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 Nearby is the village of
Prayssas, an old hilltop village with a thriving
marché-nocturne or evening market. When you visit, take a
plate and some cutlery along with you and do as the locals do – buy your
food at the many stalls (sliced foie gras, cooked meats,
superb local cheeses, fruit, fresh bread etc), and eat it there and
then using the tables, chairs and benches provided. Then wash it down with
a pichet of local wine while being entertained by the local
band and accordion player. Very pleasant, very
“French”.
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Also close to us is Clairac,
on the banks of the beautiful River Lot and the birthplace
of the 'Agen prune'. Here you can wander around this
ancient old town and see superbly preserved architecture
from hundred of years ago - colombaged Toulouse brick
buildings, the famous Abbey with its automaton museum. And
afterwards at the "Le Papagayo"
cafe/restaurant, you can sit overlooking the Lot, with a beer or glass of
wine and watch the local children swimming off the small
sandy beach. |
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Clairac is also blessed with two very good, reasonably
priced, quality restaurants as well as an excellent
pizzeria and creperie - both very inexpensive. |
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 And,
just a few kilometres away, at Le Temple-sur-Lot, you will
find Les Ets Botaniques Latour-Marliac,
the nursery where Monet purchased the
water-lilies for his famous garden at Giverny.
Almost anywhere you go in summer in this beautiful region there
is something to see and do:
bastide villages, brocantes, music festivals, vide greniers, daytime
and
evening markets, art exhibitions, fetes, wine
tasting, chateaux, rivers, canals, lakes, boat rides, horse riding, cycling etc. as well as
such things as theme
parks, water parks, and cinemas (often with English language
films).
In summer, this “quiet little corner" of France
is buzzing with activities and none of it is "laid on" for
tourists. Here you will truly be participating in 'la vie de
Gascogne" !
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