Gascony, France, September 30th, Lynn

We are north of the Pyrennes Mountains in France. Our little town is called Estang. (If you can find that on your map, you have a map of Gascony, France. Otherwise, it is way too small. But we are near Auch. A city established by the Romans.)

I hesitate to call this wine country since Bordeaux and Burgandy are obviously more famous areas, but there are vineyards everywhere. This is Armangac country for those who like brandy. But for the kids, it is more importantly, the home of D'Artangnan, the Muskteer. He is from here. The last photo, the one with the plaque, is in front of his boyhood home. (No he was not entirely poor, like the movies lead you to believe.)

We are in land of small villages and bastides; medieval towns surrounded by walls. It is slow and charming. The photo with the kids in the road is in a "bigger" town. No cars came down it for a LONG time.

We head to a politically correct bullfight tomorrow. No one, not even the bull, is supposed to get hurt. This is the home of the Basque people, the Spanish influence prevails. Our town has it's own bullring, but we are going to a championship in a town 30 minutes away.

The photos of the girls around the yard are of the place we are staying. It is a homeswap and the woman actually approached me about using our Florida house just 2 weeks ago. Until then, we were going to rent. But this worked out great!