Autumn in the Limousin

The Chateau of Rochechouart in the Limousin. Last weekend (1 November) was La Toussaint (all saints) in France so our neighbors returned to the village where their family lived for the previous three hundred plus years. It has traditionally been one of the poorer regions of France and many lived by eating large quantities of chestnuts which are abundant in the area.

In France there's always a very strong connection to the region where you or your family are from. When you visit, you typically eat and drink the local foods. You may be able to find the same type of food in Paris, though the quality is never quite the same as you find in the country. There's something special about enjoying it in the area where it's been enjoyed for hundreds of years. It makes me homesick for soft shell crabs, Chincoteague oysters and Natty Boh.

More photos past the click.

People will lay flowers at the graves of their family at this time of the year so florists all over the country have stunning fall flowers.


It was too overcast to get much color so I tried a black and white of the local church.

A closer view of the unique steeple. It reminded me a bit of the famous crooked spire in Chesterfield, England.


Standing by a river where you could hardly tell where the river started.

Foraging in the local forest for chestnuts. Wild boar also like them so any noise that you hear, you wonder if that's the sound of one of them. Well, at least that's what us city types think. They're everywhere but you need to find one that is heavy. The light ones probably have a worm inside who is getting full.

The target - chestnuts.

Eating the roasted chestnuts that we rounded up earlier.

Signs of Halloween (Alowine, actually) on this butcher's sign. It's still more widely seen in the country than in Paris.

A cute little cheese shop in the country next to the farm. Very tasty cheese from both cow's milk and goat's milk at prices that I've never seen before.

The curious bull from the dairy farm. This breed has what looks like a wig on their head. The cows at this farm were dairy cows as opposed to the Limousin cattle which is highly regarded for beef.

Lustucru the neighborhood cat stopped by when he smelled dinner. Saucisson and boudin blanc scraps were on the menu.

Lustucru relaxing after a hard day of patrolling the neighborhood.