Chris’ foot was much better the next morning. Such a relief that those antibiotics are working.
We loved Orleans, but we were keen to get on the road. By 11.00am we had checked out and began our journey on the freeway to St Felix Lauragais. At lunch time we pulled off the freeway to a small village and found a restaurant/bar that appeared to be serving lunch. It was full of workmen and truck drivers and the hostess bid us to find a table. There were no menus, but soon she arrived at our table with four plates with soft baby leeks, coleslaw, boiled eggs and a slice of pork that had the texture of silverside. None of us liked the look of it for a start, but once Chris and Nick and I had started eating it, we found it absolutely delicious (Michael wouldn’t touch it, much to the hostess’ disappointment). We were ready to leave when she arrived again with a big platter laden with savoury rice and stuffed tomatoes which were absolutely delicious. Halfway though lunch Chris went to the bar and ordered me a glass of white wine and was given a bottle. When I thought we couldn’t move, the hostess returned with a large plate of local cheeses – so of course we had to try them all. Finally she retuned a fourth time with a plate of ice creams. I really couldn’t eat any more, but all my boys ate them them very happily. I was curious to see what this would all cost as there were no prices listed anywhere. It was……wait for it…..42 euros including the bottle of wine! Unbelievable! France can be so cheap once you are outside of Paris.
We continued our long journey toward Toulouse stopping every few kilometres to pay a toll. At the first toll gate we discover that our card was not accepted and we had to wait for several long minutes with a queue of cars behind us until someone came to accept cash from us instead. But the drivers behind us were patient and no one tooted their horns!
It was close to an 800km trip between Paris and Toulouse which is equivalent to a trip between Sydney and Melbourne. As we finally turned off the highway at Toulouse and drove towards Cecily and Darren’s house the scenery changed dramatically. Imagine bright blue skies, rolling hills filled with sunflowers everywhere and the occasional 12th or 13th century walled village sitting on top of a hill. It was stunning! We finally arrived at the Hanson’s country home at around 7.00pm to a very warm welcome. The kids ran off, we explored their property and then we had a beautiful (Australian weber BBQ) out on their deck looking the the walled 12th century village of St Felix lit up in front of us. Magic.
The next morning we awoke and Cecily took me into the village to buy provisions from the boulangerie. The shop keepers in the village speak no English but Cecily speaks fluent French – she ordered a wide range of pastries for our breakfast and some baguette for lunch. We joined the boys by a nearby lake for breakfast and ate our delicious pastries in the sunshine. From there we traveled to the nearby village of Castelnaudry to explore some more, before lunch at the Canal de Midi. There we watched boats floating down the river, and travelling though a loch to continue down the river. These boats have to go though a gate, and sit in a holding area that fills up with water until the water level is level with the canal in front of it, before passing though. This system dates back to the 1600s and it was fascinating to watch.
In the evening after dinner, we went to the Chateau in the village to watch a French jazz band play in the courtyard as the sun went down. It was surreal. We watched the sky turn a beautiful shade of indigo blue that I have only seen in story books and sat quite entranced as the band played a wide range of French songs including “Oh Toulouse”. Sometimes I just want to pinch myself.
