Anticipation

You can tell what’s going to happen next.

We don’t often visit the far west of the Aude (far being the operative word). This weekend was intended to be an opportunity for some nice walks in the foothills of the Pyrenees. It was actually clearing up this morning, but we didn’t fancy an inevitably muddy plodge, plus the forecast was for more rain. So we drove back down the valley to Limoux instead. There are carnival processions every weekend for two months; on the rare occasions we've been, we choose the weekend when all the bands are assembled. There were only two today, so it wasn’t as busy or as spectacular. I nearly caught the matador hitting the water, but not quite. An alternative in extras.

Lunch did go according to plan. I had googled restaurants in Quillan, and surprise, there was nothing that met our standards. So I’d booked a table at a well reviewed restaurant in nearby Couiza, Le Carnot2zet (the 2 is because the previous incarnation burned down). It turned out to be a large, light chalet-style room and was fancier than I had expected. The food was good, perfectly cooked hake and ratatouille for me, and slow-cooked lamb for S, followed by tarte aux myrtilles and crème brûlée respectively. It was busy too; despite being a smaller place, Couiza seems more cheerful and lively than Quillan.

It was lovely and warm when we came out, but we were too full to contemplate a walk now, so we went to the dinosaur museum in Espéraza instead (extra 1). This is a good way of getting some perspective as you reflect on repeated mass extinction events that wiped out almost all life on earth. The survivors went on to develop further life forms, including humans of course, who may yet manage another mass extinction even without the aid of a meteorite.

Back to the B&B after that, for a rest and to get changed. There was a massive and prolonged thunderstorm in the late afternoon, and S dropped me as close to the church as he could get. The concert went well! A good turnout, no massive mistakes. The post concert grub didn’t look worth hanging around for (water and fougasse), so S and I decided to find a bar for a nightcap. You won’t be surprised to learn that we again wandered the mean streets of Quillan in the rain, finding nothing open at 10 pm on a Saturday night. No-one else was silly enough to be out. We ended up with a cup of tea in our room.