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.

Our new neighbor

Yesterday I spotted the sign showing the business moving in across from the Chateau. I think they'll enhance our location without being noisy! Fleur a Fleur is a flower shop.

Morning walk to Minerve

Yesterday morning before the Tour de France came through town we walked in the hills around Minerve an ancient perched town 10 kilometers from Olonzac. It was raining in the early morning but our concerns about the barbecue and gathering for the tour were unfounded as the day got sunnier and sunnier.

Ancient ice storage?

This structure sits on a hill just outside of Olonzac. I can't decide if it's an ancient ice storage or perhaps it's for grain. There are also piles of stone on the hill that was once buildings. A place of retreat in times of conflict?