Sorèze Trip - July 26th 2005 - Narbonne

Tuesday 26th July 2005 Narbonne & Cuq Tulsa

We left for Narbonne at 0955, after cheese for breakfast! It takes half an hour to get to the motorway, not helped by two road works. With a pit stop for fuel, we were in Narbonne at 1130, on schedule. But today was hotter than ever. Narbonne is delightful. We parked free alongside the canal & walked along it to the indoor market, which we walked through & then, after expensive coffees (E2.90 each) to the centre, which is really just the Hôtel de Ville & the unfinished cathedral, which however, has the highest choir in Europe. The finished part is obviously big enough for the punters they get but the whole thing is buried in other buildings.

We had omelettes for lunch & more coffee for E20.40 & then I drove down to the sea. First, to Gruissan, which had a ruined castle, a lot of grotty holiday flats & a long marina. Then, to Narbonne Plage, which was much the same without the castle. We walked to the sea edge but it was all a bit crowded. There was another way to drive back to the motorway junction, which was more interesting, as it goes over a limestone 'mountain range' on a twisty road with rock features everywhere.

We stopped at La Corbières Aire on the way back for ice-creams & a breather. The tolls were E7.10 each way. Back at Vicky's by 1715, we moved the bedding down a floor to the Salon, as the top room is quite intolerably hot now. Last night, Uta said they were trying to sell up, as it was getting hotter each year. We had a siesta. At 1930, Vicky drove us to the Hotel Cuq Tulsa in Cuq Tulsa, which has a reputation. The owners are Paris business executives who got fed up with it, bought this place & did it up. They give you what they decide, in the French posh manner. Vicky got a special because of her anti-milk (anti-cholesterol) crusade but they themselves complained about having high cholesterol. I'm not surprised because the food, while well done & very tasty, was not exactly politically correct. We had sort of tapas, with paté, prunes wrapped in bacon & salmon. Then, ravioli round cheese, followed by duck, fried spuds & a sort of vegetable blancmange but no proper vegetables. Only I had the full fat cheeses & not too much, either. The pud was a sort of tart of mild cheese, again fatty with strawberries & raspberries. They act as 'friends' i.e. talk too much but apparently, they get a lot of celebs & princelings, who like to be treated 'ordinary' without the fawning. I amused myself by asking, "May I embarrass you by offering to pay for this meal?" which also amused them, it being my treat again. E105, as they threw in the wine, which would otherwise be E14 (E3 in the shops). The chef sings in a choir at Castelnaudary & one organised by Barry. We were back just before midnight.