Southern France and my G10

First let me say sorry that I have been gone for so long. I took a little break from public life to just relax and spend sometime with the family. I spent the last several weeks in the southern part of France visiting my parents and recouping from a recent illness.

I decided to bring and test out the limits of my Canon G10 Point & Shoot. It is not nearly as cooperative, flexible nor as sharp as my Nikon D3 but it also does not weigh a ton and is convenient enough to stuff in my pockets. The only real disappointment I had was with the high noise in the shadows and its inability to shot quality shots in dark situations. I found that many of my shots were just not that sharp unless the lighting conditions were ideal. Maybe I am just terribly spoiled by the abilities of my D3 paired with the lens collection I own. I just need to remind myself that this was not a photo vacation but a time to spend with my family and to recoup.

Instead of overcrowding my parents place in Caune-Minervois with all five of us, we ended up staying a few kilometers away at a wonderful place called Les Berges that is run by longtime family friends Lois and Terry Link. They rent out four apartments in their vast home that they fixed up to a very comfortable place to stay. If any of you are thinking of visiting the Southern part of France in or around Caunes-Minervois, give them a call to see if they have room for you and your family. You will not regret it, especially if you have children.

Berges is the absolute perfect place for children of all ages. Their land is filled with a ton of activities that kids just eat up. My kids spent most of their time either playing in the creek hunting for minnows and harmless water snakes to swimming in the pool. They also have a nice kids play area with a swing, tree fort and open grass area.

Les Berges

Walking towards Adventure

Friends Climbing onto the in-progress tree house

All three enjoying a little swinging relaxation.

On the hunt for minnows

Isabel spotting fish for her sister

Eva loved this swing

Using the Olympus 1030sw for some underwater shots

I kept thinking that this camera is just too cool while Eva and Isabel show off their skills

Theresa and Declan cooling off from the heat

Declan's perfect size pool

That is it for now. I just wanted to give you a little taste of what I have been up to. I will keep posting about my trip over the next few days.

Stay tuned.........