Wrapping Up Our Last Week in La Belle France.

May 27th - May 31st, 2019 

The last week of  “my birthday trip” in France! 

Monday ... I needed some “city life” as in some retail therapy but not really looking for anything or in need of anything. 

We headed to Carcassonne to a large shopping area on the outskirts. 

Here we found the largest as in massive Carrefour (grocery store) I’ve ever seen. 

It was inside an indoor shopping mall with many interesting shops. 

And of course this happened today ... Monsieur Honey got himself coiffed. 

I had hoped to get myself pampered with a cut however it looks like I’ll be waiting until I get home.

Normally, when we are in France each city, town, village has several coiffures.

Late last week I had asked Sylvie at the Vival where she gets her hair cut/ styled. 

She told me Montlaur does have a “coiffeurs à domicile” ... that does both men and women’s hair and she comes to you. 

Anyway time has slipped away ... so I’ll wait until I’m back home in Canada. 

Some pretty bling in the jewelry store window. 

The grocery store was massive with a great selection of goods! 

You’re sure to find a Rosé you like here ... so much selection.

The cuts of meat are so different to what we are use to / familiar with as the children of butchers. 

Both Monsieur Honey’s and my father were butchers in their day. 

These charts hanging in the meat department of the supermarket might be helpful and also make for interesting conversation with my brother who is a meat cutter (recently retired). 

Tuesday was an at home day ... we visited Jean Louis the butcher and we were in luck ... fresh made « Friands » were in the showcase. Delicious!

These are similar to meat pies. I’ve already searched for recipes, there are several varieties with different fillings. 

The ones we enjoyed were made with fine ground beef, mushrooms, parsley, herbs and a light gravy/sauce in puff pastry.  

We purchased a couple to have for our lunch today.

Wednesday ... date night at Bourdasso, if we are ever in the area again we will definitely add this to the must do list! 

See separate post “La Bourdasso Cucina Italiana” posted May 31, 2019

We shared lots of laughs about my birth “day” that turned into the birthday “month”of celebrations. 

It was an amazing night in a beautiful setting with great ambiance, Italian aperitifs, delicious creative food and wine shared with my best friend. 

Thursday ...was a holiday in France (Ascension Thursday). 

We  did a return trip to Narbonne. 

There was much more boat activity on the Canal today, and an outdoor market lined both sides of the Quai on the Canal de la Robine near Les Halles. The city was humming. And the sun shone brightly! 

Here some tourists walked on the 2000 plus years of history on the ancient Roman road ... “Via Domitia ”.

There was a large number of flower vendors today.

I hoped that I’d still be able to get plants for my gardens when I get home. 

Jokingly I was going to ask the truck driver to deliver some plants to my home. 

Friday -  our last day of our trip! Some packing and preparing for our departure tomorrow.

We did make a reservation for lunch at Le Moulin in Trèbes. 

I’ll be writing a separate post about our lunch on the canal.

The weather was absolutely glorious today and we enjoyed a later supper on the terrace. 

I’ll be back with a few more posts over the next few days.

More to Carcassonne than the Cité.

We’ve been watching the weather in order to choose the better/best days for outdoor activities. 

Jennifer is only here for seven days and it’s her first visit to “La Belle France” so we’re trying to make the most of her time here. 

We settled on a visit to Carcassonne for today, Thursday, May 9th ... the weather man is promising sunshine!

Twice in one week Monsieur Honey & I visited with the grand Dame Carcas. 

She stood out in her glory against the blue, blue skies today. 

(If you want some history on Carcassonne read the post “Legends and Cars of Carcassonne” posted on May 15th.)

We strolled thru the inner cobble-stoned streets flanked by the many tourist shops in the medieval Cité. 

Some are your typical “Disney” type selling traditional souvenirs, however, there are some more interesting boutique shops.

This shop’s owner provided excellent service and his merchandise was of good quality. 

Monsieur Honey typically doesn’t like to wear anything with advertisement, but here he made an exception with a “Carcassonne” T-shirt.

We later wandered around the outside of the inner walls ...which provided views of the other Carcassonne. 

Panoramic view over the “new town” below.

The rest of our day was spent in the Place Carnot area. 

