One of the joys on our Dordogne tour is a little hotel in the middle of nowhere, in Calès, Le Petit Relais. It’s owned by Karine and Olivier. The village has a population of just 166, according to the National…
Fun and Games in the Dordogne Back in 2019, I was introduced to the wonderful ‘sport’ (sic) of sabering by the Mercer Island chapter of The Chain Gang, particularly Bruce and Kim York, and their daughter Casey, my sabering gurus.…
Two years ago, we launched a redesigned tour of Provence Most importantly, I wanted to spend more time in Provence, rather than Languedoc (!). I wanted to explore a really interesting wine region more thoroughly; make the tour perhaps a…
Vineyards and wines In The Languedoc. Languedoc-Rousillon is a huge wine-producing region. The weather is perfect for growing grapes, and the Languedoc, until recently, had a reputation for producing vast lakes of ‘OK’ French plonk, under a series…
TUSCANY Back in September, my good friend Mike Pattenden joined The Chain Gang in Italy for a month to help out with, well, with everything. By profession Mike’s a journalist, so inevitably he wrote a short piece for us about…
A video by Jack and Nancy Haar. I’m particularly chuffed with this video. It was put together by Jack and Nancy Haar, who joined us on a self-guided tour of the Loire Valley last September. It’s very simple, a collection…
A Great Photo Collection From Burgundy, by Sinclair Shuit. Earlier in April I was delighted to stumble across a collection of photos that I’d forgotten about, taken by Sinclair Shuit in Burgundy in 2013. I think this is a great…
Back in the Eighties there was a fabulous animated version of The Wind In The Willows, featuring David Jason as Toad. I bought quite a few sets as gifts for children and adults, I thought they were hilarious. I’ve no…
Last September the London Cycling Campaign sent their editor along to have a look at our Tuscany trip. Well, that’s not quite true as Lyn was pregnant by the time the tour came around, but she was kind enough to…
