We loved living in Mur-de-Barrez for two weeks because it allowed us the opportunity to explore one of France’s wild corners…the lesser explored, but still discovery-packed Aveyron and Auvergne regions. We were also incredibly fortunate because we had fabulous guide in our hostess, Laura, who arguably has an explorer gene that rivals ours. She even liked seeking out weird rocks…
We are 100% convinced that the true beauty, the true essence of France is far from its cities, far from its historical sites, and far from its beaches… The pulsing heart of it instead lies in its provincial villages where the well kept heritage remains. We were grateful to get to spend four weeks in such villages, and even more…
Little town, little quiet village. ? Far off the international tourist trail, this is what we chose to represent most of our time in France. This first took us to a 13-day housesit in Le Dorat, in Nouvelle Aquitaine, aka “Little Britain” thanks to the heavy influence of British expats, who in large part moved down to France to escape…
From Andorra, we hopped into a rideshare through BlaBla Car with two French girls to traverse into our next country. Greg had used BlaBla back in the “olden days” when rideshares were posted on hostal message boards and it took 10 minutes to write a text message. Today, of course, there is a easy-to-use app which matches drivers and riders…
Chugging along from Spain, we took a pricy bus ($36/each) three hours northwest to the little principality of Andorra, a country which has remarkably been around for 1000 years and has never been involved in a war. Also yes, that counts as a new country for both of us. Andorra, swallowed by France on one side and Spain on the…
We kind of had high expectations for Barcelona. After all, we had been promised by many people who had visited that, "you'll LOVE Barcelona...even if you're not into cities" or "it's just different...you'll see." So perhaps, the initial problem was...our expectations were too high. But firstly, moving into another giant city was the least of what Mandy's foot desired and…
Segovia, Spain has a rich architectural legacy, including an exquisite gothic cathedral, a castle which inspired Disney, and a stunningly preserved double decker Roman aqueduct. Unlike Salamanca, this UNESCO world heritage city, Segovia is inundated with tourists, which is no surprise considering its one-hour proximity from Madrid and its offerings. It is also the home of the “suckling pig.” The…
For four centuries, the distinguished and elegant university town of Salamanca (population 150,000) attracted prestigious names such as conquistador Hernán Cortés (Yeah, the guy that wiped out the Aztec Empire) and Christopher Columbus who came here in 1486 on a fruitless attempt to get the university to fund his exploration plans. The town, draped in a seductive sandstone, deteriorated for…