We found a table in the square to enjoy some lunch in the sunshine, followed by some retail therapy at the boutique shops. 

The fountain in the square ...


My companions look happy after some great tasting food while catching some rays in the glorious sunshine. 

Tapas for lunch ... delicious! 

The restaurant front we sat in the square opposite ... 

The square is surrounded by apartment buildings with interesting architectural details and fancy railings.

Lamppost in the square ...

As I finish this post this morning, I realize that a week ago today we were heading back to the airport in Toulouse for Jennifer’s return flight.  

Time goes so quickly ...

I’ll be back with more of our travels with Jenn to Narbonne, Cerét, Bram, Mirepoix and Gruissan. 

Such a pretty basket of flowers ... 

Meet You in Carcassonne

Friday, May 3rd we headed out to Carcassonne to meet our friend, Laury who was arriving on the train, early afternoon.

First we needed to get our car out of the Impasse (driveway at the back of our house). This morning we were blocked in by the oil delivery truck which was filling a neighbour’s tank. 

While we were waiting, Monsieur Honey was curious about a container garden full of luscious green plants. He was in heaven as the aroma wafted his nostrils ... it was “mint”, conjuring up delicious recipes ... fresh shelled peas or boiled new potatoes with mint and of course lamb chops with mint jelly. 

It was a dreary, drizzly day ...

We arrived in Carcassonne with an hour or so to spare before the train’s arrival. 

We parked at the station. 

We found an old Art Deco restaurant/café nearby, a cozy place out of the drizzle and a delicious hot coffee! 

The train arrived in time ... there’s Laury!

A quick drive back to Montlaur, for a night in catching up on the news. 

A Night with My Knight in Shining Armour!

#Carcassonne#L'ostaldestroubadours#Aude

We decided to make a return visit to Carcassonne.  

Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude Dept. of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

The Cité de Carcassonne (the medieval fortress) was restored in 1853 by the architect Euegne Viollet-Le-Duc.

In 1997 it became an Unesco World Heritage Site and receives over three million visitors a year.

We arrived early afternoon and wandered thru the narrow cobblestoned lanes of the old city.

            

              

              Here is my knight in 2013 in Domme...

          

As it was July ... it was busy with many other visitors also checking out the sites and many shoppes that lined the streets ... that sell everything from tapestrys to the usual tourist souvenirs such as swords and shields for the children.

Sweet tasting treats to sweet smelling sachets ...

                    

                     

Oh my we found the same restaurant where we had a "Magic Night" in 2003!

We looked for it when we returned in 2005 and never found it  ... and left thinking it no longer was in operation! Part of the problem we didn't remember the name and we both had different ideas where in the old city it was located.

Fast forward to the internet and search for restaurants in Carcassonne ... and here we are!

Restaurant L'Ostal Des Troubadours 

5, rue Viollet Le Duc

La Cité 11000 Carcassonne 

Tele: 0468478880

Email: lostaldestroubadours@gmail.com

Still great ambiance, live gypsy / folk music and great food and wine. 

Under new management since early this year by Shiona (previously a waitress at the same restaurant for 18 years).

The owner greeted us with a friendly smile and some chatter ... we told her our story of our "Magic Night" in 2003 ... the wonderful roasted chicken on the wood fire, great ambiance and the surprise of "live music" when the sweet voice of Manolita started to sing.

    Then ... "2003"...

    And now ... 

    Monsiuer Honey minus his beard ...

    but still with his killer "sparkling" Baby Blue eyes!

You can enjoy tasty grilled meats cooked over the open wood fire ... I chose a steak tonight that was served with grilled potatoes also prepared on the open fire. Delicious! 

Monsieur decided to have the Cassoulet which is a traditional dish of the region; he was not dissappointed . 

Our table had views from the window overlooking the Remparts, the walls encircle the medieval city.

(I didn't get any pics from the window sometimes you have to put the camera away and be in the moment).

Although there were no trumpets playing tonight this trumpet vine was in full bloom...

I have read that portions of the 1991 movie "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" was filmed in the old city.

Late in the evening the moon shone brightly over the old city ... views from our room.

          A "Fairy Tale" ending to our French adventure!

P.S. There still are a few more postcards to be posted.