Having left Nuremberg by aeroplane on an Air France flight directly to Paris we then travelled on a TGV service from Charles de Gaulle through to Rennes. From there it was just a one hour drive to Malestroit in our rented bright red, 'très mignon' Fiat 500. Heather was very pleased that for once we actually got the car specified rather than the 'or similar' that car rental companies normally give you. I will be honest the car was good fun to drive and perfe...

Our flights to and from the USA cost us just under £400 each and bizarrely it was cheaper for us to fly via London than actually starting and ending our travels in London. Our outbound journey begins at Paris Orly with an early flight travelling with British Airways to London Heathrow at 0735 where we then have a little over three hours to change terminals and join the US Airways 3,999 mile flight across the Atlantic Ocean to Charlotte, North Carolina. Our t...

The picture postcard views of La Rochelle show a stunning harbour, outdoor cafés and glistening blue sea and I do not think, whatever photo shopping skills I can muster, that a dismal grey day with heavy rain that soaked you through to the skin will ever quite make the city look that good. What a shame. Our twenty two hours and thirteen minutes that we had planned in the city should have seen us strolling the srreets, enjoying the French way of live, maybe...

"Now listen very carefully, I shall say this only once . . . . . . " as we all know Michelle of the Resistance, as featured in the hit BBC TV show 'Allo 'Allo, said that line many more times than you could shake a stick at, so where better to find out the truth about the wartime French Resistance and a cafe owner called Rene than almost on our doorstep in Brittany. Situated just on the outskirts of St Marcel, about 3km from Malestroit, is the 'Musee de la Resi...

A grand day out in Nantes was planned, initially because we had located a shop that sold Cognac aux Amandes (Almond Cognac), which had proved a great hit with friends who had recently visited us in Malestroit. This warming Cognac, with a hint of almond flavour, can be found in a few restaurants in Malestroit and is served after dinner as digestive. We had scoured the shops and supermarkets but had never seen it sold locally, so after a bit of internet searchin...