We were a bit sad to leave Carcassonne, we had such a nice time there, and I’d hoped to meet up with a french homeschooling family but we just had been too busy. It was one place we could have stayed longer..

We got away on time and headed for Massar, which is a little village 10km outside of Villefranche De Rouergue. Unfortunately, well maybe fortunately for some reason we selected the wrong final destination on our telephone GPS and ended up missing the main highway and travelling through little lanes in the country. We came across some very picturesque villages, which we really enjoyed…

   2012_0331to0407_VillefrancheDeRouergue_0082012_0331to0407_VillefrancheDeRouergue_015  2012_0331to0407_VillefrancheDeRouergue_003

Our house in Massar was lovely, an old barn for sheep that had been renovated. The kids had their own rooms again and we had a nice outside area for eating. Internet was available when we went outside about 10 metres from the door, so I had a table in the fresh air to work on my accounts that week.

20120401_VillfrancheDeRouergue_007 20120401_VillfrancheDeRouergue_001 2012_0331to0407_VillefrancheDeRouergue_030 2012_0331to0407_VillefrancheDeRouergue_028 2012_0331to0407_VillefrancheDeRouergue_024

We also managed to get quite a bit of homeschooling done thanks to Peters math’s teaching …

… and the desks were great for concentration.

We visited an abbey in the rain one day, it was only 5km from where we were staying. Unfortunately it was closed, but we managed to catch a glimpse of it – the Mona Lisa had been hidden here during the second world war. It looked like something out of “Pride and Prejudice.”

2012_0403_AroundMassar_008

During the week we also visited Rocomadour, a famous city on the side of a hill/cliff. On the way we visited a lovely town called Figeac and stopped for a roam.

20120404_Figeac_003 20120404_Figeac_009 20120404_Figeac_010   Easter Chocolates

We had fun walking up from the bottom to the top of Rocomadour.

2012_0404Rocomadour_006   2012_0404Rocomadour_052

 

The kids found a cave

and Peter found some coffee and cake.

20120404_Figeac_018 2012_0404Rocomadour_046

Actually, he found a bit much cake…

2012_0404Rocomadour_044

Later in the week we went to the Villefranche De Rouergue market and bought and some cheese… and cakes of course.

We enjoyed seeing the master of the town sitting regally above us all, on the overhanging outside roof of a restaurant..

Another day we visited a town called Najac, and explored its fortress on the hill.

2012April_Najac_001 2012April_Najac_028 2012April_Najac_039

We met two families from Belgium at the market, then saw them again at the fortress, which was really nice. Maybe we’ll see them again in Belgium.

2012April_Najac_020

We also met a lovely older  couple from England who live in Najac 6 months of the year. They showed us around their home, which had a gorgeous view of the fortress and the river.

I’ve really enjoyed trying to speak in French, and feel like I am getting better, even though I’ve been asked by French people to speak in English because they can’t understand my French!  However, there are some words I won’t even attempt, like the last name on this sign board:

2012_AprilNajac2_012

Oh well, I guess I wouldn’t expect a French person to pronounce Ngarauwahia correctly either..

(Week 7, 31/3/2012 – 7/4/2012)