French Village Life

Since we arrived we have been good at supporting the local shops in the village.

There is a butcher, a baker but no candlestick maker!

The baker honks his bread van’s horn to announce his arrival every morning and stops in front of the Maire (town hall) and the butcher shop, but only briefly.

There is a small “epicierie”/ grocer, the Vival which has a bit of everything plus they also have fresh baked bread, “pain au raisin, pain au chocolat”, local wines ... even our favourite rosé when we want a treat.

(Only 8 Euros/ $12.00 Canadian here versus $18.95 Canadian back home)

The village also boasts a“pharmacie” plus several wine producers where wine tastings can be arranged! 

 

So far, Monsieur Honey has been the runner in the morning to gather the baguette and breakfast goodies that we’ve ordered the day before from Sylvie at the Vival. 

I’m sure my turn will come soon. 

We’ve been able to survive with daily pickups from the local shops plus the weekly Tuesday market provided some extras. 

We even had to visit the pharmacy for some «paracétamol», since one of us forgot to pack the Tylenol!

And that’s where Monsieur Honey had his hen party ...

We decided to venture out on Thursday to a larger centre for a shop at the large supermarket “Carrefour” in Lézignan-Corbières. 

It was about an half hour drive and again through the Gorge de Congoust.

This may sound strange to some but we always enjoy a troll thru the “Supermarché” to see the different items that are available.  We had a good explore and left with many shopping bags to stock the larder. 

It was a long and winding road home ... with beautiful scenery!

Google Earth of the road we travelled ...

The most strikingly beautiful plane tree lined roads ...




Tomorrow afternoon (Friday, May 3rd) we are off to Carcassonne to pickup a visiting friend for a few days. 

Flower Power ...

Today we woke to angry looking skies that eventually opened up with some drizzle. 

April showers bring  May flowers ... here’s a collection of photos of the beautiful spring flowers already blooming in this area of France. 

May Day / Labour Day ...

Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 

Today is a “Bank Holiday” in France, almost everything is closed ... with exception of cafés / restaurants in tourist areas. 

We are staying in a tiny village and most definitely everything is closed.

Happy May 1st Day ... here’s my bouquet of lily of valley for all of you! 

 “In France, May 1st is a national holiday – it’s their ‘Labor Day’. One of the ways the French celebrate this holiday is by offering a small bouquet of lily of the valley (“muguet-du-bois”, in French) to loved ones and to friends, to symbolise ‘good luck’ and ‘love’. That is why May 1st, i.e., ‘May Day’ is also known as, “La Fête du Muguet”.

We weren’t too ambitious today and just went for a short drive to Trebes located on the Canal du Midi.

The Quai was busy with families, visitors enjoying the holiday.

We enjoyed our wander and a stop on the waterfront for an apero in the sunshine and some people watching.Trebes is on our list for a repeat visit, we were here many years ago (first time in 2005) and took a boat tour along the Canal thru the locks .

Here’s Monsieur Honey sporting his “Ernest Hemingway” look on our cruise (2005) along the Canal du Midi. 

 

View of the Canal du Midi from the boat ...

The sun was shining brightly and the temperatures warmed up as the day went on ... which provided a perfect excuse for some relaxing on our terrace in the afternoon.

      

I was able to do some catch up on my photo editing and blogging. 

Monsieur was top chef and created a delicious menu with the “Toulouse Sausage” we purchased from the local butcher for our supper ... and bonus it was warm enough to enjoy our dinner al fresco on the terrace.