers can play tennis, basketball, beach games in Marseillan Plage, arrange for sea-sports such as wind-surfing, para-surfing, walk or cycle.

All of the port villages have water jousting contests over the summer and festivals with fireworks, music and dancing, parades and always food, a french obsession.

There are 100 kilometres of golden beaches along the Mediterranean coast near Marseillan and many different beaches to choose from including naturist beaches.

ACTIVITIES

Sète lies on the outside of the Etang connecting the inland sea with the Mediterranean by a canal through the middle of the city where the fishing port has many restaurants along the canal and also a tiny old fishing ‘quarter’ well worth visiting, ‘La Pointe Courte’. At Sète you can take a trip around the Etang and the oyster beds in glass bottomed boats. Tours of the Etang are also possible from Marseillan and Marseillan Plage.

For the big city feel including theatre, opera, concerts and ballet as well as fascinating tours of the interior of old mansions, there is no better place than the University city of Montpellier, only 40 kilometres from Marseillan.

Closer by is the elegant city of Pézenas, largely 18 ^th . century, home to Molière and the locale for most of his premières and replete with masses of antique shops. In this area are also annual antique fairs attended by the serious dealers but open to individuals as well .

Wine-tasting in the Languedoc is particularly enjoyable as this is a region of fast-developing wines of exceptional quality for their price. There are numerous chateaux many in a domain or a ‘Mas’ and also co-operative caves attached to the villages.

Further afield is more mountainous scenery, which affords interesting walks and days out. There are many historic villages, abbeys, caves with spectacular stalactites and stalagmites and wonderful panoramas. There is canoeing and fishing on the rivers.

For those who would like a taste of Spain while staying in Marseillan, Barcelona is only three hours away on the autoroute and the journey there passes through Fougueres where there is a magnificent Dali museum.

Villereal and Issigeac

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 18:23:50 GMT

Villeréal and area - a land of vineyards, plum trees and sunflowers

The South West of France is a land of vineyards and plum trees, sunflowers and soft rolling landscape with wonderful views. It is peppered with medieval villages and ancient towns, many of them among ‘the most beautiful villages of France’, a national appellation not easily obtained. Getting to your destination is often a lengthy affair because of the constant visual surprise and beckoning detours. Before GPS’s were available you could readily lose yourself in ‘La France Profonde’with undulating open countryside with vast panoramas, chateaux and abbey churches as the centres of villages, historic buildings along the river banks speaking to a history of water transport before roads and rails.

Villeréal in the Lot-et-Garonne is a great example of a ‘bastide’ town, one of the new towns of the 13 ^th . century built for security and commerce by both the English and the French during the Hundred Years War and subject to many changes of ownership! The English involvement is not new here! The immediate area boasts many wonderful ‘bastides’ such as Monpazier, Monflanquin, Beaumont, Domme, all worth visiting, all very original and each unique.

As Villereal is situated on the borders of the Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne departments the great rivers of the Dordogne, Lot and their tributaries and the country they encompass are accessible within a day. The Dordogne is more hilly and wooded than the Lot-et-Garonne and presents a different style and colour in houses and roofs. Close by is Issigeac in the Dordogne, with its narrow medieval streets and well preserved houses with overhangs, beside the summer palace of the Bishop of Sarlat. It is like a small film set and a great stepping stone to the more northerly parts of the department. It is particularly lovely on Sunday when it hosts an excellent market.

Villeréal, the local village, was founded in 1269 by Alphonse de Poitiers for the king of France. It is renowned for its fortified church, the covered market square ‘Les Halles’ and the state of preservation of the ‘cornières’ or covered walkways around the square.

Villeréal offers all the amenities of a small town, including banks, a post office, a butchers’ shop, a pottery, supermarkets, hardware store, hairdressers, pharmacy, hotel and restaurants, a church, library and a computer centre. It is the location of a ‘haras’ or horse-breeding stable and jockey school and has a horse-racing track with regular events, many by night in the summer.

Throughout the year there are special events such as the ‘Bodega’ in July with street music, food and dancing throughout the centre of the village, the parade and blessing of the horses, the monthly antique fairs, weekly night markets in the summer at which you can hear traditional music and sample local foods buying your supper to eat under the covered market where tables are laid out. There is a theatre festival, a jazz festival, an astronomy festival during the year.

The ‘maison de tourisme’ is on site to give you all the information you need and there is also a comprehensive collection of tourist information in the house.

ACTIVITIES

Festivals of film, music, dance, theatre, folklore, jazz, pottery and local themes such as truffles, garlic, wine, prunes, occur throughout the year. Every town and village has their annual celebration usually lasting 1-2 days and showcasing the locale, the history, the traditions, and the cuisine. Most involve a communal meal and dancing in the main square and are open to all visitors. Usually reservations are needed for specific events such as a banquet at a medieval festival or a concert in a church.

In the area are small museums dedicated to specific themes or artists, such as Zadkine, history of the bastides, the prune industry in the Agenais, foie gras, truffles, local history, old agricultural implements and techniques, miniatures, pre-history, Roman remains. There are always many art exhibitions.

The history of the region goes back millennia to Neolithic times with troglodytic villages and houses to visit and caves with Neolithic paintings and impressive rock formations. Visits to caves with original paintings may need to be booked ahead of time as there is a limit on the number of visitors allowed per day at Font de Gaume (Dordogne) or Pech Merle (Lot). We would be happy to do the booking for you.

Activities include wine tasting in the chateaux of Bergerac and Pecharmant (a special sub-appellation of Bergerac producing a rich wine not well-known as the terroir is small and not able to be marketed in large quantity) Duras and Cahors.

For sports-lovers there is horse-riding, canoeing, caving, cycling (bikes are available for hire locally), walking, swimming in lakes and rivers, fishing with a short-term permit, hot-air ballooning, golf and tennis. We can put you in touch with organisations if you wish to fix things up before you come.

Children are easily entertained in the area. The local goat farm is always happy to show people their production. There is a donkey farm that offers rides. ‘Parc en Ciel’ is a theme park for young children and adolescents and there are acrobatic woodland courses in the area as well as a water park ‘Walibi’ at Agen. Children and adults can often practise old artisan skills such as calligraphy, archery, stone cutting, fresco painting or observe artisans at work on festival days. Finding a family consensus for a day may be difficult with so many options to choose from.