Minerve in Sunlight

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Me included!...Ed.

The latest blog written is at the top of the page. To read chronologically you need to scroll to the bottom of the page and read each blog in ascending order. The 'archives' section at the top left of each blog provides the option to read more blogs of any particular month. Finally, I have not mastered the photographs yet and will spend some time getting up to speed for captions and so on. You can however, enlarge each photo by clicking on it.

Tue 23 May

Our last trip to Minerve was in pretty foul weather in direct contrast with today's sunny blue sky. The vantage point I accidentally found a fortnight ago, from a narrow mountain road adjacent to and above the village, brought a gasp of delight from B & G. We think the reason the spot is not designated on the tourist maps is because of the risk of head-on collisions between fast moving French farm tractors and unwary foreigners. The village has much magic about it and we left our guests to find their own way around. We met for lunch at the Chantovent and had the premier seats on the balcony overlooking the gorge which the townspeople and Cathars had so much relied on for their forlorn defence some 797 years ago!

We mixed and matched with our lunches which incuded entres of vegetables and goat's cheese, rabbit pies and, Barbara had a sensational olive cake garnished with bacon strips and sitting in a sauce of superb olive oil. Mains included lamb, pork shanks in spicy crumbs and, fish. Cheese comes before dessert here and a selection of four hard and soft varietys was tasty. Desserts were nougat icecream and fruit and, a wonderful plate of fresh strawberrys in a sauce of Minervois red wine. I decided to do the French thing and take an aperitif before eating and thoroughly enjoyed a 'pastis' which has a strong aniseed taste. Our first wine was a Minervois rose followed by a Gagazourde syrah/mourvedre blend.

It just seemed the perfect ending to a good day to have leftover spaghetti bolognaise for dinner with a 4Euro bottle of Chateau Villegly Moureau, 2004.