Due to the pandemic, we did what most French people did : we decided to stay in France and enjoy its the natural and historical wonders. So we packed our bags (well lots of them), hopped in the car and hit the road.

Our first stop was around 400 km south where we made our first stop. We landed in Chatelguyon, a cute little spa town situated in central France. Our hotel was awesome (2 rooms linked by a terrace, a heated pool, a jacuzzi ...) and our first visit was for Vulcania, a park dedicated to volcanoes, which is in fact quite logical as the area is famous for its array of extinct volcanoes. But, as everywhere in France, it is also full of castles (we had a guided tour at the personally renovated Tournoèl castle) and historical landmarks (we visited the museum of Gergovie where, in 52 B.C., the Celts led by Vercingetorix inflicted a major defeat to the Roman troops led by Caesar).

We then continued south towards Montpellier where we have family, making a stop at the amazing Templar fortified village named the Couvertoirade. This time we rented a charming house in the centre of a medieval village north of Montpellier. We spent time with our son, relaxed on the beach and also rediscovered the area (sailing the Mediterranean sea, spending half a day in the Camargue area where wildlife can easily be spotted, canoed on the river Herault and got lost in the adorable village of Saint-Guilhem-le-desert and the medieval fortress of Aigues-Mortes).

The next week we stayed along the Mediterranean Sea and continued towards Spain, stopping at Sorède, not far from Port-Vendres. There we (the whole family) just dived (early in the morning, later in the afternoon and even one during the night) and chilled out. Some of us were able to do a wreck dive (my eldest daughter and myself). You can see a selection of pictures in the Diving Gallery.
We just made a break into our diving spree to visit the animal sanctuary of Sigean. It starts with an hour in the car driving among wild animals (bears, lions, antelopes ...) and then we continued on foot the rest of the day. It's a huge sanctuary with numerous species, some of them considered endangered species. So I guess it's not a bad idea for them to be protected.

During our last week we started heading back North, towards home. We made two stops. The first one was in our next home place. We discovered the cutest village in the middle of the Corbières Massif at the foot of the Pyrenees. Not only is the place gorgeous but he inhabitants (permanent or holiday house owners) were incredible. We got along so well that leaving was heartbreaking. So we hope something to sell, that suits us, will come up so we can establish our family home over there. From there we roamed around and climbed to some of the so-called "vertigo Citadels" of Queribus and Peyrepertuse, we enjoyed lunch in a medieval restaurant (no forks !!!) and followed an inspired guide in the impressive Fontfroide monastery.

Before arriving in the Cathar country we had made a pause at Tautavel where a lovely guide explained to us how the prehistoric cave had been discovered and what it revealed of this long gone cousin of us humans. So we had decided to continue on this prehistoric trail while driving back north and this was our last stop. We spent two days in the area of the Lascaux cave which we visited during a private tour. The entire cave was recreated identically to the first and the rendering is astonishing. We spent two hours there admiring the mural paintings and listening to another fascinating guide.

The other visits we made were also nice (castle of Villerouge-Terménés and the castle of Hautefort). We wanted to spend some time in Rocamadour, one of the prettiest places in France, but the temperature was so high it was impossible to stay under the sun. So we saw it from a high point on the restaurant's terrace and we will go back another time.

Our road trip ended on a humbling visit to the martyr town of Oradour-sur-Glane where the German Das Reich Division exterminated 642 civilians. The place has never been reoccupied since and one just walks around the ruined streets and houses where scattered burned objects (cars, sewing machines, tables ...) lie around. It was a very solemn way to end our holiday but also an accurate transition to the next little trip we made two weeks later.