A solo trip to southwest France

Recently I started to plan my 2009 trip.

I'm glad I started researching early, because my plan for this trip has already had 2 significant time changes. I have gone from 2-1/2 weeks to a 4 week trip.

I started out knowing that I wanted to go to the Bordeaux region of France. It was an area I had not explored, and after seeing some of the sights on TV over the years from the Tour de France, I decided it was time to visit this area.

After reviewing several maps of the area, I think that staying near Agen will be the best option because it will allow me to stay in the same house for all 3 weeks. This will add more time for relaxing over the course of the trip.

The DK Eyewitness Guide for the Dordogne and Southwest France was already on my bookshelf, so I started tagging some pages and making a list of places I wanted to see. This was where I started realizing that I wanted to have a full 3 weeks in the area.

The list of places to see includes, Bordeaux, Lourdes, Pau, Bayonne, Toulouse, Auch, Rocamadour, Cahors, Figeac, Perigueux, Bergerac, and much more.

The area is also filled with prehistoric sights, caves and grotte (grotto's) filled with paintings that are over 10,000 years old.

There are many chateaus throughout the region to visit, and churches, villages, and the occasional museum all add to the list of places to see and things to do.

It is said that this region is known as the Tuscany of France.

Daily there will be a lot of driving around to take it all in, but this is something I enjoy. Adding the extra time, allows me to have some slow days of either short amounts or no driving.

I also can take the train from Agen to Toulouse or Bordeaux to save some driving. I may actually take the train clear to Agen, then rent the car, and enter Bordeaux only by train.

I already have a nice sized list of rental houses to choose from that I found on Holiday-Rentals.co.uk.com. I have completed a estimated budget and started saving for the trip.