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| Canal du Robine |
Well, it seems to me that my heart is everywhere - so anywhere could be home! As I wrote earlier, my husband and I love to travel. In the beginning, travel was awkward, we'd overpack, felt unprepared venturing beyond a comfort zone...but after a while we learned to pack with less, got used to the rhythm of airports, buses and trains.
I have to be honest: we don't travel as much on trains or buses as others do; we prefer to have our car. Exception: in a
city with a
metro service, we use it! If we can drive, we do, if not, we fly. Once at our destination, we do a lot of walking...sometimes too much! We can't help it sometimes - there is so much to see by way of landscape or architecture or shop windows. There is something about staring into a shop's window...or a cafe beckoning one inside for a cold one...
Let me come back to the driving notion....when renting a car in Europe, you may want to very seriously consider reserving a small compact car. You may NOT want to accept that upgrade! You'll be sweating/swearing trying to navigate the small narrow and winding streets - never mind venturing into an underground parking garage! Small is good - in fact it is great! It seems so contrary to the way we live back home: everyone has a big car, parking spaces are big and our streets are wide. Oh by the way, if you can drive a manual shift - you are doing great. If not, get lessons beforehand
or make use of a very good network of buses and trains! You can always use the excuse you want to drink with your meals! Read on...
We've always been looking to see where else in France might be fun to live. We realized that as beautiful as the northern part of France might be (and it is!), we are not prepared to deal with cold weather. So we just got back from a trip to the Languedoc-Rousillon area of France (SW France along the Mediterranean Sea). So back in the car and off we went and almost 4 hours later we were in the town of Narbonne. What a lovely town! The Canal du Robine, which joins the famous Canal du Midi, runs through the center of town with a few cross-over bridges - some for cars, some just for pedestrians. We strolled through the town's quiet streets (no cars!), walked along the canal and sipped wine in the town square enjoying all the passers-by. There are plenty of winding lanes and streets to stroll about in the old part of town. Dozens of restaurants and cafes line the canal and the town square - and the expansive food market is a great place to have your cup of morning coffee and croisssant before wandering the many aisles of fresh produce, meat, fish and baked goods. Truly a wonderful gem of a town to visit, to live, to enjoy. We also spent a few days in Agde, Cap d'Agde and Grau d'Agde. This cluster of seaside resorts and old village are well worth a visit. So many choices, so many towns, we could live in any of them. How about you?
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