Happy for you!
Valence (not far from Romans or Tournon, where you were between) is my prefered town in France:
nice people (in my 1st 2 years here, I had 10 times as many buddies than in 20 years on Bordeaux country), nice countries (Vercors and Ardèche: small mountain, with paesants/cows, or with forests), a medium sized town with as many interesting things than a bigger, for who knows inquiring.
Grenoble where I live at now is the worst french town lol (and I moved home more than 20 times in France..), with even colder people than Bordeaux.
How many remembrances when I was living in Valence, of playing table rpgs, nights of boardgames in closed frontage store, 7 PC lans at home or nights again in other closed cybercafé, concert and excellent meal in paesant fields, being part of guests to smoke specials afterward..., invited in librairies for new often 'subversive' books..., helping for new stores, or houses of friends, ...