Ok. I’ve been a bad boy. I plead the year-end holidays and the pressures of a day job. I will, once again, pledge to be a better blogger.

Having secured our morning meal and having plenty of wine on hand, the unpacking went quickly and relatively efficiently. At lunch time, off we went to Nissan lez Enserune and The Patio – the second restaurant of Mr. Philippe Sans, a sort of typical French pizzeria, meaning that you can get pizza (thin-crust French style) but that there’s a good bit more on the menu. Great rack of lamb, a fine cheese soup of the day, and all were most satisfied. Before we left town we stopped by the Hotel Residence to make dinner reservations for the following night. Philippe and wife Bernadette were there and welcomed us profusely…so kind of them to even remember us considering that we only come by once a year.

We arrived in Cazouls at the end of the annual fall festival. We missed the tasting and the chestnut roast at the cave cooperatif but caught the concert at the church in the square presented by the Friends of the Organ. Seems in the 1880s, there was so much wine money floating around that the local vignerons sponsored a major renovation of the church…including a magnificent silver altar piece and the organ. Organist Christopher Hainsworth lives in a town close by. He’s a New Zealander who “met a beautiful French woman in New Zealand and followed her to France.” Agnes Roubert, soprano, performed duets with him for the first half of the program. She was a jazz and blues singer who found opera and has quite a lovely voice. For the second half of the concert, two local choirs under the direction of Jean-Michel Balester (baritone) performed. A great sing-along for an encore.

Imagine that. Walk out of the house and two blocks away there’s Rossini, Puccini, Mozart and Verdi happening.

The next day began with a trip to Narbonne. Les Halles, the covered municipal market, was a great disappointment, almost totally closed down. So we strolled over to the cathedral square and found an internet café, 5 euros for an hour and we all pitch in. I have 330 spam messages and nothing that I have to reply to. We tried to book the girls’ railroad tickets to Barcelona online and they wanted about 800 euros for three round trips. Can’t be right. We’ll go to the train station in Beziers tomorrow and try to book in person, If not, they’ll rent a car. (Bought the tickets at the train station the next day for a grand total of about 275 euros.)

On the outskirts of Narbonne there are a host of ‘big box’ stores. For furniture, there’s Fly and But. We do most of our ‘city’shopping at Carrefour, kind of like Walmart but with a great grocery. Found the leg of lamb for the Friday night soiree and, after many hand gestures, we watch the butcher butterfly it before our eyes. Then to the Champion, our local super, for cheeses and pates and mousse and Pelforth Brune (dark beer) and the baguette that we didn’t buy in the morning. Great lunch combining all of that good stuff and more wine, then off to two wineries to put in supplies.

Tales of the wineries next time.