Wild Flowers

Sunday May 19th, 2013

As I started off yesterday for my usual Sunday walk I found three couples looking over the work going on at Jardin de Charlotte. I explained what we are doing and encouraged them to look at the website and of course think about making a purchase. We also looked in and around the Chateau at the restoration work in the public areas of the building and the garden and swimming pool area. It seems that a visit is worth a thousand pictures.
Arlo the dog and I then wandered around the countryside close to Olonzac. It has been a spring with more than the usual amount of moisture so there are lots of wild flowers and things are very green. Hopefully this means conditions for the grape vines are ideal.

Sunday May 5, 2013

Arlo, the dog, and I walked along the canal today, around the lake, and through the vineyards. Normally we would go up into the hills of the National park of the Languedoc but I didn't think I had time for a long walk. In the end we walked for 3 hours and there was plenty of fetch played. In the valley it's not necessary to stick to the marked trails as you usually have a village within sight. The hills are another story because the country can be pretty wild as it's cut through with gorges every few kilometers.

Sunday April 21,2013
A great walk of 4 hours out of Caunne Minervois which is famous for it's abbey and marble quarries.
Heading northwest out of town we followed a marked trail to the top of the hills and then down through the forest to the valley of the Argent Double river. Crossing the river we headed uphill again circling around to the old royal quarry. A breezy cool day but flowers are blossoming everywhere.
We hardly saw a soul until we reached the quarry which had a few visitors. Magnificent views over the Minervois valley and it's towns and villages.

 April 15, 2013

Sunday's hike was just to the south of Olonzac along the Canal de Midi and up into the hills. The chapel is on the site of Chateau Bassanel where the first rumored and apparently approved golf course is supposed to be built someday. The Chateau can be reached by road, walking trail or by canal boat for wine tastings.
On top of a nearby hill sits a man made pinnacle of rocks with a survey marker set into the top from the time of the mapping of France in the late 18th century. The views are of the entire Minervois valley to the north and south to a panoramic view of the Pyrenees. A warm and sunny day made those photos too hazy I'm afraid. The lichen covered object on top is the author.

The regular Sunday walk this weekend was 3 hours from Cesseras, up to the ancient Cathar village of Minerve and along the gorge of the Cesse river. The picture is of the natural bridge below Minerve which the Cesse flows under. the walls of the gorge are riddled with caves in which evidence of human habitation going back hundreds of thousands of years has been discovered.

Retiring in France

http://www.facebook.com/l/vAQHF0OFUAQH_mPqGZ1a-924nTz8fbKtk0V7ebvnOrcP7Uw/ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/retire-france-205328177.html
Here is a link to a great article about a couple that has retired to France.  It's not as difficult as you might think and especially appealing as spring has sprung. The fruit trees are in blossom and there is warmth in the sun.

Walking in the Minervois valley

March 10, 2013

The regular Sunday walk on a warm spring day. We started out at Tourouzelle just 5 kilometers from Olonzac for a three hour trek on well marked trails through the hills and vineyards. Tourouzelle is a small village on the other side of the Aude river from Olonzac. From the hills above the village are good views of the Minervois valley, Olonzac and the surrounding villages. The country side here varies from wooded slopes to vineyards and fruit tree orchards.
There was a strange site on the hill overlooking the village in the form of a 2 meter high bright blue toy bear sitting looking out at the view.

 Teddy bear picnic?

The Minervois valley with Olonzac at it's center

Tourouzelle with Lac de Jourres behind. This recreational lake is a short walk out of Olonzac and has a park, restaurant, swimming beach and sailing club.

Montouliers  is a small village of 250 people perched on a hill 20 kilometers from Olonzac. It has a 13th century church with a beautiful Italian looking tower and an ancient Chateau with immense arches. While extremely quiet the village is worth a visit. It is located in wonderfully wild walking country. On route a stop can be made at the Olive cooperative at Bize Minervois.
At Jardin de Charlotte the concrete ground floor is going in and should be completed this week.

We are ready to install the ground floor structure in time for the first hints of spring. The almonds are in blossom and so are a number of ground plants. Arlo and I had a great Sunday walk in the hills just outside Olonzac on and off the marked trails.

Lots of block work is in and the ground floor beams will go in this week if the weather will stay bright and dry. It looks rough at the moment but it won't be long before a roof begins to appear.

Living in a Chateau

I'm loving living up on the top floor of the Chateau. It's good to have a proper kitchen for a change. I noticed a set of cat paw prints just in front of the stove this morning. A cat walked across the tiles drying in the sun more than 150 years ago. This last apartment in the Chateau will go on the market this year after a folding wall bed goes in
The loft apartment in the barn is great for entertaining but not quite so good for cooking a simple meal and hunkering down during the winter months. It's still open living with lots of light though. On some mornings I can look out and see the Pyrenees to the south. January is over next week and then I'll be looking for the first almond blossoms in the Minervois.
The materials to start the dividing walls for the first three units in Jardin de Charlotte arrived Saturday morning. Walls start to go up Monday morning.

Last night was the annual town meeting chaired by the Mayor. It was in the local salle de fete which is a converted barn with exposed stone, tiled floors and huge steel and glass windows. The whole town council was there, and I would guess 2 to 300 citizens of Olonzac. Not bad when there are only 1700 citizens in total and there was snow on the ground. Subjects included the beautification of principal boulevard, scheduled for this year, making it more pedestrian friendly and improving the outside terraces for the cafes and restaurants.

Fingers crossed, the golf course just outside of town will get planning permission within a few months  and will start in the fall or next spring as will the regeneration of the boulevard in front of Jardin de Charlotte. New traffic control measures are proposed to keep heavy traffic out of the center, slow it down and generally making travel by foot and bicycle  more secure . Olonzac is on the way up! It deserves to be. This is a beautiful part of the world.
The snow? That's a rare thing here and lasted for an entire day. The sun is back and everything has melted.

Another beautiful day in the Minervois valley. The forecast was for rain but as you can see, and as so often happens, it was a beautiful bright weekend. We started this weekends walk from the village of Agel, locally famous for it's spring water. The ancient fortified Chateau is in the upper picture. Thick walls and a variety of towers are on the site as is a long tree lined drive to the main building.
The courtyard shown in the picture below is an example of the kind of courtyards we will incorporate into Jardin de Charlotte. This restored property sits up in the hills above the village.
The route we took up into the Haut Languedoc is through vineyards, forest and the wild garriage. No wild boar, one fellow on a bicycle, one couple hiking and only one car seen in the course of this excursion. This region is a walkers or bicyclists dream.