Minèrve

We came home via Minèrve, a village perched over the confluence of two rivers, the Cesse and the Brian, where the waters have carved out magnificent gorges. It's shocking that the Cesse, seen here, is completely dry at a time when it should be full after the winter rains and melting snow in the mountains. Fortunately, the Brian always has some water in it, but the dry bed here, as dry as it usually is in high summer, is an indication of the extent of the drought. Another surprise was to see the almond blossom out in the valleys - delayed by about a month by the cold weather we had in February.

The famous, and still remembered, historic event that took place here was the siege of the Cathars in 1210, their refusal to surrender to the forces of Simon de Montfort and the burning to death of 140 parfaits (devoted Cathars) at the confluence of the two rivers. Since then, happier times have returned and the village is classified as one of the Plus belles villages de France. In summer the car parks are full but today it was fairly quiet to cross the bridge over the dry river, wander around the ancient streets and have a salad and a pizza outside in the sun on a terrace overlooking the gorge. I've put some more pictures here

We've had a wonderful weekend, restful but still so packed with interesting experiences that it felt like longer. Our chambre d'hôte, Le Chai de Marguerite was one of our most enjoyable anywhere - friendly, interesting hosts, a great meal with them and two other guests around their table, a very comfortable room and a delicious breakfast which included a choice of home-made jams. The decor is amazing and, while I wouldn't choose to live with quite so much ornate nineteenth-century furnishing, it all contributed to a fantastic holiday atmosphere. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who wanted to stay in this part of the Languedoc.

Back to reality now - work tomorrow, and it's raining! Perfect timing for us and very good for the garden.