First of all let me say I am not a naturist and have zero interest in wandering around in the nude. Further to that, if anyone had ever told me I’d spend a weekend at a naturist village I’d have laughed at them. Me, wandering around nude with other naked strangers? No, no way, never….
The voie vertes are a network of “green” routes suitable for walkers, cyclists, and horse riders, importantly traffic-free. The criss-cross across France usually following converted old railway lines, sometimes combined with sections of dedicated cycle-paths or footways. A relatively up-to-date map is shown here on the official af3v website. We are lucky enough to have…
This is a great walk if you’re short of time or looking for something short – but challenging – you can take your time over. It’s a great “mountain” walk for small people too: you get the hard part out of the way first (lots of nice places to stop), amazing views at the top,…
This is a ride graded Blue on the VTT Aude Pyrenees website. It’s listed under their Circuit Sportif category, which means “Sports Circuit”, in contrast to the other two categories, which translate as “Family Tours” and “Rolling Circuits”. Having figured that out, I’d say that explain a lot! The Start The route starts in Esperaza…
When we first had the idea to move here permanently it was 28 degrees, a very warm evening in early autumn. We were sitting on a sunny terrace looking across a quiet valley with the sun just starting to set in the distance. The classic holiday promo shot. We really weren’t thinking about winter at…
We’re 6 years into our move. Personally I still feel very much like a visitor – an “etranger”. While my French ability has improved there is rarely a day when I’m not introduced to some cultural difference that would never have occurred to me before relocating. Don’t get me wrong: I totally love the French…
After last year’s microadventure there was no way we were getting through the next summer holiday without trying something different, but one of my children wasn’t keen on the idea of it just being the three of us – so I hatched a plan with a friend, who was also keep to try the same…
In Part 1 I wrote about our experience of cycling to the campsite on the first day – the “there” part of our microadventure along the voie verte from Foix to Saint Girons in the Ariege. We’re pretty familiar with our local voie verte so for this microadventure I wanted to venture further afield and…
Summer holidays means microadventures! After a few single day rides on the more local-to-me Lavelanet-Mirepoix voie verte, I set my sights on a slightly bigger adventure for our 2021 holiday. The two smalls, now 5 and 7, have become confident cyclists and I was convinced they could manage it. The original plan was to go…
Anyone traveling to, within or living in France will be well aware that this week we’re in the midst of another canicule – but what is it? In short, a canicule is something along the lines of what English speakers usually refer to ask a “heat wave”, however to be defined as a canicule these…