Pujols and Penne d’Agnenais – French Story & Translation

Author: Pierre

Practice your French with this French English bilingual story taking places in the Lot-et-Garonne Medieval villages of Pujols and Penne d’Agnenais.

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

Mandy nous raconte sa journĂ©e avec Pierre son hĂŽte et professeur d’immersion en France. Mandy est Australienne, elle habite Ă  Perth. Elle a passĂ© 5 semaines chez trois professeurs de French Today, 1 semaine chez Raymonde en Suisse, 2 semaines chez Marion dans le Beaujolais et enfin 2 semaines chez Pierre dans le Lot et Garonne. Beaucoup de dĂ©couvertes dans des rĂ©gions variĂ©es et beaucoup de progrĂšs dans la langue française !

Mandy is telling us her day with Pierre, her immersion host and teacher in France. Mandy is Australian, she lives in Perth. She spent 5 weeks with  3 French Today teachers, 1 week with Raymonde in Switzerland, 2 weeks with Marion in the Beaujolais and finally 2 weeks with Pierre in the Lot et Garonne. Lots of discovering in various areas and a lot of progress in the French language !

1 – Pujols’ Marketplace

D’abord, nous avons pris la voiture pour conduire jusqu’au marchĂ© de Pujols.  Il faisait un peu froid et brumeux en ce dimanche de novembre, mais la route Ă  travers la campagne française Ă©tait merveilleuse quand mĂȘme.

We started the day by driving to the markets at Pujols.   It was a little cold and foggy and this Sunday of November, but the drive through the French countryside was lovely in any case.

Quand on est arrivĂ©s, on a trouvĂ© le parking rempli de Porsches de diffĂ©rents types et couleurs. ll s’agissait, en fait, d’une association de Porsche en visite Ă  Pujols. Quelle surprise agrĂ©able ! On ne sait jamais ce sur quoi on va tomber quand on se promĂšne en France !

When we arrived we found that half of the car park was filled by an array of Porsches of many different types and colours. It turned out that the association of Porsche’s was also visiting Pujols. What a pleasant surprise! You never know what you’ll stumble upon when you are visiting France!

2 – Pujols Market in the Fall

Étonnamment, il n’y avait pas beaucoup d’étals au marchĂ© en ce dimanche suivant la Toussaint. AprĂšs une conversation avec une vendeuse trĂšs sympathique, on a rĂ©alisĂ© qu’il y a beaucoup des vendeurs qui ne viennent pas Ă  la basse saison d’octobre Ă  avril. Ce n’était pas grave, j’ai quand mĂȘme pu pratiquer mon français avec des marchands
 En fait, le manque de marchand Ă©tait un bon sujet de conversation !

Surprisingly, there were not too many stalls at the markets on this Sunday after All Saint’s Day.  After a conversation with a very nice vendor, we found out that many of the vendors don’t come in the low season, from October until April. No big deal, I was still able to practice my French with vendors
 Actually, the lack of vendors was a good subject of conversation!

AprĂšs le marchĂ©, nous voulions aller au restaurant, mais ils Ă©taient tous complets en ce dimanche suivant la Toussaint, et nous n’avions pas prĂ©vu le coup, et donc pas de rĂ©servation
 Un restaurateur nous a dit que nous aurions peut-ĂȘtre plus de chance Ă  Penne d’Agnenais, un petit village Ă  cĂŽtĂ© de Pujols. Donc, nous avons suivi ses conseils et y sommes allĂ©s.

After the market, we wanted to go eat in a restaurant, but they were all full on this Sunday following All Saint’s Day, and we had not plan on it, and didn’t make any reservation. A restaurant owner told us we may be more lucky in Penne d’Agnenais, a little village close to Pujols. So we took his advice and went.

3 – Discovering Penne d’Agnenais

ArrivĂ©s Ă  Penne d’Agnenais,, nous avons trouvĂ© un cafĂ© restaurant qui Ă©tait complet Ă  cette heure-lĂ , mais nous a dit de repasser un peu plus tard.

Once we were in Penne d’Agnenais, we found a cafĂ© restaurant which was full at that time, but told us to come back a bit later.

lot et garonne learn french

On est partis explorer le village, Pierre n’y Ă©tait jamais allĂ© avant, donc, c’était vraiment un nouvelle aventure. Penne d’Agnenais est un trĂšs joli petit village. On a fait une jolie balade Ă  travers des rues tortueuses et des allĂ©es offrant de chouettes vues et une belle architecture mĂ©diĂ©vale.

