Les treize moments les plus spectaculaires des vacances de février

This posting does what is says on the label - the best of the holidays just…sigh…gone.

13. The gardens of Marqueyssac

A beautifully restored private estate garden perched upon a spur overlooking the whole Dordogne valley with its chalky cliffs, villages, chateaux and of course the river snaking its way through.

Leigh leading the way

Part of the Dordogne and a village built into the cliff face.

12. Trastevere

This busy and lively neighbourhood in Rome has the look and feel of a traditional small Italian town, with people shopping, chatting, drinking espresso and going about their daily business.






11. Chateaux of the Dordogne

Or more specifically, those of the Périgord, located in the heart of the département. The region is littered with castles, a legacy of it being part of England during the Middle Ages. The home of fois gras and duck confit, too.

Leigh en montant.

Leigh en descendant.

Nothing's wrong - just practicing my archery 'skills' .

10. Rome. In general.

Those who have visited Rome are quickly accustomed to the sound of police sirens constantly ringing out over the chemical ant swarm that is the city’s traffic. Seems the Italians like a bit of the armed forces in their daily life - check out the wingman who presents the weather on the tele:

Eh I think itsa gonna rain todaay .

9. St Emilion wine in St Emilion and Cognac in…erm, Cognac

Around 45 minutes drive east of Bordeaux, St Emilion is in the centre of the most significant wine producing region in France. Managed to take a peek at the Museum in Cognac. Every part of the production process, from the soil, to the wood used for the barrels, to the distillation is nothing less than an ART.

Le Vin.

St Emilion.

Un cognac .

8. Oradour-sur-Glane – the liquidated village

In an afternoon in summer 1944, the SS rounded up all 600 inhabitants of this village south of Limoges, shot all the men, locked the kids and the women in the church, set fire to it, then torched the entire town.

The main street.

7. Rome – The Greatest Hits

The Colosseum. More colossal than I expected.

Leigh was keen to find Rusty “Unleash Hell” Crowe but he was still hanging out with the Bra Boys and generally being a dickhead.

The Forum. Staggering to imagine how much this place changed the world.

Trevi Fountain. They say if you chuck a coin into its stream, you’re destined to return to Rome. The hawkers thrusting 5 euro roses into your face throw that promise into doubt.

Piazza Cavour. Perhaps only relevant to the Morrissey fans among my “readership” (too many of you to mention by name), but standing in this place I did indeed ask myself what my life is for.

6. Basque country/Pyrenees/Pamplona

This region in the far, far south-west nook of France is hilly, popular with religious pilgrims following the trails of ancient saints, loves rugby and still uses a language that lives at the end of alphabet street. Could you dream up such a mix? We decided to scoot over the Pyrenees to check out Pamplona. A bit of a grim city but we managed to locate the famous bull fighting ring.

Leigh above the small Basque town of St-Jean-Pied-De-Port.

In the Pyrenees, France in the background.

No rampaging bulls that day. Shame.

5. BD in Angouleme

This city, known for bande-dessinée (BD) comic strip art (taken pretty seriously in France) has a museum dedicated to the artform and a bunch of some magnificent, some average, murals on the city’s walls. The city is also renowned for closing launderettes early and then making boxer shorts disappear while leaving CK jeans untouched. Hmm.

4. B&B in La Coquille

Remarkable only in that this B&B, the very first one we pulled into on the trip, was run by an English couple from Kent. In every restaurant or café in the Dordogne we encountered graying poms; many have bought houses in the region – the second invasion perhaps.

3. St Peters & The Sistine Chapel

Magnificent. Waiting at the end of the line, we were approached by a young American chick with shiny teeth and hair offering us entrance for the two sites for a bargain 40 euros. Casse-toi! We get to the front of the line…entrance is free.

In front of St Peters, keeping an eye out for Benny.

Part of the ceiling in the Vatican Museum.

2. Rabbit defenestration in Perigueux

Leigh and I stopped in the principal city of the Périgord for lunch. We were walking down the street when suddenly a rabbit landed on a gentleman coming out of a wine shop. He was wearing a hat. The rabbit lived on the third floor. No-one knows if the rabbit jumped or was pushed. We couldn’t get a photo in time, but here’s what it looked like.

The bunny survived.


1. Dune de Pyla

The largest sand dune in Europe, at Arcachon, west of Bordeaux, at sunset.

Best meal: Veal escalope with Rochefort (a strong cheese) sauce on our last night, in Cognac. Typically simple but awesome.

In the news: Generalissimo Sarko captured on video saying to a member of the public at the Agricultural Show: “Touche pas moi, casse-toi alors pauvre con”, loosely translated as “Don’t touch me, fuck off you poor bastard”. Nice.

The weather: Unseasonably warm, similar temperatures in Rome and the South-West, about 5 – 15 degrees.

On the car stereo

Oasis – Fade Away. I remember how exciting it was discovering this band.

Bic Runga – Get Some Sleep. Elevating the mundane.

Dexy’s Midnight Runners – My National Pride. By a dress-wearing, Irish Brummie. Underrated!

Lazy Susan – Bobby Fischer. These guys should have been bigger.

Al Green – Here I Am (Come And Take Me). The perfect voice, the perfect moves, the perfect songs, the perfect white suits. Bastard.

No dancing down the stairs now!

Have you heard the news? No shit!