Family travel blog

We discovered this small island by chance, looking for a place to go for 2-3 days at the seaside, somewhere warm in May, so Normandy was excluded from the start:) Ile de Ré is convenienly situated at 5 hours driving from Paris, near La Rochelle, on the west coast of France. The island is connected with mainland by a spectacular 3km long bridge, which has dedicated bike paths. The island is so tiny ( 30 km long, 5 km wide) that you are surrounded by sea from all sides- if you cross the road, you are already on the other side of the island:)) We stayed in Rivedoux, one of the 10th villages of  the island, in a cosy “maison des pecheurs”, 100 meters from a sandy beach. The center of the village is charming, typical for French countryside, with  the well-known trio: La Mairie, L’église  and Le marché -where you can buy fresh products( fruits, fish, seafood). Ile  de Ré is a paradise for bikers, having more than 100 km of bike routes, approximately half of them be...

There is nothing more peaceful and inspiring in the world for me than a place between Mediteraneean Sea and the mountains. We found this little corner of paradise in French Catalunya, near Perpignan. Far less known than Spanish Catalunya, Costa Brava or Barcelona, the former Spanish territories belong to France only since 1659, thus explaining the specificity of this part of  Langedoc-Rousillon. Catalan influences are practically everywhere, in the architecture of houses, with light, earth-colours and  Spanish balconies, the churches (Cathedrale Saint Jean Baptiste) ,the Palace of Majorca Kings (1309) or the former gate to enter into the city-Il Castillet.                                          Canigou Mountain( 2784m) -view from Palace of Kings of                         ...