Guest Post: Our visit to the South West of France

What an August!

Our lives have been so busy the last month - going to France; our 10-year anniversary; Margot going back to school, that Jen has barely had time to think, let alone blog. So, to help her get back in the swing of things again she's asked me (Simon) to write a guest post to give some of the highlights of our amazing trip to France at the end of July/start of August.

Where to begin...

Well you should first know that the only reason we chose to visit this part of the world was to visit our friends, Bex and Fanf, and their children. We've been planning this trip for three years now and the stars finally aligned and off we went. This is one of the few times we've had a mission when we've travelled and I really liked it. We ended up planning our trip around our friends and discovering all these cool sites that you never hear about in the guide books.

But to take a step back...

Our trip was really divided into three parts.

Part 1: Ste. Croix.

The first three nights of our trip we stayed in an eco-house in the country surrounded by sunflowers.  In the day we spent a few hours visiting the nearby hilltop towns and Albi, the home of Toulouse-Lautrec. That was nice, but my favourite time was the afternoon and evening where we just relaxed, played with Margot and drank wine. The perfect introduction to France.

Part 2: Beziers

The heart of our trip. We spent six nights in the Beziers area and saw lots of great local sites - from Roman Ruins to ruined castles in the mountains to the Canal du Midi. But I think what made the visit so special was seeing our friends. Margot got along instantly with Owen and Matilda and made sure little Nell didn't get into too much trouble ("Oh Nellllll..." - sorry inside joke). In the evenings, while they reenacted "Frozen" on the terrace of a local restaurant, Jen, Bex, Fanf and I enjoyed wine and just talked.... the last time we met (and the first time we met Fanf) was in 2008. So much life has happened in between! When time came to leave Jen had tears in her eyes of course (oh my Jen!) but maybe the next visit won't be as far apart as the last. There's no law against visiting France again...!

Part 3: The Pyrenees

The last couple of nights in France we spent in the foothills of the mountains separating France and Spain. This is another beautiful region and worthy of its own trip on its own. We saw prehistoric cave art, Cathar castles and got lost driving up a mountain (heart...pounding...can't...bre...athe..). That's ok. Our little Citroen got us home safe and sound.

So that's it. Not even a fraction of our adventure. But hopefully it gave you a taste of what we experienced.

Thank you to Bex and Fanf for everything! It was perfect.