Saturday, October 25, 2008

The Nitty Gritty Part 5: A Map

Since I have mentioned so many villages and towns near Bouzigues, I figured it might help to put them into perspective for you.

Bouzigues is beneath the red A.

Here are some points of interest:

  • Water: L’Etang de Thau, the lagoon on which we live, is the large body of water we appear to be floating in. There are many etangs along the coast, and l'etang de thau is one of the largest. That’s the Med to the right!
  • Meze: The closest “town”, which has a market on Thursday and Sunday. It also has a decent grocery store and our bank (ick!). Meze is about 5 minutes away.
  • Balaruc-les-Bains: Home of the “cultural center”, which is the locals’ love-name for the Carrefour. There are a lot of useful stores in Balaruc, but it is not very picturesque. Balaruc is about 7 minutes away.
  • Sete: This is the 4th largest port in France. It also boasts our closest train station. Sete is a very pretty canal town. The train station is about 15 minutes away, and Sete’s center is about 20 minutes away.
  • Pezenas: This is the home of the terrific Saturday market! Pezenas also has a brocante (antiques flea market) every other month, which we really enjoy. It has a charming centre ville with some amazing historical buildings. Pezenas is about 30 minutes away.
  • Montbazin: This is where my new American knitting friend lives! She’s only 14 minutes away.
  • Gigean: Home of the Abbaye St. Felix and la petite grotte. Gigean is about 10 minutes away.
  • St. Pons de Mauchiens: This is where we participated in la vendange!
  • Frontignan: Frontignan reminds me a bit of Santa Clara . . . lots of large stores and such. However, the Frontignan Plage (beach) is terrific! There are actually waves there.
  • For my running friends: My “beach” run takes me around the little tip of l’etang from Bouzigues to Balaruc and back, which is probably a 10K distance – takes me about an hour. My “Beverly Hills” run takes me up a steep (kick-ass!) hill from Bouzigues into Loupian and back, which is probably an 8K distance – takes me about 45 minutes.
  • A9 (the large orange road): This is the auto route that goes from Paris to Barcelona. If we take the A9 toward the top of the map, Montpellier is about 30 minutes away from Bouzigues. We try not to use the A9, since it is much like any large interstate. We prefer the smaller, “B” roads that travel through villages!

We have a lot of places still to explore.

Love to all!!

1 comment:

C. Galas said...

Hi Gayle, Mike, Josey, and Max!
We just caught up on your latest adventures. When we look at the map, we think of visiting there and borrowing your "haughty French boy" GPS to find our way. We miss you -- it was so great to visit you and would love to be back in southern France with you! Please keep sharing your fun with all of us.
Love,
Cathie and Dan