One of the great things about living in Barcelona is that it is so close to France! In early September Roy and I rented a car and drove to the\u00a0Dordogn<\/span>e<\/span><\/a> department of France to catch up with some friends from Minnesota.\u00a0 Roy will be writing a separate post about some of the interesting things we saw on the way there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We met Theresa and Forrest, who were traveling in France with their brother and sister-in-law, in Sarlat la Can\u00e9da<\/span><\/a>, a beautifully preserved medieval town in southwestern France.\u00a0 It is in a hilly area with numerous limestone cliffs, castles, and caves, some with prehistoric paintings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our first morning in town there\u00a0was a huge street market going on just a few steps from our lodgings and we all found something wonderful for a picnic lunch.<\/p>\n After our picnic a short drive away, we visited an old ch\u00e2teau that was built into a rock face called the Maison Forte de Reignac<\/span><\/a>. Inside is a cave that has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The front of the house was built on in the 14th century. There was a nice museum inside the house with some Cro-Magnon relics. The next morning it was time for us to say our goodbyes and start back to Barcelona before our next visitors arrived. It had been over a year since we had last seen Theresa and Forrest and\u00a0 we were so glad that we were able to meet them.<\/p>\n Our next trip to France was nine days later with two other Minnesota friends, Frank and Peggy.<\/p>\n We all took a train up the coast to the little town of Collioure<\/span><\/a>, just 15 miles over the border into France. This picture postcard town of three thousand has been a draw to\u00a0artists for many years because of the quality of the light.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n