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We stayed with my belle-mère (mother-in-law) when we first arrived in France. After three weeks, we finally moved into our own place in the Ardèche department. The Ardèche is known for its stunning scenery, including rolling hills, vineyards, and forests. We…
Closing a restaurant, selling our belongings, and giving them away; packing and cleaning up the house for renters was an exhausting experience. I worried for months about how the cats, Toby and Summer, would travel, hoping that they wouldn’t be relegated…
While I’m anticipating our next trip to France, I’m thinking of the places where we visited during our last stay. In fact, we visiting some very interesting and fun villages and sites, but I neglected to post anything about them. Why? I’m ashamed to say it, but here goes: I was mad that I had to leave! Yes, I said it. It’s true. I didn’t want to think about it once I returned home. Not that normal life is bad – to the contrary, there is a lot to feel grateful for. We live in beautiful San Francisco, have a great house, a happy family, etc. But driving down the street while I do errands I might see any number of cute places and I think, “Oh, that would be fun to hang out there” and then I think, “When…?” Lack of time is a very real dilemma and a big reason to wish
Take butter for instance. There are so many brands: President, Montfleuri, Elle & Vivre, Grand Fermage, Reflets de France, le Marin, Paysan Breton, and the supermarket’s own brand, Carrefour. Whew, I may have even missed some. Within all those brands,…
What do puppets and tooth extraction have in common? Imagine a crowd has gathered on the street in Lyon, in about the year 1797; people laughing and clapping. You push forward to see what it’s all about and you see…
On a winding road from Lyon toward Saint-Étienne, hidden in the high craggy hills, sits a magical little stone village called Malleval. Although this area isn’t famous for shopping and glamorous fashion, what you will find is the picturesque charm…
Joyeuse is a medieval village in Ardèche, France. It’s hard to believe that its population is about 2,000, because on Wednesdays the village is bustling with visitors attending the largest market in Ardèche. The market is held every Wednesday and there are over 500…
Aubenas was our first stop in Ardèche. It’s a town in the southwest of France, with a population of about 12,000 people. We parked at a outdoor parking lot on the outskirts of the city center, and walked just a few…
Vogüé, which sits next to the Ardèche river, is officially one of the “Plus Beaux Villages de France”, or “Beautiful Village of France” and I found out why. If you love hidden passageways, charming little shops, castles perched atop hills and…
Sanilhac in the Ardèche is what we’d call “in the boonies”. It has a population of about 300 people and the setting is just beautiful. We stayed at La Bastide de Sanilhac and it was beautifully renovated, relaxing, and it had…
