Barcelona then France yet again

Here we are back in France again - how many times have I started a blog with that I wonder!  We had an unscheduled trip solely to collect my French visa, now that its been renewed for another year. The easiest route was to fly Athens/Barcelona which worked out well as I'd always wanted to check out Barcelona!  I was very impressed too - its a beautiful city with lovely wide avenues lined with wonderful decorated buildings with wrought balconies. The Gothic centre though, where we stayed, is totally different and full of fascinating narrow alleys and laneways.

France is freezing cold! It is rather nice to be back but I'm pleased its only briefly, as I suspect the cold weather will get to us before to long! The landscape is looking particularly beautiful considering its winter. I think the most prominent colour is bronze, with the bare vines glowing under the winter light. The rolling hills are framed by the distant mountains, which have a good dusting of snow and generally the whole of the Languedoc looks much drier and browner than where we live in Greece, which was green and lush when we left!

We spent my birthday wandering around Narbonne on a beautiful sunny but cold day, all wrapped up against the weather. There's always something spectacular about these clear winter days in the Languedoc.