{"id":18632,"date":"2018-08-31T16:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T16:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=18632"},"modified":"2018-08-31T16:00:19","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T16:00:19","slug":"a-nose-around-nerac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/a-nose-around-nerac\/","title":{"rendered":"A Nose Around N\u00e9rac"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nerac\"
Exploring Nerac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It feels strange to be writing about France whilst overlooking cloud covered Tyrolean Mountains, but whilst we endure a morning full of torrential rain (still pretty though!) I am going to make the most of catching up, so on to our nose around N\u00e9rac<\/a> very recently, a relatively small town on the Southern edge of the Lot et Garonne…<\/p>\n

\"exploring
Nerac sailing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We opted out of a tour of the last remaining wing of the Chateau that belonged to France’s beloved King Henry IV (most of it was destroyed in the revolution) opting instead for a drift down the river\u00a0Ba\u00efse on a little boat hired from Le Croisieres du Prince Henry<\/a> (they also have a much larger boat you can take a tour on if you don’t fancy sailing your own!).<\/p>\n

\"exploring<\/p>\n

\"nerac<\/p>\n

Despite the 11-year-old being furious about having to wear a life jacket whilst his older sister didn’t (French Law and all that), we spent a pleasant hour or so floating about on the vividly green waters, passing the Bath House where Henry’s Ladies would change (and he would peep on them by all accounts, he was a bit of a one for the ladies!) and many other statues and memorials along the river bank.<\/p>\n

\"bath
The Bath House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I would like to say it was an entirely peaceful journey, but despite being allowed to “drive” the boat for a good chunk of the journey, the Toddler’s enthusiasm for messing about on the river depleted quite rapidly. I would love to return sans enfants perhaps, with a picnic for a slightly longer definitely more relaxing exploration upstream – the\u00a0Ba\u00efse is 188 km long and starts life in the Pyrenees so there’s plenty to explore (as long as there was someone else in charge of the complicated looking locks!)…<\/p>\n

\"nerac<\/p>\n

\"nerac<\/p>\n

Afterwards we took a leisurely stroll along the river bank through the Park Royal de la Garenne (look out for the covered Roman mosaic at the start,\u00a0N\u00e9rac has a lengthy history!) stopping for lunch at the brightly painted Chalet De La Garenne.<\/p>\n

\"la<\/p>\n

This building is over 100 years old, and must have been quite the social focal point in its day.\u00a0 Today it’s open in the summer months only, and is good for a simple tartine with pizza-esque toppings for lunch…\u00a0 It also does a decent Leffe!\u00a0 N\u00e9rac is famous for being the home of Fois Gras by the way, so you will find it quite a lot on the menus here if you like that kind of thing (or avoid it if it’s not!).<\/p>\n

\"navigating<\/p>\n

Crossing the bridge and walking back towards town past colourful back gardens (and the bath house, definitely worth a closer look!), we spent the remainder of our time in N\u00e9rac admiring the colombage – the half-timbered houses and tanneries, and the cobbled streets (look out for the town wash-house near the main car park!).<\/p>\n

\"navigating<\/p>\n

\"navigating<\/p>\n

\"colombage<\/p>\n

\"navigating<\/p>\n

Saturday is market day if you happen to be visiting over a weekend (and it’s also famous for its huge flower market on the second weekend in May), but we enjoyed exploring on a quiet day where it was easy to pretend we had it all to ourselves…<\/p>\n

France does this kind of place so very well…<\/p>\n

\"pretty<\/p>\n

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