We set off to explore the village, Pierre had not been there before either so it really was a new adventure. Penne d’Agnenais is a gorgeous small village. We had a lovely walk through some winding streets and alleyways with many great views and beautiful Medieval architecture along the way.

Au moment oĂč nous sommes arrivĂ©s en haut de la colline, le brouillard s’est dissipĂ© et le soleil est sorti. On a dĂ©couvert un panorama magnifique sur la vallĂ©e du lot. Ce sont des moments comme celui-lĂ  qui vous font sentir vivant !

By the time we got to the top of the hill, the fog had cleared and the sun was shining.  We discovered a magnificent panoramic view over the Lot river valley. It’s moments like those which make you feel alive!

misty france learn french frenchtoday

Nous n’étions pas au bout de nos surprises !  On a continuĂ© notre marche et dĂ©couvert des grottes calcaires, des ruines et l’église Notre-Dame de Peyragude, une Ă©glise relativement moderne, construite sur un site historique qui a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©moli pendant la RĂ©volution Française. La construction actuelle a Ă©tĂ© achevĂ©e dans les annĂ©es 40.

It wasn’t the end of the surprises.  We continued our walk to find limestone caves, ruins and the Notre-Dame de Peyragude, a relatively modern church, built on the historical site which was demolished during the French Revolution. The current construction was finished around 1945.

Le temps s’était Ă©coulĂ© et il Ă©tait temps de retourner au cafĂ©. La chance nous a enfin souri, ils avaient une table pour nous!

The time had flown by and it was time to check back in at the cafe.  Our luck finally changed on the lunch front, they had a table for us !

Pierre, lui, a choisi le saumon et moi, j’ai pris le confit de canard.  Les deux plats Ă©taient dĂ©licieux : ça valait vraiment la peine d’attendre!

Pierre chose the salmon, while I chose the confit duck.  Both of our meals were delicious : it was definitely worth the wait!

AprĂšs dĂ©jeuner, on a regardĂ© un peu plus l’architecture tout en marchant jusqu’à la voiture : on Ă©tait tellement fascinĂ©s et sous le charme du village, qu’en fait on ne marchait pas du tout en direction de la voiture ! Pierre et moi avons bien ri !

After lunch, we looked at a little more of the architecture on our way back to the car : were so caught up in enjoying the village, that we were actually not heading towards the car at all ! Pierre and I had a good laugh!

On l’a trouvĂ©e finalement et on est retournĂ© Ă  Pujols.  Les Porsche commençaient Ă  s’en aller quand on est arrivĂ©s.

We did get there in the end and headed back to Pujols.  The Porsches had just started to leave as we arrived.

Traveling to France Off-Season

Pujols est un des plus beaux villages de France. C’était chouette de voir le contraste entre le village trĂšs animĂ© le matin (Ă  cause du marchĂ©) et puis calme et presque dĂ©sert l’aprĂšs-midi : on avait le village rien que pour nous ! C’est pour ça que je prĂ©fĂšre voyager en France Ă  la saison basse : pas de touristes ! MĂȘme dans les villages typiquement touristiques ! AprĂšs avoir jetĂ© un petit coup d’Ɠil, il Ă©tait temps de rentrer Ă  la maison.

Pujols is one of the most beautiful villages of France. It was lovely to have the contrast between the village very busy in the morning (because of the market) and then almost empty int he afternoon : we almost had the whole village to ourselves!  That’s why I prefer traveling to France during the low season: no tourists! Even in the villages which are typically liked by tourists! After a quick look around it was time to head home.

Le retour en voiture Ă©tait encore plus spectaculaire, la lumiĂšre rĂ©haussait les couleurs de la campagne.  Au final, c’était une journĂ©e trĂšs sympa et « notre chasse Â» pour dĂ©jeuner nous a conduit vers les trĂ©sors cachĂ©s d’un village mĂ©diĂ©val unique.

The drive home was even more spectacular, with the sunlight really bringing out the colours in the scenic countryside.  All in all it was a lovely day and our hunt for lunch lead us to the truly hidden treasures of a unique medieval village.

Author: Pierre

Pierre

Bonjour! My name is Pierre and I have a passion for history. It will be my pleasure to help you discover my beautiful region of France when you learn French in immersion with me.

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