Aussie Family in France: Leaving Lautrec

After almost 10 weeks our time in the lovely Lautrec is coming to an end. Located about an hour from Toulouse, Lautrec lies in the region of Tarn in south west France. Not an overly touristy area but lovely countryside surrounded by many beautiful villages, rivers, mountains and a national park. Lautrec is a small medieval village named one of the most beautiful in France ( hence why we stayed here ) and it certainly didn't disappoint. The house we booked via clevenaces website was perfect for what we wanted, 3 bedrooms in the middle of the village with lots of charm and only minutes from the famous windmill lying at the top of Lautrec. For Hayley, it was great to unpack the suitcases after a long stint on the road, do a big shop, speak some french and just hang out with the girls.
Chloe started at the local school a few days after arriving which was conveniently 5 minutes walk from the house, usually Ludo's chore in the morning. School was from 8.30 - 4.30pm 4 days a week so quite a change for Chloe whom had been with mum and papa everyday for the previous few months. There was naturally a few tears the first week but once Chloe got the rhythm & met some little friends, she loved it. Hayley and Elodie would do the pickup at 4.30 every day and was greeted by Chloe with a huge smiling face and all her little buddies coming to say hi and poke at Elodie in the pram. They all looked at me very strangely seeing I was speaking english to Chloe. We would then go to the local boulangerie to pick up a baguette for dinner, bon bons for Chloe and head to the park for a bit before heading home. It was a nice little ritual every day
.A couple of days a week we visited many other beautiful towns and villages in the area including Albi, Cordes du Surl, Burlats ( one of my favourites ) and many others whilst sampling the local markets and cuisine which is renown in the region. I ( & the wasteline ) can now understand why is France is renown for its cuisine, this country really know how to do great dishes and of course it's usually 3 courses washed down with great wine...divine! Ludo also booked us into many of the nearby fetes on the weekends which usually was great fun for Chloe and offered yummy local cuisine.
Another reason Ludo chose Tarn was for its mountain bike tracks or VTT as they call it here. Within 3 days of arriving Ludo brought a bike and was off every few days discovering new tracks while Hayley would hang with Elodie and enjoy the house & village. There was also some great walks nearby including a great 6km walk around the village with stunning views. This became my regular morning exercise every few days.
Then there was the guests we had whilst in Lautrec. Hayley's parents for the first week which was nice whilst getting settled and checking out the local area + a huge help looking after the girls - thanks Grandma & Grandpa. Laurent, Ana and the girls came down next from Paris and was lovely to hang out with them, cook some yummy food ( Ana anyway ) & even got a kid free night out at the restaurant 100m away. The June long weekend was the big family weekend with Ludo's cousins coming from all parts of France and brother Tom from New York to spend the weekend with us and celebrate Chloe's christening on the monday. Was a good weekend with lots of bike riding ( boys anyway ), eating, drinking, tennis & the local fete. Chloe had a ball with her cousins Emma & Camille and was did great at the christening ( that nearly didn't happen as the priest did not show ). Next and last visitors were Nic and Steve from Sydney whom stopped in whilst they were in France. Was great to see them and do some wine tasting in nearby Gallaic, a spot of canoeing and more eating and drinking. When in France...
The last big event was Chloe's 4th birthday which was celebrated the day after school finished. 8 of Chloe's little friends came to celebrate on a beautiful sunny day in the garden. Lots of laughs, a few tears and a great chateau cake ( made by birthday girl herself & Hayley ) was eaten and enjoyed.
We'll be sad to leave this beautiful village but ready for the next part of the trip - Bordeaux and the beach! Weather has been pretty good to us overall but looking forward to more summer days ahead in the next month in France and New York on the way home!