LeClozet

We have received our first booking for 2009!!!! Whilst we are in a recession we have not yet seen a slow down in visits to our site or in the number of enquiries. Whilst it would be too optimistic to think that we would be fully booked for the 2009 season before Christmas, as was the case for the 2008 season. We are confident that what we offer at Le Clozet is great value for money, especially for families. Our facilities are geared to making your holiday as relaxing and comfortable as possible.

For 2009 we are offering a FREE wine tour for up to 8 people for every 2 week booking.

If you are contemplating a family holiday in sunny South West France then Le Clozet is for you.

Visit our website at www.leclozet.com

The weekend of the 22nd of August saw Scieurac, a tiny village of less than 100 people hold it’s annual village fete. We visited on the Saturday night as they had announced that a local band were playing traditional French music with swing and jazz numbers thrown in.

We arrived late, about 9pm and had time to eat a merguez sandwich and a glass of local rosé wine before they started playing. The group is called “Tristan Effroy et les Bicyclettes”. The leader, I assume to be Tristan, dressed the part with a retro suit and floppy hat. He was the singer, there was a guitarist who was amazing, a double bass and drums.

Surprisingly for anything French, it started almost on time. The music was exceptional. He had a voice with an amazing range, the sort you sould hear on a well engineered CD. It was a mix of old café music, 40’s &nd 50’s swing numbers and jazz. They played for at a good hour without a break then came back on for a second set. All this for FREE.

The villages in the Gers certainly know how to celebrate the summer and have fun. Any week from mid June to beginning of September you can visit villages everywhere, to eat, drink and have fun. Meals are priced

between 12€ and 20€ with all you can eat and drink plus entertainment. They are often linked to a “vide grenier”, like a car boot sale, they are very well organised and varied in their content.

If you holiday in the Gers you certainly won’t be short of things to do.

Larressingle one of the most beautiful villages of France is towards the northern edge of the Gers department, 5 kilometres west of Condom

It is on one of the major pilgrimage paths to Santiago de Compostella, a path that also passes through nearby Condom and Montreal-du-Gers.

It is a small village, almost completely surrounded by heavy fortified walls dating from the 13th century.

Almost 300 metres around, the village is entered by its only gate, across a pretty little bridge. Within the walls are a small church, Roman style and basic in implementation, a small chateau and various smaller buildings and houses, mostly set with their backs to the fortified walls.

Although small, Larressingle is a ‘must see’ village if you are in the region. It really is an interesting and lovely little place and very well worth seeing.

At the bottom edge of Larressingle there is an ‘exhibition’ of medieval weaponry - essentially they have recreated a medieval siege camp at the walls of the fortified town. Entertaining for the children especially (and me) to see the large stone throwers, battering rams etc that would have been used to attack such a village.

The person who runs the camp is a larger than life character and kept us all amused throughout. He has boxes of clothes and armour for the children to wear and created a story around the children which included operating the machines. The children shot arrows, launched siege catapult and at one point he fired a replica of a medieval gun, very noisy.

A family of 2 adults and 2 children costs about €20, which is great value for money.

For further information visit their site at http://larressingle.free.fr/

Thursday the 14th August we visited Fources for one of their free, open air concerts. This time it was linked with the world renowned jazz festival at Marciac. About a 1000 people wewre gathered to spend the evening in the beautiful bastide village of Fources, one of the only round bastide in France. Tables were set up on the green, food and drink were served and the concert began.

We however had booked too late and had to eat in the auberge, in the corner of the green. If you can have a corner that is, in a round village. However we were not dissappointed. The new owners, a young couple, Alexia and Bernard have transformed the eatery into one of the best in the region. About 150 people were booked in and we expected chaos. However the service was fantastic, the ambiance was warm and very friendly, and the food was exceptional. My wife had 12 snails, followed by lamb shank, then finished off with apple pie and ice cream. Whilst not haute cuisine it was fresh, well presented and of sufficient quantity that you left the table completely satisfied. All this for 19 euros, we will certainly go there again.

In the winter period they are open all year and have themed live music evenings. Worth the trip if you do not live close by.

After eating we took our coffees outside to listen to the music. Whilst a little chilly for the time of year, the ambiance more than made up for it. Th seven piece band, Paul Chéron Septet, were very good. Played my sort of jazz, more on the blues edge of jazz. The girl soloist had a voice I could listen to all night. You would normally expect to pay at least 20-25 euros a head to listen to such quality music, but here we were in a tiny village, in the open air, listening to world class mùusic for free. They certainly know how to organise local events in the Gers.

We will most certainly be putting Fources on our calendar for next summer.

For a great day out for all the family, Walibi Fun Park near Agen is a not to be missed experience.

With our 15% off vouchers it costs €18 for kids and €21 for adults. Which is not expensive compared to most UK activity parks.

It’s suitable for toddlers right up to grandparents like myself. It was very well attended yesterday but the longest we waited for any ride was 40 minutes. Whereas the average was about 20. Apart from the pony rides at €3, all attractions are free once your inside.

We started with the Coccinelle(Ladybird) ride. A mini roller coaster which gives just enough of a thrill that even small children can enjoy it. Be aware that many rides have height restrictions and the minimum height is either 92cm or 102cm. However there are still plenty for the very little ones to enjoy.

A lot of the rides are water based, White Water Rafting, Log Flume and Splash Battle. So it’s worth taking a spare set of clothes for the children.

Most people take a picnic lunch along and eat it in the separate picnic area, which is just outside the park. It’s worth doing this as the food is typical “fast food”, quite expensive and not that great. Most French people picnic and you can see them transporting huge picnic boxes for their typical three course lunch, with wine of course.

At the end of our day we went to the resident circus. A fantastic show of clowns, acrobats and trapeze artists. It lasted about 45 minutes and everyone from the youngest to the eldest thought it was a pure delight. I haven’t been to a circus for over 30 years, after yesterday I will certainly go again.

The park opens at 10.00 and closes at 19.00 during the school holidays.

We had a great day out, lots of fun, plenty of screams and we returned home at 19.00 very happy, wet and tired.

For further information you can visit their site at - http://www.walibi-aquitaine.fr

Today I hired a boat at the port in Nerac with my family. We were 10 in total and it cost €45 for 1 hour. All the children were suppled with life jackets.

The boat was outboard motor driven, plenty of room for up to 14 people with a canopy protecting you from the sun. The boats range from 4 people up to 14 like ours, making it suitable for groups of various sizes. The hour allowed us to travel up to the lock gates at Nazareth and back again.

We saw ducks, which we fed bread to and a couple of aquatic mammals. the river was quite busy and we were overtaken by a number of holiday boats. The children enjoyed taking it in turns a the wheel and playing captain.

The overall experience was a good one. The cost not prohibitive. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Nerac is only 20 minutes from Le Clozet and has many attractions to occupy families who stay in our gites.

For further information you can visit the web site of the local tourist office - http://www.albret-tourisme.com/

Yesterday I visited Le Vert Gallant, next to the Baiise in Nerac. They make their own ice creams and have 78 different flavours. The usual vanilla, chocolate etc, with exotic ones such as poppy, lavendar and fig. There are even savoury flavours such as camembert and chilli. Haven’t been courageous enough to try them yet.

It’s in a lovely sunny position set above the river, opposite the stunning Chateau d’Henry IV. The staff are very pleasant and helpful. My grandchildren thought it was great.

Le Clozet is a beautiful restored Gascon farmhouse that is rented out as Gites and Chambre D’Hotes all year round. Check back soon for all the comings and goings in the South of France…

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