French B&Bs

We have recently spent more time sitting behind the wheel of the car than we would prefer, but even though we are retired we do not have all the time in the world. While we were in Britain we noticed that there has been considerable comment about the price of holidays in Euroland largely due to the nose dive of the value pound in Euros over the last few months. However there are ways round the prices for accommodation: Youth Hostels and Bed and Breakfast. We will write about the latter this time.
If you know roughly where you are going log onto the Gites de France web site shown above and search in the appropriate departmente to find those B&Bs that are registered in the area you wish to go to. You can also pick up B&Bs as you move around by looking for Chambre d'hote. You can obviously also ring the proprietors up. Do you need to book beforehand? Probably yes in the holiday months of July and August. You are likely to find yourself stopping in anything from a suburban semi through farms to manor houses. The rooms cost between 50 and 80 Euros for two people in a double room with breakfast. The real savings come when you also take advantage of Table d'hote which is 3 or 4 course home cooked evening meal plus an aperitif and a quarter L of wine, taken with your hosts. This will cost you between 15 and 20 Euros per person.
Two places we can recommend are:
La vigneronne de Marie in Boujan sur Libron near Beziers on the Canal du Midi in the south. (7 rue de la Poste, 34760 Boujan sur Libron, T: +33 04 67 37 71 69, dominique.vieren@orange.fr).
La Clairièrie de Mancenans, 9 rue principale, 252 Mancenans in the Doubs Valley west of Belfort. T: 0381927806. Excellent food, a swimming pool.
The only slight disadvantage is that to enjoy these places you will need a little French. The more you have the better.