Category Archives: France If you Google “French” and “food” you will get chapter and verse on culinary artistry, precision techniques, high-quality ingredients, and deep cultural significance. On my first trip to France – many, many years ago – I was working for some friends at a small auberge in Parignargues. There, I was introduced to concept of the […]  It is like stepping into the past – but with artists’ ateliers, boutique shops, and great coffee! Saint-Cirq Lapopie is a heritage-listed medieval village in the southwest of France. Located on a steep cliff, 100m above the Lot River, it originally served as a defensive and administrative centre for one of the local viscomtés – […]  The Lot is the longest tributary river in France. Its source is high in the Cévennes, from where it winds around 485 kilometres (301 mi) in a mostly westerly direction across south-central France, flowing into the Garonne near Aiguillon in the southwest. From the Middle Ages until into the 20th century, the river was the […]  I love how European cities have protected their historic centres. And, I love how one doesn’t have to forgo any modern creature comforts to enjoy these old quarters! Cahors, near Toulouse in the Occitan Region of Southern France, features an old-town centre of half-timbered houses, Renaissance windows, and narrow alleyways. I had never heard of […]  The charming medieval town of Cahors in the Occitan Region of Southern France was full of delightful surprises. The centrepiece of the town is the beautiful St. Étienne Cathedral, a refuge on the famous Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage, and – along with the Valentré Bridge (see: A Pilgrim Pathway and a Medieval Bridge) – a […] |
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