The South of France

The South of France was wonderful! We stayed in a little village called Tressan in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Neither of us had stayed in this area of France before so we were excited to explore the area.

We were very nervous about the drive down because we'd be spending 6-8 hours in the car and in Hong Kong we hadn't managed to do more than half an hour in the car without a Maddy-meltdown - so we crossed all our fingers, held our breath, and prepared for the longest trip of our lives. But it was great!! Maddy slept most of the way and the countryside was just beautiful.

Driving under the trees

There were some great bridges! We crossed this one.

We even made time for a little pit stop - photo time!

Our "hotel" in Tressan was a French gîte called "The Pool House" because it was... a pool house. ;) The residence is owned by a lovely British lady named Carole, who made us feel welcome and at home right from the start. Click on the link to see more pictures and maybe get some ideas for your own travels. We highly recommend the place!

Sadly, the pool was just a tad too chilly for regular swimming although Derrald took a dip everyday. If Derrald could make a petronus, it would be a polar bear.

This baby. Just chillin'.

This was the first time we have stayed in a self contained unit style accommodation (ie with kitchen) and it was perrrrrrrfect. We cooked and cooked to our little hearts content. Okay, bread and cheese hardly requires much cooking... and that's mostly what we ate. Baguette and Camembert. But we also got sausage and mushrooms and asparagus and avocados in the market and picked wonderful wild fennel and rosemary from the garden to season everything. We never had to worry about bringing a baby into a restaurant, each of us juggling the little one while the other one shoves food into their face as quickly as possible. It was magnifique!

Our kitchen and romantic home dining. 

Carole has two lovely dogs. One so shy we never saw her after our initial arrival and this sweetie - Bardot - who liked to come visit. Here she is being Maddy's guard dog.

The only problem (depending how you look at it) with the Pool House is that it's wifi was down so we had to sit on Carole's front patio to get internet reception... which Derrald did daily of course. Maddy liked to have her own seat. So she had to get tied in. With my pashmina.

Sports Illustrated Dad? I don't think Mum would approve of this. You said you were looking for hotels in Barcelona...

I told him Mum! 

The area is known for vineyards and we were surrounded by them. Derrald even convinced me to wander among some of them, although I was sure we were trespassing and would get yelled off the property by some angry old Frenchman at any moment... Maddy played it cool. The following three photos are some of my favorite ever.

I insisted Derrald get a photo of me with the poppies. They are so beautiful and all over the country. Plus, I'm wearing my French stripes.

Speaking of French stripes... check out the stripes of our beach umbrella as we sat on the beautiful beach! This little stretch of sandy paradise was by Marseillan between Sete and Agde. 

The Beach, or as we say en France, La Plage.

At least it's her dress and not the sand right? Although, she tried to eat the sand too.

We tried returning to the beach another day... but as you can see, we left the swimsuits at home this time and brought only a picnic lunch... bread and cheese for us, D's hair for Maddy!

The first of many shoulder rides.

Lunch?

We did lots of day trips. One of my favorites was to the city of Montpellier. I think this would be a great city to go to University in. 

There were lots of fountains all over the city and you can see by the time we got to this one D was getting a little fed up of me photographing them all!

We really enjoyed all the different architecture - historical to modern. A very enjoyable walk.

Party Panda.

Gangsta Panda.

Maddy enjoyed it too... at least, what she could see of it!

Um, Dad?

Dad!

Oh, Dad.

Another stop I HIGHLY recommend is at Saint Guilhem le Dessert. (yeah, try saying that one! "Sun-Gee-Yem-Le-Days-Er"). It is a very cool little ancient town nestled up in one of the valleys just north of where we were staying and it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Well worth the visit.

Who needs a garden when you've got a wall like this? This would be my house. Lovin' it!

I wanted to add this photo to point out how manly Derrald looks even wearing a cotton candy pink scarf flourished around his neck. Way to work it D-dawg!

Again, poor Mads might have got stiffed out of seeing some of the sites...

And last, but certainly not least, Carcassonne. Another World Heritage Site, we stopped in here on our way to Barcelona and it was a real treat. A fairy tale castle with proper princess towers topped with witches hats, a drawbridge, and a moat (albeit not working). 

We stopped for lunch in one of the courtyards and while Derrald ate the foie gras I ordered the cassoulet - a dish the region is famous for. It's basically a white bean stew baked in a clay plate. They throw in some meat like pork and/or duck. And voila, a tasty, hearty dish that fits right in with the atmosphere. Bring me Another!

On our way out I couldn't resist a quick picture with the statue of Lady Madeleine and my own sweet Madeline. 

Oh, and may our daughter's breasts not be as lopsided as her stone namesake. Cheers and thank you.

**looking back at this post I have failed to mention the city of Pezenas, which was actually the closest main city to us and was a wonderful little place. It has some fantastic streets worth exploring, the market place on Saturday (if I remember correctly) and was home to Moliere for a while. 

Here's one of Derrald's "artsy" shots that he kept making us take. This one is in Pezenas.