Postcards from the Lot

Monday, May 6, 2019

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.

Sunday, May 5, 2019

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.