Bournel, Lot et Garonne, France – super base for exploring the countryside

 

We stayed in a little hamlet called Bournel which is in the Lot et Garonne region of South West France.

On a sign in Bournel we found a Stendhal quote which said (after translation)

'Between Agen and Marmande, it is as beautiful as the landscape in Italy; the charm of the slopes, the color of the land, the dress, even  the language evokes the shores of Florence and Siena.

The Lot and Garonne is the Tuscany of France'

Bournel is on the edge of the Lot et Garonne area and was a good base for day trips to the Dordogne Valley. 

We saw lots of fields of sunflowers but didn't get a really great pic of any.

On our first morning in Bournel, a Sunday, we heard noises outside and realised that some sort of market was setting up just outside our back gate – it turned out to be a used goods market – so an unexpected benefit.

The most notable thing in the tiny hamlet of Bournel was the lovely old church tower – we could hear doves cooing from it as we sat by the pool. The choir of the Bournel church dates from the 12^th Century.  The square bell tower was added in the 15^th Century.

We rented a house known as Maison Bournel and found it quite charming.  It had a nice quiet setting and a lovely pool.  We could have stayed there much longer.