Thursday 5 July 2012

the languedoc

I float in the pool.  All I see is the sky, an unbroken china blue; pure white cotton balls of airborne seeds floating across; and the black silhouettes of swallows diving and weaving in screaming squadrons.  Perfection.

We have reached our main destination, the little guest house in the village of Roujan in the Languedoc.  The rain is behind us and we have just this clearest blue and the heat of summer, like all those French films of family vacances in the ancestral home.

This was a family house once, but our hosts, the very handsome Alex and Gregg, have taken it and subtly modernised it to provide rooms that are comfortable and efficient, a blend of ancient and modern.  They have a unique proposition.  The rooms are self catering with full kitchens, allowing guests to go out and find the best of local produce, and cook themselves, but with all the social aspects of a well run guest house.  And here they excel, taking immense trouble to make everyone feel at home, spending time to chat or to fix any minor problem, and even inviting us out to the local social scene.  In the eight days we were there, we were taken to three local events: an evening wine tasting in the shadow of an old chateau and its spreading oaks; a jazz concert in a new performance space created from an old barn; and a special dinner at a nearby B+B.

We travelled around the area on several days.   The local villages are built tight and winding, the houses huddled tightly and defensively together in this once fought over area; seemingly  unchanged since medieval times.  And close by to the north are the outliers of the Pyrenees, cut through by astonishing deep gorges such as the Gorge d'Heric, and the valley of the river Orb with its villages clinging to the hillsides.  The coast along here is a little disappointing: though there are good long beaches, they are very exposed, with no natural tree shelter behind. There are beach clubs which provide more comfortable environment - but we preferred the garden and pool at our guest house. 


Several days we spent just lazing there, and getting to know some of the  lovely other guests in this little heaven under the blue Languedoc sky.


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