Claire's

A very kind lady, Claire Hitchcox provided cosy accommodation for my 5 days southern france trip. She owns a house near Magalas in Southern France (43°29'54.87N, 3°12'17.76"E, google earth file link). For those who plans to visit southern france and is interested in staying in a self-catered typical french house with fully equipped kitchen to cook some french cuisine with fresh local ingredients; who likes to take a cool swim in the pool during the warm french summer; who enjoys waking up to the bird chirps and walking in huge vineyard; who'd like to forget about busy schedules & just let the time stands still; I'd definitely recommend Claire's house.

Claire's place's centralized location is an added bonus. There's a small chateau within walking distance (take a morning jog/run around the vineyard & surely won't miss it); Montpellier is about an hour drive away; Sète takes about an hour drive down south; 30mins drive away, a lively french market await in Pézenas; and Barcelona is just 3 hours drive away (save the flight cost ;)).

Montpellier is one of the very few big city in France that doesn't contain Roman influence. Some of its streets have great differences of altitude and also very narrow, which gives it a more intimate feel. Sète, with enclosed salt water lake on one side & the Mediterranean sea on the other, has rich oyster & mussels fields. With canals running through the city, this beautiful city has a special squid recipe of its own - Seiche Farcie. I didn't get to try it but here's another way of eating squid, the french way ;)