Pat and I returned back to our little casa in Caldes d'Estrach overlooking the Mediterranean on September 6th to blue sky and sunshine with temperatures in the 26-30C range. It was warm enough as well as humid in the evenings to continue using our A/C in the bedroom, although during the daytime, it has been heavenly to throw open the windows and patio doors and enjoy the fresh air. Which is a good thing as we came home to numerous pairs of Pat's good leather shoes all sporting a thick layer of mold/mildew on the soles! YUCK! He had left them lined up neatly on the floor in the study, closed the door and the blind and there they enjoyed just the right conditions for growth...penicillin anyone? They have since been cleaned and spend several hours in the sunshine each day since!
On the first weekend home, we decided to have a little getaway as we really didn't feel there had been much of a summer holiday this year! We booked a room in the Hotel de France in Beziers, about 2 1/2 hours drive up the coast, which was just a little farther than we had been in the past. Beziers, a city of some 69,000, is situated in the pretty Orb Valley and close to the famous Canal du Midi. We followed recommendations of the Lonely Planet Guide for Languedoc-Roussillon and enjoyed two wonderful meals. On the first night, we went to Le Cep d'Or and enjoyed great codfish (me) and magret de canard (Pat). There were about 24 people that evening all served by one rather harried waiter! He could move pretty quickly! On Saturday night we enjoyed a tasting menu of 4 courses at Octopus, located just down the street from our hotel. We sat outside in the inner terrace under the stars and had a fabulous meal, terrific service and wonderful red wine from the Coteaux du Salagou region.
After a typical French breakfast of tartine, croissant, yogurt, fruit, cheese, (lousy) coffee and juice in our hotel, we set out to explore the city centre. We hit upon the daily market around the Place Jean Jaures, bought some fresh fruit and checked out the various vendors. There was an activity fair all day, advertising various social groups within the city...even a dog parade! Note the enormous shady plane trees lining the wide esplanade of the allees Paul Riquet.
Window art...so typical France du Sud!
Restaurant Le Cep d'Or...thumbs up!
La Cathedrale St-Nazaire, sacked and pillaged in the siege of 1209, then rebuilt over the next 200 years in Gothic style with an excessive baroque altar.
The 17th century restored walnut organ.
Typical square in central Beziers.
After a morning in Beziers, we headed to the coast via Le Cap d'Agde and Sete. We had the saltiest ever mussels and oysters at Chez Francois right on the Canal Royal. It looks rather like Venice, doesn't it? Sete is France's largest Mediterranean fishing port established by Lousi XIV in the 17th century! It is well known today for its centuries-old tradition of water jousting where participants in competing boats try to knock each other into the water!
From Sete we returned to Beziers via the wine region around Pezenas. We stopped at the Mas de Novi vineyard near Montagnac, and although pretty, we didn't particularly care for their products!
On Sunday morning we visited Les 9 Ecluses de Fontseranes (a series of 9 tight locks straddling the Canal du Midi). Boat traffic was busy with tour boats (50 passengers) on a day trip up the canal to Colombiers including paella lunch on board and rented houseboats setting off on a week-long journey. Below is a view of Beziers and the Cathedral from the banks of the Canal du Midi.
Houseboats moored overnight waking up to another perfect day in SE France!
Stay tuned...hasta luego!
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