Mézin is a village of 1,500 souls located in the heart of Gascony (the department of Lot-et-Garonne) in south-west France. I took the fast train to visit an English friend who lived there. Here are some photos:

Here’s the town hall (below). As you can see, things are rocking:

You can just imagine walking down this narrow street in the Middle Ages, dodging the contents of chamber pots flung out of upstairs windows.

Here’s the church of Saint John the Baptist that dominates the town square. It was built over an extended period of time, from the 11th to the 14th century:

Here’s my friend’s house. When she bought it, it was a wreck. She had it gutted and renovated:

The guest bedroom:

Those windows were flung wide open so I could sleep with the fresh, cold air pouring into the room. When outside of polluted Paris, I can’t get enough of country air. I’m on a constant quest for quietude and clean air.

The town square. To tell you the truth, I found the village to be kind of depressing (I didn’t say so to my friend, but I did wonder why she had chosen to live there.) I left after two days and two nights, and never went back.