Patrimoine

It was the Journées du Patrimoine this weekend, and since it was a lovely day we decided to go out somewhere. There didn't seem to be as many special events as usual, and many of the places that were open we've visited before. The local paper had published a map of a self-guided walking tour around some of the more remarkable buildings in Narbonne though, so we decided to do that.

This involved exploring many streets we've never walked along before, even though they're a stone's throw from the town hall and the covered market. Narbonne got very rich from the wine trade in the late 19th century, which is why there are many hôtels particuliers like this one, now a luxury hotel. Most line the canal, but this is in a back street and we had no idea it existed. A further back street, now very run down, was lined with magnificent albeit neglected 17th and 18th century buildings.

There are also many highly decorated art nouveau buildings, such as the one in the extra, in a street with several. It was quite an interesting walk, but we thought it was a shame the person who wrote the article didn't do a guided tour.

It took us quite a while, and by the time we finished we were footsore. A drink and a tapa in Les Halles (recently voted the most beautiful market in France) seemed like a good idea, but at 12:30 on a sunny Saturday it was heaving and there wasn't a seat to be had. So we went home instead and S cooked some mussels in cream sauce -- moules de bouchot are in season again.

This evening we went to the presentation of the new season at the Centre Culturel. The presentation consisted of a very rapid video overview since the previous artistic director, who devised the programme, has left. But the bunfight afterwards was as excellent and as packed as ever -- a chance to catch up with a lot of people, and we also met Alan's replacement, though she hasn't officially started yet.

We also got a one-man show thrown in, by Fred Blin, a member of the unforgettable Chiche Capon. He is still completely mad. I can't find the words to describe the show, which was both hilarious and unnerving. There's a video snippet here, but you might not be able to stand all four minutes. The inside of his head must be a pretty strange place. A great evening out anyway!