jimtex: "On the road again..."

...a country and western song sung often by Willie Nelson and sparingly by Jim Schwobel. (That is probably the only time you will ever see those two names in the same sentence)

It is time to catch up on my travels in France.

I left Iceland on Sept. 13 and arrived in Paris that afternoon. I then stayed in the home of my friend Jo Sanchez and his wife Paulette – who live in a suburb of Paris. During that time, we played Petanque just about every afternoon with his club, played in two tournaments and I also bought a car to carry me through the rest of my journey in France. I call her "Fury" because she is a black 2002 Citroen C5 station wagon and tricked out with every option including leather interior, phone (I use my own) and GPS. I'll sell the car at the end of my trip.

"Fury" - Giddiup!

On Oct. 10, I left on my driving adventure through France where I am managing to visit most of the major attractions relating to the game of Petanque, and along the way, discovering lots of other major attractions in France.

The first night I stayed in a BnB in Tonnere, about 120 miles south of Paris, in a very old 3-story rock home only 100 ft. from the Bourgogne Canal. This is one of many canals in France that, starting in the 16^th century, were built for boat traffic that transported goods around France. There are over 3,000 miles of man-made canals in France (France is 2/3 the size of Texas) and my first encounter with one was when, in 1975, I lived near Toulouse and close to the Canal du Midi. This canal was a very important trade route because it connects the Atlantic Ocean (at Bordeaux) all the way across the southern end of France, and just north of the Pyrenees mountains, to the Mediterranean Sea. These canals are today populated with all kinds of live-aboard boats that people can buy or rent by themselves or travel on larger canal boats with other tourists. On several previous trips to France, I had concentrated on visiting canals, with the idea of perhaps some day buying a canal boat and traveling around France for a year or so. It is a very leisure and relaxing way to see the French countryside.

Chablis, France - Yep, THAT Chablis.

The next morning, I drove about 250 miles to St. Bonnet du Chateau where I camped in the car that night. This is where the most famous Petanque boules (balls) are manufactured at the Obut factory. They have a great museum relating to this sport and a nice retail store where I somehow managed to avoid buying any more sets of Petanque boules (I have 6 sets in Austin and one set with me on this trip).

During the day, it began snowing for the first time this season in the middle of France and I got a late start on the road to my next destination. I ended up driving into the night, something I try to avoid here in France, and finally arrived in Mende where I checked into a nice 3-star hotel for a nice dinner of Muscat wine, Heineken beer, a sandwich, some pate and cheese - and a good night's sleep.

An early start the next morning took me 160 miles to Millau. This is where they hold the Petanque world championships every year in August. I stayed in a very comfortable campground for a couple of nights because I managed to find a group of local retirees playing Petanque and they invited me to play.