TWO NIGHTS WITH FRANCE PASSION

Our first night after leaving Bob and Bear, we stopped at Chateau la Piolette SE of Bordeaux.

We took a wrong turn to a Chateau Prioulette, then had to ask for directions to la Piolette. We were warmly welcomed by the wine farmer and his wife, Alain and Dominique, who are 3rd generation on the farm and very sad that their kids are not able/interested to continue the line. They did not speak a word of English, but we managed with our limited French. She presented us with a chilled bottle of their dry white wine for supper, which we had on some picnic benches overlooking the vineyard, while we watched 2 pairs of hoepoes scratching amongst the vines.

Sandi, thrilled to discover that Toulouse-Lautrec used to live nextdoor!

We had the use of a very nice shower/toilet built specially for campers next to the wine shed. In the morning she gave us a private wine-tasting and we bought some of their delicious wines before moving on. She also gave us the remainder of the bottles we had tasted! Such generous and friendly people, and altogether a lovely experience!

We spent a couple of hours of the morning walking around the old village of Cadillac and visited the Duc's Chateau.

Every room had a huge ornate fireplace.

Tapestries in blue and gold adorned the high walls.

Some of the wooden ceilings are ornately decorated.

Help, I'm starving and can't get out of my bedroom!

A curved, solid stone stairway for use by the servants.

The garden at the back of the chateau is another missed opportunity, as it is neglected and inaccessible.

This road in the town has been lived in since 1280 AD.

We then headed down to the Pyrenees and Molly [our GPS] got us completely lost in the hills. We then retraced our steps and followed the limited directions in the France Passion book and found the farm [When in doubt read the instructions!]. It was a ramshackle place up in the foothills of the Central Pyrenees, with sheds filled with old farm wagons and wheelchairs going back at least a hundred years. No wonder it is called a "Conservation farm"! The farmer's wife welcomed us and spoke several languages including English. She invited us to gather mushrooms, and even gave us some much-prized Boleto [also known as Cep] for our supper!

The toilet hut was quite a way through the long grass and quite wild! Sandi opted to hold on! As we settled down for the night a buck came grazing nearby.

So, our first two host-sites with France Passion were lovely but very different. We think it has the potential to allow one to experience rural France in a very close-up and informal way.

We spent the morning in Lourdes, enjoying the market and marvelling at the excessive symbols of religiosity on sale everywhere, before setting out to cross the Pyrenees.