So before too long, off we went again, this time towards our old stomping ground of the Languedoc where Peter and I did battle with various bits of French bureacracy - not sure whether we've had a win yet, and my visa renewal is sure to be a long ongoing saga. It was nice to be in the familiar serenity of the valleys of vineyards until the weather packed up and we had two days of torrential rain. We did manage to visit Rouquefort and do a tour through the caves where they make the famous smelly cheese. Another damp day we went to Carcassonne, and we also introduced Rita to some of our favourite towns such as Sete (where we also managed to see a Raoul Dufy exhibition - one of my very favourite artists), and Pezenas.
Then it was Paris where we spent a week with Rita in a lovely apartment next to the Seine on the very smart Ile St Louis. This small island is like an oasis from the rush of the hectic city. It's almost as if someone dropped a small French village into the center of Paris, with its markets, bakeries, fromageries, cafés and us! Winter struck when we were there - a real wake up after the warmth of Greece, but at least we knew we could leave it behind when we left!
Our days in Paris were spent walking, and eating and shopping (well, Rita and I anyway!), and walking more. It was once again lovely to be there and have enough time to explore those parts I never seemed to get to on previous visits. There was a very big new Monet Exhibition on at the Grande Palais but sadly it was prebooked until November unless one was prepared to queue for 3 hours, which we weren't. We did visit Musee Marmotten though, after a lovely bus ride through to the 16th arrondissment. A lovely gallery of mostly Monet, and well worth the extra effort to get there.
After 6 weeks of wonderful travelling we headed back to the Languedoc in the TGV again - a wonderful way to travel but pity they had to stop the train a few stops earlier than expected - French strikes yet again. We spent a few more days in the Languedoc before another drive back to Greece to settle back into Koroni for our first Greek winter........ whatever that may bring.
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