La Rentrée

La Rentrée has just taken place here and it is a big event in France which is probably why they have a word for it and we don’t, relying instead on the rather more prescriptive phrase ‘back to school’. But here it doesn’t really just refer to the children, rather . . . → Read More: La Rentrée

Le Parc Naturel des Pyrénées (or the Pyrenees holiday park!)

When you have a house in southern France, it tends to fill up in the summers and most holidays with lots of friends and relatives, which is why we are always grateful that we live in the entertainment park that is the Pyrénées. Here our guests, whatever their ages or inclinations, are . . . → Read More: Le Parc Naturel des Pyrénées (or the Pyrenees holiday park!)

All quiet here in the foothills

Scenes of sunflowers and mountains instead of rioting here in the Haute Garonne

 

My French friends and neighbours have been, if anything more shocked than us to see the images on the news of the English rioting, looting and setting cars and shops alight. This just does not fit the stereotype of . . . → Read More: All quiet here in the foothills

The best of both worlds

The great thing about living right on the border of France and Spain is that, here in the Ariège and Haute Garonne, we get flavours of both cultures – with the emphasis on the best bits of each of course. Thus we have paella in the local markets and lots of Spanish . . . → Read More: The best of both worlds

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