Hello

[Jiml]

sorry, forgot to add to that post, yes we always say it is like stepping back in time, but in a good way. it seems like another world there, where health and safety haven't taken over and barred people from doing the most simplest of things. A shopkeeper can handle a baguette with their bare hands, which admittedly takes a bit of getting used to, dogs can go in restaurants and no one actually gets struck down from this 

Just the way life should be lived Jane ..laid back ... Let's hope the French don't go the way of Britain where everything is so sterile and ridiculously  health and safety conscious, where common sense has gone out of the window and kids can't play conkers, you're frightened to say anything that might offend a minority group... It's all gone belly up ( careful choice of word ) over here ...
Enjoy France away from the bright lights of England
I think the word for rural France is ..... Rustic