We’ve just returned from a brilliant family holiday in France. We flew to Toulouse and rented a car and stopped in Carcassonne for a little sight-seeing and lunch on our way to Pouzolles in the Languedoc to visit Kevin and Jane and their lovely girls Sophie and Imogen. They have renovated an old three-storey house and turned it into a beautiful holiday home and we had a fantastic time there with stunning weather and great company. The girls got on really well and it was wonderful to catch up with Kevin and Jane again. Thanks so much for your brilliant hospitality and we hope to see you all in Val d’Isere next winter! (See photos)
After dropping Millie off near Sete where she was staying with a school friend and her family Gill, Katie and I moved on to the Pyrenees to visit Gill’s great friend Catherine and her husband Jean and daughter Clara. It was my first time to the Pyrenees and I thoroughly enjoyed my walks with Jean as he showed me around while Gill and Catherine joined us for a couple of hikes as well. Jean grew up skiing and walking in this area and was really excited to show us around and he did a splendid job as our guide! Katie went canyoning in Spain with Clara (while we went on a hike) and she also did a fantastic Go-Ape type adventure in the trees mixed with hanging over the river below. The French versions of Go-Ape are really quite serious and not for the faint-hearted and Katie said it was incredibly challenging as she and Clara completed the ‘black’ route! It was a wonderful few days and I thought the Pyrenees were beautiful with fantastic architecture.
Millie took a train from Sete and joined us in Toulouse where we stayed in Jean and Catherine’s flat while exploring Toulouse for a couple of days. They live right down in the old part of the city with great views over the rooftops and it was a fantastic base from which to look around Toulouse, which is a beautiful city. While walking around Toulouse on the Saturday there were about thirty vans of gendarmes in full anti-riot gear wandering the streets. These guys were seriously kitted out with weapons, body armour, shields, tear-gas and they looked quite scary and imposing. As it turned out they were prepared for the weekly ‘gillets-jaune ‘ demonstration and after watching some of the action Katie said, “Jeez Dad, I guess it’s not a good day to be wearing yellow!” Anyway, we had a great time in Toulouse and many thanks to Jean and Catherine for your hospitality in both the Pyrenees and Toulouse!
After such beautiful weather we’ve come back to some serious rain and poor Millie is out playing 27-holes of golf at St George’s Hill today. It’s absolutely chucking it down but she’s taken extra clothes, two rain jackets, my rain trousers (which are a little big to say the least!) and two pairs of golf shoes so hopefully she can head back out dry to start the afternoon session. Go Millie!
Thanks again to Jane and Kevin and Catherine and Jean for taking care of us and showing us such a great time!
PS I’ll add more detail of our trip but the photos tell the story.