So here they were, my boys, to meet me at the airport. My single summer was over and I had two weeks in the bosom of my family in France. Two whole weeks without deadlines, fashion crises (omg pink’s out, punk’s in!) or worrying about what to wear to work (all documented on .company.co.uk should you ever want to see). Instead, I faced two weeks of wearing shorts, stripey t shirts and a variety of flip flop type footwear.

I could at this point do nothing. Nada. Sit on a sun lounger or our beloved hammock and just chill. But I can’t. And as my boys had spent four weeks doing little more than playing in the pool, visiting vide greniers, eating pizza at Restotop our local restaurant, or visiting our friend’s camel farm, I decided that now Mummy was here – activities would commence. Wether anyone wanted to go or not. I scoured the Internet, visited the local tourist info office and it turned out there was plenty of stuff to do within an hour or so’s drive.
So should you ever be in SW France – here is the White Family guide to places of local interest as written by Arthur and Seb.

1) The Pic du Jer Funiculaire

Whilst we were waiting for the cable car thing that takes you up the mountain there was a huge beetle – we took a photo of it.
We took the train up the side of a mountain when we got to the top we walked to the very top it was exhausting and at the same time very fun. This is what it says on the internet about it….
The Pic du Jer, towering over the town, is recognizable by its large cross which is illuminated at night. You can get there by a hundred-year-old funicular railway which takes you to the summit at an altitude of 1000 metres in a few minutes; it’s a charming trip.
At the top, a gentle path takes you to the observatory, where you will discover a unique panoramic viewpoint offering a 360° view over Lourdes, Tarbes, Pau, the Argelès-Gazost valley and the summits of the Pyrenees. We had fun.

2)Crazy Golf in Plaisance

When we got to the crazy golf course at Plaisance we saw our friends Oliver and Elliot, they were at the swimming pool next door. At the crazy golf there are a total of 13 holes. I won by a point, it was Epic! The final hole you have to get the ball inside a well (Mummy came last). Seb and I both had a can of coke because it was so hot. After we finished playing our game, we had ice cream it was yummy. This is a good place to come to but it is closed a lot. In fact we have been here lots of times to try and play crazy golf but it is closed. I think maybe it only opens in the afternoons.

3) The Tour De Termes

At the Tour which is not too far from our house – there was a cage where they used to put bad people, so Seb and I went in it. In every room in the castle there were some wax people in different scenes from the olden days. There is a really cool gift shop. I got a bow and arrow that Seb broke straight away – and he still owes me a bow. This is what I found on the internet about the Tour.
The Château de Thibault de Termes was a medieval castle in the French town of Termes-d’Armagnac, in the Gers département. The keep (La Tour de Termes-d’Armagnac) is the only vestige.

Construction of the castle dates from the end of the 13th century and start of the 14th century for Jean, Count of Armagnac. The keep is 36 m (~118 ft) high and includes six levels. Strategically built on a hill which dominates the valleys of the Adour and the Arros, it allowed the d’Armagnac family to keep watch over the frontiers of the province of Armagnac. Its most famous inhabitant was the founder’s son, Thibault d’Armagnac, companion of Joan of Arc. He gave evidence on her behalf at her trial. Cool huh?

4) The Rope Park at Aignan

We went to the rope park at Aignan we had to do like a little course to learn how to do it. There are four levels blue, yellow, red and a zip wire across a lake. Daddy was so heavy he got dipped in to the water when he did it – but I didn’t.

Although I got stuck on a red course because it was too hard. When you google Rope Park at Aignan Mummy’s blog comes up because she has already written a post about it. Cool. It is our favourite place to go and loads and loads of fun for kids. We would definitely recommend it.

5) The Chateau De Montaner

So I’m going to do this one myself as Arthur and Seb have apparently grown bored of doing blog post reviews. And besides, this was one of my favourite days out despite being a thousand degrees hot that day.
The Chateau plays host to medieval reenactment stuff but we had got there too late or too early to see people ride around on horseback in funny costumes.

What we did get to see were wild birds being trained – the owls were a big hit with the kids thanks to Harry Potter. There were more stocks…

But the best thing of all, was a calligraphy class they have running all day which brought out the Roy and Hayley Cropper in Peter and I. I absolutely loved it and despite being a completely unsentimental person usually who goes through the house throwing out kids early artwork, birthday cards etc, I’ve kept our calligraphy from this day.

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