Arriving in France by train was simple, an experience that felt seamless amidst the excitement of travel. We simply rode the train from Munich to Agen, a journey that I had anticipated with much enthusiasm. Our first train departed from München Hauptbahnhof, a bustling hub filled with travelers. My son Albert, ever the caring one, dropped us off at the station, ensuring we were on the right track. It was incredibly convenient to have a ride instead of navigating through the maze of finding a bus stop and then figuring out which tram or U-Bahn line to take to reach our destination. When you are new to the public transport system in Germany, it is all so confusing—where the stop is located, what bus or train to get on, how to pay, and so on can all be daunting challenges for a newcomer. Thus, it was a great relief to have my son personally deliver us to the station, which took away much of that stress. Getting to share a visit with him, his lovely wife, and experience the joy of seeing my 9-year-old grandson was such a precious gift, creating memories that would last a lifetime. My thoughtful husband, with his knack for planning, decided this was the way we would begin our six-month adventure, setting the stage for countless explorations ahead and promising new adventures in both familiar and unfamiliar places.

We had four train connections to make to get us to our destination. The first one in Stuttgart. That was easy except we had a long run to get from our arriving platform to our departing one. The next one was a bit more tedious. We arrived in Paris from Stuttgart at the La Gare Ost. Easy, except we were departing from a different station – Gare Montparnasse. We hailed a taxi after arriving at La Gare Ost and google maps assured us it was only a 20-minute ride. Forty minutes later, we realized our connecting train was soon to depart. We ran into the station looking for our correct Halle. It was a massive train station with shops, restaurants, and so many travelers. An angel, a kind French woman saw our deer in the headlight faces and asked if we needed some assistance. “Yes!” we exclaimed. We are looking for Halle 1”. She kindly told us which way to go. If not for her help, we most likely would have missed our train.  We realized that the taxi driver was literally taking us the scenic route through the heart of Paris, including the Arch de Triumph and the Louvre. He knew that we had no idea the quickest route to the station. Dumb us! Oh well, we made it despite our ignorance. In less than five minutes, we were on our next train toward Bordeaux. The last train was from Bordeaux to Agen, a regional train, was much easier to find. We were so tired by this time, we simply shut our eyes and relaxed for the last hour to our destination.

We arrived in Agen, which is a little village in the South of France. It is the closest “big” city to where we are staying. The people we have met here are all so friendly and helpful. They seem to be a happy throng for the most part. We used Uber to get a ride from Agen to our friends property in Auradou. Half an hour later we were finally here! We did not realize how far out in the farm land it was. It is literally surrounded by farm land, sunflowers, maize, fruit trees, and a myriad of dairy animals. It is simply beautiful!

Our gíte is big. It is a stone-built fortress with at least a foot thick wall. I believe they built them this way, so it stays cooler during their hot summer months. There are three horses and a donkey that live on our property. If you don’t remember to close the gate and lock it, they tend to wander into the house to say hello! Now the owners do not own the horses but their Maison (property) came with a 2-year contract to have them here like it or not.

Back to the gíte, it also comes with various bugs, spiders, and rodents, mainly mice. We are out in the rural countryside and all these new friends are a constant reminder of this. So we are keeping sure not to eat food anywhere we shouldn’t be and clean up properly after. 

Today we went to pick up our rental car. Since we will be here for at least three months, we wanted to use TURO which is like Air BnB for cars. You get a much better car and deal for it. It is an app if you don’t know about it. So, we are renting from a car-owner who is the nicest Frenchman. He patiently waited for us at the Grisolle train station. Our train was a bit late of course. After much explanation of how to operate the car (all in French of course) off we headed for the closest Carrefour Market. We stocked up on provisions, wine, and toiletries. At the checkout it was quite surprising how much cheaper groceries are here than back in the US. It was about half of what we normally pay. 

It is gently raining now as we close the third day of our French Adventure. Despite the mouse crawling into bed with us last night and not having Internet, all and all is pretty good!