Lauzerte, France

I spent a week in France this summer - a laze-about-with-a-book, have-a-snooze-in-the-shade kind of actual holiday. I loved it. I stayed with relatives in Lauzerte, a gorgeous town in the Southwest, perched on a hilltop.  The surrounding countryside is all rolling hills and fields of relentlessly cheerful sunflowers calling you to stroll among them and pretend you're starring in a cheesy romcom.  Food and wine featured heavily, of course (well, when in Rome/Lauzerte!).  I was also lucky enough to be there for the annual Les Nuits de Lauzerte, a magical event where after dark the entire town becomes one huge installation of light, sound and image.  Photographs are projected onto walls, performers take to the streets, music is everywhere...  I enjoyed wondering about in the dark streets as a shadow, never quite sure what would be around the next corner. The main square was, of course, packed with people eating and drinking but a few seconds away an audience in the church sat hypnotised by a woman (who I later found out was Lunacello) with a cello, a loopstation and the voice of an angel. Definitely the star of the show, even if I WAS too busy listening to get a decent shot of her!