07.20.2008
Toulouse Part 2
Day Six: Touring the French Country Side

After a great day yesterday, it was gonna be tough to beat today, but I think I did it.

On Friday night, Daniel and his wife Christelle agreed to take me out to the French countryside to see some castles and have a nice day with the kids. He picked out the itinerary which included some cities out past Montebaun. I have included a map below so you can get an idea of where we went.

The pink/red pushpin there on the map is L’Aveyron which was the first destination today. The blue pushpin is Bruniquel, which was the second destination today. The Hotel Palladia where I'm staying is the teal pushpin down in the corner.

So Daniel, Christelle, Aubin, and Anouk came to get me at the hotel at 9:30am this morning in their station wagon (yes, I am sad I didn’t get to ride in the yellow truck). The station wagon is more convenient (has A/C) and has more belted seats, so the wagon was a good choice.

The road out to L’Aveyron was quite nice, I took a few pics of the area on the way. It looks kinda like the drive up to San Francisco, as sad as that sounds, but of course its much more beautiful. There are lots of apples trees which is a main product of the Montauban region, which we had to pass through on the way to L’Aveyron. It was quite a nice one hour drive actually.

L'Aveyron is a small town in the Aveyron region of France built back in the 12th century, and its easy to tell by the architecture when you first arrive.

Evidently L’Aveyron is quite the canoing sight, because there were lots of people out canoing in the river.

However, the best part about L’Aveyron is the Sunday Farmer’s market, which was an absolute zoo. I was a little overwhelmed to say the least, but I held my own ok I think. I spent some time pushing the kiddos around in their strollers so they could try to pick up lunch. And as you can see by the crowd, pushing a stroller in this crowd was no easy task.

I wonder how many years it would take to eat all of that cheese. I wonder if in my life so far I have consumed at least that much cheese. Hmmmmmmm……………………..

Check out all of the ham and sausage!! I didn’t leave without trying some which I am going to bring back (don’t tell customs). Lol.

After cruising through the market for a bit, we decided that doing a picnic by the river was not going to be an easy task with all of the people around so we decided to ditch the farmer’s market, go for a quick tour of the town, and then head off to the second destination for lunch. So here are some pictures of market, and of the town.

Most of the city was done in the 12^th and 13^th centuries and is still standing. Some parts of it have obviously been remodeled to accommodate 21^st century life, but it still remains a nice little town.

Christelle and the kids sure had a nice time!

Oooh…and check out the neat Renault Turbo GT!!

Well after leaving L’Aveyron, we were headed over to Bruniquel, which is another small town located atop a cliff overlooking a small part of the valley. Daniel remembered a nice place in Bruniquel that we could have lunch, so up the hill we went.

Once we got to the top, we found a nice table in this garden area for lunch. Aubin found a nice cat that kept him occupied for most of the lunch and Anouk had some baby food to tide her over, while Daniel and Christelle had their salads.

I chose a dish form the salad section, but what I found was not so much a salad as it was a plate of meat. Pictured are two different kinds of pate, some ham, and some really good salami.

After lunch, we went for a little walk to digest our lunch and catch some of the sites of the town.

Here’s a picture from the top of the city. It has quite a view of the valley and the river.

More sights of the small town. There are a lot of artisans up here, but there is not much steady work, so most of the people that live in the town own their own stores and art or are retired. Because the town is so far from anything industrial, it would be almost impossible to work for a corporation and still live in a small town like this. However, it’d make a great vacation spot.

The pic above is of the original 12th century road to the hotel which still contains the original stones!!!!

On the way out of town, Christelle had a craving for some coffee and we stopped at this small little café on the way out. They were also having a special on fondue, so what would a trip to France be without some fondue?

Aubin seems to have liked the fondue as seen by the chocolate on his mouth. Hahaha….

After finishing up there, it was time to get back home. The kids were tired (not to mention their parents) and so was I, so we headed back home. Since the drive was only an hour, I still had the rest of the afternoon/evening to rest and plan my dinner.

I decided to chill out a bit and watch some of the DVDs I brought over. I decided on The Good Shephard and wow was that good. Thumbs up to Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro (director/producer) for a job well done.

After finishing the DVD, I was feeling kinda lazy, so I decided id go look for a real kebab this time in Centre Ville.

I parked at Le Capitole and headed toward the river on Rue de Pargaminieres. I found this place and got my kebab, Fanta, and almond baklava to go and headed out toward La Garronne.

I found a nice spot on the water to eat while the sun went down.

I really cant explain how much I really love these kebabs. I mean really. The best part is the end when you get a good mix of the fries, chili sauce, and cheese. Yummers!

And since I was by the river, I figured I’d try to get a few pics in on the bridge again. One of them I did on the timer, and one I had a guy take as he was passing by. Not bad huh?

Anyways…I better head to bed. Its getting late and I have been known to have a case of the Mundays, so I am gonna head to bed.

Have a good week everyone! I’ll be home soon. Miss ya!!

Aurevoir.