We are back!

We have arrived safely and have spent our first week in glorious weather in France. (around 30 degrees!)

The flight was as usual……long.  We picked up our car in Paris and have decided to call him Louis. Unbeknown to us, we arrived in France at the start of a 4 day long weekend and needless to say, the traffic around Paris was merde…..translated ..shit! It took us 2 hours to drive 40 kms. It was 9 hours in total to travel 600 kms, to spend the first 2 nights with our French family.

We then drove to our “house” in Moussoulens, a small village about 10 kms from the larger city of Carcassonne in the Aude Department in the South West of France. Our house is typically French with 3 stories , and the only problem is that the “dunny” is on the ground floor , and the bedroom is on the 2nd floor! It is a slight problem , and a fair hike when one needs the dunny during the night!

Our village is small and quiet but there is a fantastic boulangerie within walking distance and the baguettes and pastries are sensational. We have a few supermarkets close by and we have stocked up well as you can see.

We went into the “big smoke” of Carcassonne for a day. It is famous for its “Cite de Carcassonne”, a medieval walled fortress, UNESCO listed and fully restored in 1853.

The Cite has 2 outer walls with 53 towers and of course the “compulsory” 12th Century Chateau.

Of course all the walking required some refreshments and later, lunch!

We had to have the local specialty of cassoulet, a rich slow cooked casserole consisting of white beans, duck confit, toulouse sausage and pork! Yummo!

We have done a little touring. We are very close to the famous Canal Du Midi, a 240km long canal running between Toulouse and Sete. It was built by 12,000 men between 1666 and 1681. There are 63 locks, 126 bridges, 55 aquaducts and 5 canal bridges! How are those stats? We spent some time watching the boats going through the locks!

Yesterday we went exploring a little further and took a drive through the Val de Dagne. We went through Trebes which has a large marina on the Canal du Midi. We had looked for a house here, but on visiting the town we are happy to be in Moussoulens!

Another little village we passed through called Monze had a very pretty 12th century bridge…..still standing!

The next stop was Labastide en Val. It had a lovely water stream running through the centre, lots of water troughs and fountains.

We then decided it was time for lunch, so headed to the larger village of Lagresse which has a huge Abby founded in 799! The village dates back to the 14th Century with some beautiful houses and a covered market place. obviously no market on our tour!

Our lunch was the “Menu du Jour”. Three courses for 13.50 euros per head! Rhonda had a lovely fresh salad , then chicken and lemon tart. Greg had a charcuterie plate, and the chicken and lemon tart! All washed down with a beer and kir! Sensational AND cheap! No dinner that night….well just some cheese and red wine!

We are slowly immersing ourselves in the French way of life. Loads of cheese, aperitifs, pastries, baguettes, and of course champers and vino! There goes the waistline already!

Speaking of which, wine that is, not waistlines, it’s that time again!

Keep warm!

The Roberts.