HOUSE ON THE HILL FRANCE

UPDATED 18 AUGUST 2007

CHAMBRES D'HÔTES

The A62 - la route entre les deux mers (the road between the two seas).
On a map, run your finger along the main road link between Bordeaux and Toulouse and stop halfway. For a moment you may wish to forget that you are pointing to the A62, a fast, convenient and modern motorway between two great French cities. Instead, shut your eyes and imagine you are breathing in the beautiful, crisp, clean air of the Aquitaine. You are enjoying a long and sumptuous lunch washed down with a fine bottle of Mézinais wine and the warm sunshine of South West France is making you sleepy...

A few more kilometres and you'll be in Mézin.

Need somewhere to stay?

Stay with us. We have lived in France since December 2004 and we offer bed and breakfast and a warm welcome at St. Simon, a comfortable house perched on a hill above the medieval town of Mézin. The views from St. Simon are breathtaking; the bright colours of the patchwork of fields, the dark green of the Landes forests and, on a clear day, the Pyrénées.

Corks and Presidents.

Mézin is delightful. Once in a while this sleepy French town stirs, yawns and opens one eye to remind herself of her proud history, before smiling and gently drifting back into a deep sleep. Once Mézin was an important centre for the cork industry. Today we still see signs of the wealth the industry brought to the town and the Musée du Liège (Cork Museum) reminds us all of times gone by.

Stroll back through the market square (not too quickly!) and you may find yourself standing on the Rue D'Armand Fallières. If you are thinking "Ah yes, Clément Armand Fallières, he was the President of the French Republic between 1906 and 1913" then you would be absolutely right. He was born in this very town. Each afternoon and evening the locals gather in the square, next to the bandstand, to play petanque. And nearby, outside the Hotel de Ville, a bust of Armand Fallières looks down on the scene to enjoy this time-honoured tradition and to ensure fair play.

I would love to come and stay. What do I need to do?

Freewheeling and free-form.

The beautiful landscapes, winding country lanes and ambience provide the perfect setting for walkers, cyclists, nature lovers, artists and writers alike. The local bird life is a delight and, of course, your next opportunity to sample the wonderful foods and wines of the region is never too many hours away!

There's something here for all of you.

Read on

© Copyright David Coleman.
ISSUE 05: AUGUST 2007.