France again!

I am starting a full-time job (yeh!) so Bucky and I decided to get away for the weekend before reality hits. We decided to go back to France and opted for the quaint village of Laure-Minervois. It is a tiny little place set among the vineyards. The Airbnb we chose was spectacular and just what we needed. We recently decided that we are going to focus on hiking as an activity to do together and we found a great trail outside of Caunes-Minervois. It was a two and a half hour round trip hike to the Kings quarry in the hills outside of town. During our hike, we were joined by a few dogs from the hills who obviously frequent the trail as they were dressed with all sorts of tracking gear, including bells. They hung around for a while which India appreciated, but they shortly got bored of us and went off to explore.

Of course, we celebrated our hiking success with lovely lunch in the place and rose! On the way back to our village, we stopped at a spectacular vineyard, Chateau St. Jacques d'Albas, for some wine tasting! We had a lovely visit with the owner, Graham, and decided to buy a few cases to take home.  Graham wasn't sure about how to ring up our purchases so I offered to jump behind the desk to help. It was fun figuring it out together, but we still ended up having to have his son rescue us! That evening, Bucky and I drove to this isolated town, Minerve, that has existed since the 10th century. The drive was dicey (think narrow roads and deep ravines), but it was worth it. We wandered through the town, took pictures and were amazed at how isolated it remains.

On Sunday, we headed to Carcassonne for a vide grenier with was fun. We purchased a couple of treasures. We then found another vide grenier toward Narbonne and headed that way. En route, we found the lovely town of Ventenac-en-Minervois which is perched on the Canal du Midi. We struck out at the next vide grenier, but decided to head back to the Ventenac-en-Minervois for lunch along the canal. At the restaurant, there were two chickens roaming about that definitely kept India on her toes! We had a great time and plan to come back and spend a weekend there and find out if we enjoy canal life. Stay tuned, but for now, off to reality and my first day of work!

Staring our hike to the quarry.

The three dogs who joined us along the way.

Lots of nooks and crannies to walk through.

Stairs up to the old quarry. 

Bucky and India at a rest point.

Now it is time for India and me to rest!

Some of the equipment that was used at the quarry.

Quite a view!

There were numerous statues made from the pink marble from the quarry on the walk back into town.

Bucky's reward for the hike is rose of course.

Mine too!

India striking a pose!

Helping out at the Chateau!

India didn't like the open tread of the staircase in the Airbnb so Bucky had to carry her up and down.

The town of Minerve.

View from the walk into Minerve.

Bucky on a little street in Minerve.

Another view of Minerve.

And another!

Eating on our patio at the Airbnb.

Canal du Midi.

Final mealtime for the weekend!

Cheers to a wonderful weekend in the wine country.

Our lunch companions.

The chickens are RIGHT by her and she is doing a great job of resisting to pounce!

Selfie on the canal. We will be back!!