Dining on the Canal du Midi

#moulindetrebes #canaldumidi #thegoodlifefrance #unescoworldheritagesite

Friday May 31st, 2019

Well it’s the end of May, the end of my birth “day” month and tomorrow we are heading back to “Home Sweet Home”.

I followed my usual morning routine checking the view from the bedroom window, it looked to be a promising day! The sky was blue and no clouds were visible over the rooftops and mountain.

Can you see the rays of sunshine and the swallows?

We did some packing and then headed off to Trèbes for a send off lunch on the canal at “Le Moulin”.

It was a glorious day with blue azure skies, bright sunshine and hot temperatures ... maybe “Mother Nature” & the “Weatherman” finally got it together. 

I was treated to another trip beneath the plane tree canopy. 

We arrived early in Trèbes in order that we could do a couple errands before lunch. 

Today we were lunching along the Canal du Midi. 

A bit of history from the Canal du Midi tourism site.

“The construction of the Canal du Midi is one of the major achievements of Louis XIV’s reign (17th Century).It is 240 kilometres long and links the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. This masterpiece of engineering, thanks to the genius of Pierre-Paul Riquet, is one of the prides of the Languedoc. The canal brought commercial prosperity to the region. Today, leisure cruises have taken over and the Canal du Midi has been a major tourist attraction since it was granted world heritage status by UNESCO.

Pierre-Paul Riquet

Born in Béziers in 1609, Pierre-Paul Riquet made his fortune as a salt tax inspector. He was thus able to acquire the Domaine de Bonrepas, near Toulouse, where he carried out numerous experiments to find a solution to the problem of supplying water to the canal at its summit at the Seuil de Narouze.

Having convinced Louis XIV and his minister, Colbert, of the commercial benefits of his project, Pierre-Paul Riquet embarked on his great enterprise which was to take 14 years. Riquet’s strong personality and perseverance enabled him to overcome all the obstacles encountered during the canal’s construction. Sadly, Riquet died penniless on 1st October 1680 without having completed his masterpiece, which was inaugurated soon after his death in 1681.”

Le Moulin de Trèbes is owned/operated by the Chef Pascal and his wife Sophie, both very friendly and personable. 

We were seated at one of the tables nearest the canal on the terrace ... from here we could watch all the activity thru the locks. 

Today’s menu was interesting and delicious.

Salmon tartare with a shiitake mushroom /coriander confit and brightened by the citrus smear from the aromatic “yuzu” ... a variety of lemon.

Mouthwatering delicious and beautifully presented.

Roast pork a top a bed of eggplant/ zucchini with roasted potatoes and a Parmesan/ olive oil sauce. 

Yummy.

And the finishing touch to this wonderful meal ...

A pineapple (thinly sliced) salad with coconut and brown sugar crumble! 

I will be making this one at home. 

Light and just enough sweetness. 

It was a perfect lunch date to celebrate our last day in France.

Thank you Pascal, Sophie and Anais for the delectable food and superb service.

The boats being lowered in the lock ... the water draining.

 I’m thirsty ... said this puppy! 

Tomorrow it’s hurry up and wait day on our way to “Home Sweet Home!”

La Bourdasso Cucina Italiana

Date night on the range where the buffalo roam on the plane tree lined road on the outskirts of the village of Pradelles-en-Val on the D3 not far from we are staying there is an interesting business/ most fantastic restaurant! 

The owners from Italy visited this part of France a few years ago while on vacation; loved the scenery of the Corbières and not long after moved to the area. 

The property was previously a wine cooperative for the local winemakers. 

From the day we arrived at the end of April, we have driven by this farm field many times and I was intrigued by these massive buffalos. 

Early on (1st/2nd week of May) there was a new addition to the family (herd).

We had heard good things about this restaurant and it was on my living list (not bucket list)! 

We arrived for our appointed reservation at 19:30  (7:30 pm) and were welcomed by the owner/proprietor Fabio Antonini who seated us and explained that this evening was a special «Tapas Night Italian Style » ... small plates for sharing plus they could do a pasta if we wanted. 

We selected four items from the tapas menu plus an order of pasta with their homemade Bolognese sauce 

 

Everything is made fresh, local and organic (Bio) ... and of course the mozzarella is made from the Buffalo milk. 

The buffalo roam freely in a field 24/7  and are milked in the open air.

Pizza Frita avec sauce tomates ... so delicious! 

Pizza dough (breadstick form) deep fried and served with a tomato sauce for dipping. 


Roll of mozzarella filled with tomatoes, basil, olive oil and pesto ... another favourite! 

Grilled shrimp ... so tasty! 

Tartines de mozzarella avec anchois ... Like a bruschetta with mozzarella & anchovies. 

Tagliatelle Bolognese  ... Monsieur Honey’s favorite!  

We finished our delicious dinner with a shared tiramisu ...

Thank you Fabio and family for being part of our memorable time in France. 

Wishing you continued success! 

A Week in our French Life

Week of May 20th -May 26th 

We are on our second last week of our French stay. 

This week the weather was once again mixed. 

Monday we did a village walk; we stopped to smell some beautiful roses! 

Tuesday our road trip took us to Limoux. 

“The Venus out of the Water surrounded by four children riding dolphins” fountain in the Place de la République.

One of the children riding the dolphin ... isn’t he cute? 

Now look at that Wisteria ... can only imagine what it looks like in full flower.

Wednesday to Trèbes for a grocery shop and then some lunch. We first went to Le Moulin however it was full and there wasn’t a table available. We made a reservation for tomorrow. 

We chose the Trattoria Napoli on the Quai, the food and setting were excellent. 

The phylo pastry wrapped goat cheese & honey that look like egg rolls were so yummy. 

I’m going to have to try to make these.

It was a warmer (24C) sunny day and we had a great table to enjoy our meal and watch the activity in the canal.

Everything has a red tinge because of the red umbrellas! 

I said to Monsieur Honey “Let’s do this sometime” ... rent a houseboat and travel on the Canal.

I don’t think he was too interested.

Thursday back to Trèbes for lunch at “Le Moulin de Trèbes” situated at the locks on the Canal du Midi.

Has the weather finally broken? Let’s hope so! Looking out the window this morning it was clear and sunny! 

The menu and our lunch.

We enjoyed our lunch immensely (très bon!) so much so, we’ve decided to go here again on our last full day in France.

As the sun was shining and temperatures were finally warmer, we watched the activity in the locks where three boats were passing through, one of which was sporting a Canadian flag. We chatted and found out that these three couples were from B.C. The boat they rented had 3-bedrooms, 3-bathrooms ... sounds perfect.

Friday and Saturday we were experiencing some dreary weather (dark, cloudy skies and rain)  ... we spent those days at home in the village. 

Sunday we headed to Lagrasse where there was a vide-grenier, school festival with lots of activités for the children.

Our highlight of the day was our lunch at Le 1900 ...

All in all a fairly full week! 

You can’t do anything about the weather and just have to make the most of it. 

Oh and let’s not forget it was Mother’s Day in France ... every lady guest at Le 1900 was given a beautiful rose!