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July 22 Ahhhh. The day before was spent hiking up a mountain then standing on it for hours to watch the Tour de France time trial. As if that weren't enough, we then had to deal with a traffic and crazy roads through the Alps to get to the ski resort town of Le Grand Bornand - site of the next day's Tour finish. … [Read more...]

July 19 and 20 I was told by a friend that we should avoid Carcassonne on our trip. We did avoid staying there - or even really staying too long there - as it's basically a tourist trap. A really, really cool tourist trap. We went to the city's famous fort and then pretty much got out of there and over to Grenoble … [Read more...]

July 17 & 18 There are towns in France you've never heard of in which you'd be more than happy to spend a week. Cauterets in the high Pyrenees on the Spanish border is one such town. It's ridiculously beatiful and the odd Basque/Spanish/French mix of foods and cultures makes it a fascinating place. It's also … [Read more...]

July 15 After the Bastille Day carousing, we got a late start on this, essentially a travel day down to the Pyrenees. I was excited to drive some of the famous Tour de France mountains (called "cols" down here) just to get a taste of how they truly were by way of the little town called Foix. Holy crap. They … [Read more...]

July 14 (Bastille Day) I'd guess that anywhere in France on Bastille Day is fun. But spending it in the charming completely non-touristy little seaside village of Sête was simply awesome. THIS is the way to spend a holiday in France; in La Petite Venise du Languedoc. Sête, like Venice, has an extensive network of … [Read more...]