Olonzac

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Chere famille et des amis,

When we arrived in Toulouse we picked up a hire car (black Peugeot 206 diesel). It was a bit stressful getting to the Brienne Hotel. We got lost in Toulouse so saw the whole town a couple of times over. John was quietly swearing the whole time. We used the sat nav but couldn't turn left when she said so got stuck in Friday afternoon traffic. There were a few car horns blaring, some of them at John.

The Hotel Brienne is in the process of being upgraded and we were met with loud drilling noises as we entered our room. As a result we went for a walk around the neighbourhood until we calculated the workmen had gone home. The room was very modern with a fantastic bathroom. Not bad for E72.

Next day getting out of Toulouse wasn’t too bad with the Tom Tom to help. We opted for the back roads, avoiding the Autoroute a peage. After two and a half hours we arrived in Olonzac but could not get to the address because the gendarmes were redirecting traffic. We rang Veronica who suggested we wait half an hour and have a coffee in the main street. We ordered a cafe au lait and watched a brass band perform at a ceremony for fire fighters. Veronica came down and meet us as we were puzzling over a map. At her suggestion we went back to get the car, picked her up and drove to the carpark outside the gite.

The house is three storeys, with the kitchen and dining at the bottom, main bedroom and bathroom on the next level and lounge room and terrace at the top. It has a spiral staircase with 29 steps. They are quite difficult to negotiate with a basket of washing or a tray of savouries and a bottle of wine but I haven't fallen down yet.


The first day we planned to explore the village with maybe a short drive in the afternoon. It was windy and cool although the sun shone brightly. Before breakfast we strolled to the local Boulangerie to buy the baguette. We came away with two little tarts as well, one strawberry and the other melon which we plan to have for dessert tonight. After lunch we drove to Homps which is the next town and is situated on the Canal du Midi. We spent a lot of time watching the canal boats. Some of them are quite luxurious while a hire company called “le boat” seems to have the market cornered. The next town we visited was Argens Minervois which was also on the Canal du Midi. Here we watched with bated breath as teenage boys jumped off the bridge over the stern of the canal boats as they went past. We saw men playing boules in the park and a jumble sale on the other side of the road. Some items looked interesting but unfortunately I couldn’t fit them in my luggage. This was a good opportunity for John to get used to the car, the left hand drive and the narrow roads and also to get a feel for the area.

On Monday we were up early as we planned to be at Carcassonne by 9.00 am to avoid the crowds which were supposed to swamp the place. About 20 to 9 we left Olonzac so we thought with 35 km to travel we should be arriving about the time we planned. All went well until 10 km out of Olonzac a sign said “Deviation”. American Jane objected briefly but soon readjusted. Every time we came across a new “Deviation” sign Jane disagreed. When the “Deviation” signs disappeared we were unsure whether to follow Jane or go the other way. The distance from Carcassonne seemed to remain the same, around 25 km. Finally after an hour we arrived at Carcassonne, having seen quite a bit of the countryside filled with grape vines, roads lined with plane trees and a lot of towns that look very similar to Olonzac.

There is a pay parking area outside the castle which worked out at E6.50 for the time we were there (about four hours). The thing that surprised me most was that once we entered the gates it was like a real village (a touristy one at that) with lots of cafes, souvenir shops and clothes shops as well as a hotel. For a fee of E8.50 each we had access to the castle. The castle, built on Roman ruins and changed and added to over the years was threatened with total demolition but in 1849 was classified as an historical monument and restored with the help of the famous architect Viollet-le-Duc. It is famous for being the home of the Cathars, a religious group who wanted to be independent of the Pope. The Inquisition and Simon de Montfort effectively wiped them out by burning at the stake.

There is a lot of controversy over the restoration and how true it is to the original but it looks pretty good to the untrained eye.

For lunch we stopped at a shady restaurant called Le Table Ronde. The specialty of the house was the cassoulet which I had never tried before because of the goose fat component. It arrived, all crispy on top with browned haricot blanc crispy in goose fat. Under the beans were pieces of confit duck and sausage. Neither of us could finish it because it was so filling. It was tasty but we both agreed it would be a long time before we would eat it again.

The trip home was just as complicated as the trip to Carcossanne. Again we were diverted, this time in another direction fortunately, but it was very frustrating for American Jane. Once home we were relieved to find the house cool compared to outside. Even so I had a shower and lay on the bed to read my book. The house is full of books so it is hard to go past them.

We were going to have champagne on the terrace but it was too hot outside so we had it in the upstairs living area. After a light dinner we went for a walk around the village but even at eight o’clock it was still hot.

On Tuesday we came back from the market loaded with pain, fromage, janbon, fraises, framboise, peche, haricot verte, pommes de terre, l'oignon, aubergine, laitue, courgettes, cerise, and tapenade. A glass of wine and a long lunch followed. Sitting on the rooftop terrace drinking sparkling white, eating baguettes with cheese and tapenades and watching the weather and the swallows over the tiled rooftops is not a bad way to spend the evening. We didn't have to cook dinner - just ate bits and pieces we bought at the market.

I've just finished a book I found in the gite called "Last Tango in Toulouse" by Mary Moody. She used to be on Gardening Australia ABC TV. She bought a house just north of Toulouse and had an affair with "The Man from Toulouse". Her long suffering husband David, back on the farm in Bathurst, waited until she had "come to her senses" and they now spend some of every winter in their French house.

Wednesday was going to be a long day. We planned to do a big drive either to the Cathar castles in the south or Minerve and the gorges in the north. The south was chosen but the weather closed in and rain fell. The sky was grey and we couldn’t see the Pyrenees so decided not to drive up there. We drove as far as Lagrasse, a town which grew out of the Abbey on the opposite bank of the Orbieu River. The town was established in the 13th Century and is very quaint and picturesque. It is listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France. There was hardly anyone there because of the rain and the early hour. The shopkeepers in the few little touristy shops were not at all busy. There is an impressive market hall with ten stone pillars, built in 1315 and an old humpbacked bridge linking the town and the abbey dated 1303. The abbey itself was built around 779 and legend has it that it was founded by the Emperor Charlemagne. We saw the medieval part of the abbey with a most impressive Monks’ Dormitory in the upper part of the building. Back in the “modern” part of town we had capucchino (espresso with sweetened aerated cream on top) and a small biscuit. John kept looking longingly at the Patisserie but I dragged him away.

We then drove east to Narbonne which is almost on the coast, looking for better weather. We knew little about this town but parked near the city centre and walked to the Canal de la Robine. The town looked very interesting so we went to the Tourist Information centre and picked up a map.

I had read about the covered Market Hall but obviously one needed to be there early as it was cleaning up for the day. The Merchant’s Bridge was fascinating, reminiscent of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. There was the massive Narbonne cathedral which was never finished. The Black Death and the decline of the port due to silting up meant it was never finished. We saw a number of “hippies” in a large group who apparently frequent the town.

The rain came back so we searched for a café to have lunch. Le Cote Pub had an outdoor eating area filled with people under the awning but as it was raining they suggested we go inside. The décor was surprising. It was all black and white. Even the door had one black and one white curtain. The rounded beams in the ceiling were white as well. We each had a glass of wine but as we plan to go out for dinner tonight I ordered a salad ( assiette vegetarienne) which when it appeared was huge. John ordered a galette fruits de mer which was a large rectangular pancake filled with seafood. We shared and it was delicious. So much for a light lunch.

I hope to send one last Episode before we leave Europe. With only two days left in Olonzac our holiday is nearly over. There will be a lot of travelling to do between now and when we arrive home on Monday evening. Thank you for reading this (if you got this far).

A bientôt,
Linda and John

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