Whenever the weather now in spring is fine – i. e. blue sky & lots of sunshine – my better half & I like to make a short trip to an interesting spot near our home in Carcassonne. Unfortunately the weather is very shifting – from a fine day to a day filled w/ storm & rain showers overnight. There are lots of spot worthwhile to be visited around us especially lots of castles, churches,…
We made a trip (resp. some trips) to Toulouse from Carcassonne. It’s quite easy: take a SNCF train to cover the distance of about 100 km within 42 min. So you are transferred from downtown Carcassonne (i. e. La Bastide) to downtown Toulouse. One of the striking features of Toulouse is La Garonne flowing mightily, but smooth like a mirror straight through the city. Some impressive bridges control the traffic e. g. the Pont Neuf…
We are still in Southern France in a tiny & minimalistic kitchen … It’s pasta time: we often enjoy pasta dishes because they are so easy to create. I especially like the one pot pasta approach. It’s quite a long time ago that I posted about one pot pasta tomato, but it’s one of my favourites, although I adjusted the dish a touch. Back then I thought about my approach as the mother of all…
Leaving „Megalopolis“ Bangkok we entered Cambodia & stayed in Siem Reap, the city near the Angkor area where you’ll find the largest religious site worldwide surrounded by lots of temples … ruins … more ruins … Sometimes we felt like diving into an archaeological adventure – well: not like Indiana Jones of course, but there were some sites & moments … Compared to Bangkok’s golden Buddhas there are only Buddhas made of stone in Angkor…
Bangkok – a megalopolis: people, traffic, business, shopping… & lots of temples! Visiting Bangkok on our trip to & from Cambodia in 2017 left us awestruck concerning the beauty & the splendour of Buddha’s temples. Our main impression: there are golden Buddhas – everywhere! These long rows of Buddha statues reside in Wat Pho lining the walls around a courtyard around a temple.
Happy hour is on the agenda … what about some homemade salmon paté? We are still in Southern France, in Carcassonne … Also in France there is a happy hour & sometimes we enjoy a leisurely happy hour in front of our current home, sitting in the spring sun & having a glass of wine. I found this easy approach to salmon paté in Rachel Allen’s cookbook, worked then with the ingredients available at the…
About mid of March when returning to Southern France from a short trip to Germany we made a stopover in Lyon. We had a whole Sunday for discovering Lyon resp. a small part of it. We stayed in a hotel near the main station, Lyon-Perrache, which is located on the peninsula between La Saône and Le Rhône. We didn’t walk southbound towards La Confluence, a modern and stylish quarter (as I read …), where La…
We are still in Southern France in the region of Carcassonne … Saissac means – first of all – Le Château de Saissac resp. the medieval fortifications i. e. the ruins of it. (You may walk the site – unfortunately we went on a weekday when it was closed. So we’ll come back soon.) The ruins are surrounded by a village as ancient as the site – and furthermore there are some sorts of more…
We made a day trip to Narbonne. (To be honest: we made 2 day trips to Narbonne during the last weeks … there’s quite a lot to see & to visit or just to relax at the Canale de la Robine.) The main landmarks are the unfinished cathedral Saint-Just et Saint-Pasteur and the adjoining Palace of the Archbishop. From the channel you’ll only get a view of the towers. Another very interesting landmark is the…
We are in Southern France, living for 4 months in a small house in Carcassonne. As I told you already: the kitchen is small & the kitchen equipment is limited. So cooking is somewhat of a challenge … However, what fits is Shakshuka. … & you may prepare it for breakfast as well as for dinner! (We almost never have lunch here, but of course it’s also a delicious simple lunch!) Some years ago I…
We made a trip to Saint-Hilaire, a former abbey near Carcassonne, managed by Benedictines. The earliest documentary evidence dates back to 825 – so we are again in the era of Charlemagne. Today there are no more monks or nuns – the buildings including the chapel, however, are restored and may be visited. Inside there is a beautiful fountain where a bunch of pigeons enjoy their bath in the sun. Coming now to the real…
Le Lac (the lake) and Le Boudin (black pudding): where is the connection?There isn’t any. On a rather cold day in February we went to Lac de Montagnès in Southern France in La Montagne Noir, the most southern part of the Massif Central. The sky was blue, the sun was brilliant, only the temperature was rather low. We were at about 600-800 m & some snow had survived here and there – not only on…
Lagrasse, a village and home to about 600 people, isn’t far from Carcassonne. It’s rated one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (the most beautiful villages of France). So my better half & I decided to make a trip to Lagrasse. It was a cold, but beautiful day beginning of February with a dazzling blue sky and a dazzlingly bright sun. There is the medieval village Lagrasse and there is the Abbey Sainte-Marie de…
What reminds me of Vienna these days?We are in Southern France – and for about 2 weeks (end of January & beginning of February) it was really cold: one evening it started even snowing & all was soon covered in a nice white snow layer. Even in the morning there was this specific quietness that only snow provides … However, some hours later almost all was gone, at least where we live in Carcassonne. The…
Avocados are very popular w/ us. I think we are no exception. Especially since we are in Southern France we like to create some avocado mess & indulge w/ fresh baguette for our dinner. Afterwards we may have some cheese … for the finish. As I already told you there is only a tiny kitchen in our home so preparing excessive meals for lunch or dinner, requiring cooking & frying & preparing a sauce &…