Le Duc - Cavagnac, SW France

We travelled from Bristol to Dover on very quiet roads and took the evening ferry over to Calais. We were able to stand on the deck for the whole trip in the warm sun.

We were almost at the front of the boat, so we were able to watch the big doors of the ferry open on arrival. There was only one car between us and french soil. When we returned to our cars the driver in front noticed that he had a flat tyre, but he still drove off of the ferry so he didn't hold everyone else up.

We drove a short distance to the outskirts of Calais, to an Ibis hotel. We tried out our satnav which came with the car, which promptly took us through some dodgy looking streets, so we used the directions from the Ibis brochure, much safer!

Not the best hotel we've stayed in, and we managed to totally confuse the waitress so we had an interesting mix of starters and main courses, ordering far too much, although it was all very tasty.

The following day we started out early and had a good run down, apart from a small hiccup around Paris, (Tracy was map reading, and the Satnav was also chipping in her two pennith, and between them we went out of our way)

Soon back on the right track and we had an event free journey all the way to Cavagnac, arriving at about 8pm.

John, Julie and Rosie, our hosts were awaiting us, and after a brief greeting we went to a local restaurant for a lovely meal. We met John's mum, June and her partner Tony who had been staying at le Duc for the past few weeks, making a lovely job of the gardens and preparing the gites ready for the first visiters.

The following day we were taken around the property and the surrounding area to familiarise ourselves with everything.

John, Julie and Rosie had to leave in the afternoon to get a flight, and June & Tony left the following day to drive home.

We had the opportunity to settle ourselves into our new home, unpacking our belongings.

Le Duc Website

La Couscouillette

We have regularly passed the city of Carcassonne when travelling south and Della did visit a number of years ago but, the Languedoc region of France is not somewhere we have had the chance to explore and so, when the house and pet sitting opportunity near Carcassonne presented itself we were keen to secure the "sit" and spend some time in this part of SW France.

Having recovered from our enforced incarceration at Schiphol Airport by way of several very relaxing and fun days in the company of good friends in France we made our way further south to our latest "sit" in Montlaur near Carcassonne.

A pleasant 3 hour drive and we arrived mid-afternoon at our destination.

La Couscouillette is a collection of buildings, the main home which the owners have renovated over the years and two mills. As the mill accommodation was so unique we decided to spend the 2 weeks in the Sloping Roof Mill. The views of the village of Montlaur from our position atop the hill were breathtaking and we both remarked how this part of France reminded us of the Tuscan countryside.

The weather during our first week was exceptionally warm and sunny which was an added bonus. We were able to take our breakfast on the terrace overlooking the vineyards, lunch by the poolside and dinner in either of the two private and secluded courtyards! The views of the village at night were equally spectacular, enhanced by the starry sky and full moon. Due to the location of the property we were also able to enjoy delightful sunsets and sunrises making for some great photo opportunities!!

There are two pools at La Couscouillette although we only used the larger Dolphin pool which was superb.

A little history.............

The Two Mills of the Couscouillette

"...These two mills were the built in the 13th century and described by Pierre Cabirol, a priest researching the history of Montlaur in the ancient archives of the Abbey of Lagrasse, as the first windmills in the South of France.

They were built in the aftermath of the Cathar wars, in 1260. Simon de Melun, who had been put in charge of the village by the King of France, ordered them to be built. He rented the land of the Couscouillette, paying 12 bushels of grain, to be paid at 'Saint Michel' (on the 29th of September) once a year. Only water mills existed in those days in the South of France. Montlaur had no large rivers, so the villagers ground their wheat at home, using two flint stones, attached one on top of the other by a metal bar. Simon de Melun had been on Crusades to the East and seen windmills operating there. One mill was to be used for wheat, the other for coarser grains.

The mills were burned down during the 100 days war, in 1360, possibly by the Black Prince, and resurrected 80 years later by the Count of Malacoste. The original flint grinding stones are lying outside the Pointed Roof Mill to this day....". (extract from La Couscouillette website).