The Story Continues

Fri 5 May

Donna's eye is no better and I think the inability to see is becoming quite stressful. As the weather is pleasant, a relaxing drive seems in order and we choose Beziers which is about 70 kms due East. A drive anywhere in this Languedoc region offers hectare upon hectare of vineyards punctuated by aged, stone villages with all the rustic romance and beauty you see in picture books. As Spring has well and truly sprung the vines and trees are all showing fresh green foliage. In a week or two we won't recognise the place.

Castagnet is larger than most, but like all of the villages, is landmarked by a church steeple or belltower. Neat and tidy, the narrow streets inevitably lead towards the town square. The church, St Etienne, is an exceptional one first constructed by the Romans at the end of the 11th century. Major reconstruction occurred in the 13th century and again in the 14th century. The roofline is 25 mtrs high and the belltower 45 metres. A poignant memorial to an incident in 9 June 1944 is situated at its base where 179 men, between 18 and 40 years old, were assembled and carted off by the Germans.Previously, on the 6th and 7th, 23 patriots and resistance people were tortured and killed.

Just before Beziers is the 'Oppidum d'Enserune'. This pre-Roman hill fort stands 120 mtrs above the Bezier plain. Enserune was a settlement from the 6th century BC until the Christian era began and the 'Pax Romana' enabled people to safely live on the plains in the 1st century AD. The archeologists have done a good job and the remains of the buildings are very easy to make out. The on-site museum contains Iberian, Greek, Roman and of course French artifacts. Interestingly, what appear to be circular wells all over the site are in fact grain storage vats which were ingeniously sealed to preserve the food.

At the base of the hill, and to the north, is an extraordinary rural landscape of a vast circle with the plots of land radiating out from the centre like a giant pie graph.(Pictured above) The old Montady Lake was drained in 1247. The plots radiate out from the centre because of the channels that drain water off into a collector. From there, an aqueduct passes under the hill and takes the water to the floor of the old Capestang lake.

The traffic in Beziers is intimidating and parking is ridiculously difficult. It has a population of 78,000 and a violent and gruesome history particularly during the Catholic Crusades against the Cathars in 1209. (This blog will discuss the Cathars later.) This was the site where every living creature was slaughtered and the Catholic Bishop famously answered a knight's question as to how they might distiguish the Catholics from the Cathars with "Kill them all. God will recognise his own".

The Cathedral Saint Nazaire is a beautiful Romanseque building sitting high on a terrace and dominating the view of the town as you approach. After 1209 repairs were carried out between 1215 till the 1600s. The church; the cloisters; the Bishop's garden and the view over the river Orb spanned by three stone bridges are all superb. The Spanish influence in the city is very obvious with not the least being a substantial bull fighting arena. Rugby is a passion.

Sat 6 May

Donna's eye continues to worry her. We can do nothing but wait at this stage. All the advice we are getting here and from Australia is to the effect that the medicos are well trained and up to date. We have only been impressed by what we have seen so far.

The Saturday morning market has been highly recommended to us so it's back to Carcassone for the experience. We arrive at 0900hrs and find that the Square where we had lunch just a few days ago is teeming with people and food and produce stalls. The quality is high and the prices cheap compared to Australia. Donna could not resist the invitation to try some cheese from an enthusiastic vendor who seemed to stock an endless array of local and exotic cheese. We ended up buying half a kilo of a cheese made from sheep milk and, so we were told, very exclusive...at 45 Euros a kilo it would want to have been! He went to great lengths to advise us to store it in cotton for three months to get it to its best. I can't imagine us keeping it that long as the taste now is beautiful.
We were caught a bit short at the market because one of the necessities is a large, soft, woven cane shopping basket with leather handles. We found a more stylish one in a nearby shop and paid 14 Euros for it. As we left the shop we found a smaller roadside shop selling the real McCoy for 6 Euros! The retailers must love us here!

For some time we have seen flyers promoting 'C'est le printemps du Minervois" which is a range of wine related activities by individual chateaux and wine collectives. This is another long weekend,this one celebrating VE Day, and the activities run across the three days. The village of Villegly is on our way back home and a group of chateaux are conducting a 'degustation' and other activities with music and food. We must all learn to live like these very earthy people! We tasted wines and ended up buying a couple of bottles from each domaine or chateau. The language was again a bit of a problem until we heard a couple of visitors speaking English. Ray and Chris come from Jersey and have settled in Castans which is up in the mountains from us. They are our age and Chris lived in Australia for some years in the 60s and 70s. They have left behind what they say is a very expensive and money-centred society in Jersey for the cheaper, more tranquil lifestyle of Southern France. We will be visiting them next week. We have made good contacts with the Chateau du Donjon and the Domaine Les Maillols whose wine is excellent and who try as hard to speak English as we do French.

Sun 7 May.

At Home

Mon 8 May.

Donna's eye is becoming frustrating as the promised improvement is not apparent. We have both finished our current books so another drive seems in order and we head for Minerve about 40kms to the East. Regrettably the weather is drizzly and overcast however, this offers a view of the countryside we will not see too often.

Minerve, pictured above, is an outstanding place to see as you approach it. The village occupies a site on a promotory overlooking arid countryside and rugged gorges. On the face of it, it is a well sited defensive position. In 1210 Simon de Montfort, leading 7000 Catholic crusaders, laid siege to the place which capitulated after 5 weeks when their water supplies ran out. The Cathar inhabitants were given the choice of converting to Catholicism or being slaughtered. The higher ranked Cathars or 'Parfaits' refused and 180 of them were burned at the stake.

The village seems to hang off the side of the steep cliffs. It is difficult to walk along some of the steep roads. Our 'Green Guide' book suggested that the 'Relais Chantovent' was a suitable restaurant so there we ventured. What an amazing lunch! Donna took the 19 Euro option whilst I naturally went the whole hog on the 35 Euro effort. My entree was pate fois de gras with mashed figs and cinnamon followed by beef medallions with truffles. Donna started with marinated vegetables and goats cheese followed by a fish offering of spiced gurnard with mussels. Following a modest cheese plate, I had a nougat based dessert while Donna attacked a beautifully prepared chocolate sauce covered pudding. We drank 'Badoit' water, and OK..a very fine Chateau Gouzagard red. The drive home was painless.

Tue 9 May.

At home. The internet is connected. I start updating. Donna feels that the veil across her eye is lifting however, the centre of her vision is still difficult.

Wed 10 May.

Sometimes I think that the effort of maintaining this blog is too much. I have taken time out to read what we did in Hong Kong and indeed, sneeked a peak back to England last year. The re-living of those memories is vivid and provides the motivation to plough-on. Who would ever want to forget those tango dancers in Hong Kong?

Donna is very happy with the improvement in her eye. The veil has almost lifted but the black shape in her vision persists.

A shopping trip to Le Clerc was necessary this afternoon and on the way back we visited the Domaine les Maillols whose wine we had tasted last Saturday. I had been particularly impressed with his 'vin de pays' Sauvignon Blanc. Christophe and Annabelle operate the place and this is their first vintage. They are young and obviously have committed themselves to an expensive operation. We tasted some red he has brewing and we have made arrangements to take our Australian visitors there when they arrive.

This is really a great life!