Limousin is slap in the middle of France (and left a bit). It's very rural and is the second least populated region after Corsica. It is also the only French region to have given its name to a 20' car with a jacuzzi in the back. Historians claim the association comes from the very long cloaks worn by Limousin shepherds, though what shepherds were doing driving limos is anyone's guess.
It is said that more people live in the city of Marseille than in the whole of the region of Limousin. Earlier this year, they put this to the test and the entire populations swapped places. Sure enough, all the Limousins were comfortably housed in Marseille (with apartments to spare) while many Marseillais were unable to find accommodation in Limousin and ended up sleeping rough on park benches.
Limousin is famous for its oak trees, used for wine barrels throughout France. I'm a beer drinker myself, but I do find that the phenols in Limousin oak interact cheekily with the wine to bring out its tea, caramel, smoke and raspberry notes. Another natural resource is kaolin, which gave birth to Limoges porcelain and also has medicinal properties. So if you're after a nice mug or just have a gyppy tum, Limoges is the place for you.
Limoges is the region's capital, and the location of the world's first (and so far only) Gregorian Chant - laundering scam. Adémar de Chabannes, eleventh-century monk and composer put it about that he'd discovered a Mass by Limoges' patron saint, Martial. The Mass was an instant hit and topped the charts for several years. It wasn't until 1920 that someone pointed out the uncanny handwriting similarities between the 'Saint Martial' Mass and Adémar's own, earlier hit 'Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, Gloria in Excelsis.'
La Résidence - THE French Property People
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