There is nothing better than hitting the road, and take your time to glaze at the natural beauty of the country side 😁.

My wife @lionmom and the kids joined me for a trip to Marciac, as we had few errands to run in the surrounding area.
I've selected my favourite shots, which are edited on the free software GIMP that you can here

That day, we got lucky to have a lot of sun, but enough cloud to create these beautiful contrasts. We aren't in Autumn yet, but the colours are slowly changing.

Soon the cranes will migrate from the north and spend the rest of Autumn and Winter with us. It was a sight to behold last year, during the lockdown.
This time around, I would like to explore the Pyrenees mountains, by the end of the year. It will also be the first time for our dogs to to see the snow....

I took this road by myself when I went to fetch our kitty Naledi 2 weeks ago, and I knew that I would have to come back with everyone else, so we can just enjoy a road trip together.

It's crazy that only 1h away from home, the architecture is already different from our area. I also couldn't help but notice that the size of the villas, was increasing, the closer we were getting to Marciac. Not only this, but the rustic stone work that we have in our side of the country side, slowly transformed into something closer to either "Provencal" and my wife even suggested Italian style, so Roman by definition.

It took me 34 years to get my driver's license, and you can only imagine how militating it must have been, especially for your my fellow friends from the US, I know it must be a shocker! 😆
When I was living in Paris, I was either using the public transport, or cabs to get around. In South Africa, I was using their own type of public transport called "Taxis" (minibus), so having a car with the freedom that it entails.
It's clear that we wouldn't have moved to the country side without a car, here it's all about being free and independent.

Speaking of freedom, we made at this lake, and if you look closer, you will see RVs on the other side of the lake, just such a marvellous spot for chilling, fishing and possibly barbequing.

This is something we would like to do for a week in the near future, a road trip in RV.

We stopped again for this shot, I already knew that I would want to get rid off the saturation and play with the shadows.

Also a shot discussed with @lionmom for a very long time, she was behind the camera (Samsung S21) on a small road, a BMW behind us trying to overtake while we drove at walking speed, and even reversed because we "missed the right shot" 😁. The BMW got mad but we did not give a f**k.

Some cranes seemed to already have arrived from the North, so it is the confirming sign that autumn is already here.
It's amazing how they appear to live in symbiosis with the cows, or are they "grus" (common crane)?

The farmers will eventually let their sunflower dry, and only then they will harvest. They're getting quite crispy out there 😂. I am still totally amazed by this plant, and have vivid memories of seeing them for the first time as a kid.

Right now, you notice that these sunflowers aren't facing the sun anymore, meaning that they have reached maturity. Heliotropism only occurs during the blooming process of the plant.

Why the plants are facing the sun in its early age, you may ask? It's to maximise its photosynthesis, pretty logical :)

That was the last stop before arriving to Marciac.

Marciac

This small commune with 1220 inhabitants is well known in France because of its Annual Jazz Festival, Jazz seems to be a part of the local culture of the town, which is taught in many schools in the area.

I've never been invited to play at the festival 😁, but as you can see I still like stalking around the area hahaha.

Apparently you needed to have a "passe sanitaire" (green passport) this year to access the festival held between the 24th of July to the 4th of August.

Cough cough

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In Marciac, the doctor will play you "Fly me to The Moon" while checking your pulse 😁.

And this is the end of the road trip. The same day I also went to Toulouse, and just spent the entire day driving 😆, but my co-pilot wasn't there to help me taking these wonderful shots.

Thanks for reading!