Our hire car is safely back at the Hertz depot and we are now walking again!! One very interesting outing we had – when we had our wheels – was to a very old castle ruin in the Corbieres wine region north west of Perpignan. It is called the Chateau of Queribus and is very famous as the last strong hold of the Cathars to fall to the French Crusaders in 1255. The drive there was lovely, stopping off in the village of Estagel for lunch. Once again we were spoilt!! The village had a lovely lively square – the restaurant full of people enjoying a relaxed Sunday meal together. Great food and wine. We then drove on through the countryside and then wound our way up a steep mountain to the castle car park. We still had a 10 minute climb but it was all worth it. Also helped to walk off our lunch! The ruin itself was in good condition with some rooms still standing – one with an amazing arched vaulted ceiling – and old stone steps everywhere. There were various levels and buildings. A stone staircase wound its way up the highest tower and out onto a terrace. More wonderful 360 degree views! The photos will help but………. After leaving the castle we visited the nearby village of Cucugnan – just drove through on the very narrow main street. Not a lot of passing room! No wonder everyone has little cars in countryside France.
We have been to lunch/Bible study again this week. More great wine, food and discussion! We do try to live on salads when we are home and have discovered the wisdom of not picking up pastries when shopping!! Very tempting when you know they are sitting in your freezer waiting for you! The dogs are going along well – our walks are still at a pleasant snail pace, we still have two chooks, and the wild cats are not wild anymore. They invade the back veranda at every opportunity looking for food.
We head off to the UK on the 3rd June – our house sit here will be finished. We will be staying at David and Gwen’s house in Suffolk. They are an English couple who pastor the international church we have been going to. The plan is to come back to France in early September to help an English/Kiwi couple with some vintage work. Jonathon and Rachel have a vineyard/winery near here. Domain Treloar. We had a comprehensive tasting of their wines the other day and they are excellent!
Bye again
Di and Reg
This entry was posted in Europe, France, House Sits, Villelongue, Pyrenees Orientales
well those photo’s look amazing. look forward to hearing from you in the uk.