Judith

Banana, sometimes cards get refused becasue they ask for extra security, eg, a code received by text nmessage, and if you don't suply that, it stops it gooing through.. but I have had it happen without that. It's very odd, but I don't know why. Desperately trying to rememebr which card I used to pay for my last Eurotunnel booking, French or English CC (but not Nat West though) but failed to remember, but I haven't travelled yet with them this year, so maybe something has changed since I last did??

I only ever knew her as Hoddy, but she was an excellent Mod, impartial and fair to all, but always friendly, and she will be very sadly missed by all.

Hi again, Bize isn't very large, but I have yet to find my way around it ..completely. My doctor used to work from there, but has since moved, but I still go back to the phamarcy there, and it is a pretty village to walk around, with a river which can be swum in during the summer. There is also a very good restaurant called Chez Jean-Marc, (I forgot before) who is an excellent chef, his wife (Rachel) speaks good English and the meals have a touch of the oriental in them (he was a 5* chef in hotel somewhere in Asia). Lovely couple. To find, pass the pharmacy roundabout, at the next small roundabout take the right hand road, go in to the parking on the left and the resto is on the other side of the road. The other side of the river is the main village. Most villages (but not all) will have some form of eatery, you can only go look and see if yo fancy it. Bars often do main meals at lunch time .. always worth trying and you will find regulars aplenty in them. They are very much French country cooking with often no choice of menu. In a previous post I suggested a place to park in Narbonne, the threatre, but in both Narbonne and Beziers parking is not so easy, and all would need a little walk. This is not America! There is a shuttle bus in Narbonne whch goes past the parking in the theatre .. parking near restaurants in villages is usually but not always easy. Most villages benefit from a walk around, and in some places you could not or would not want to drive too close to places you want to see. In Bize Minervois, it would be difficult as the roads are very, very narrow, as they are also in several other villages. In Minerve it is a good walk from the parking, and you are not allowed to park in the village, unless you are a resident, at all. And if you drove in, you could well get stuck and not get out again. I cannot help with gluten free, as it does not affect me, but restaurants, especially those serving the tourist trade, are catching on. But betise's suggestion is good also.

If the number is not in my phone, it's most probably a spam. Don't answer numbers not in my contacts list. If it's important enough, they'll find another way I say! Emails - likewise. If I don't know the name, it gets deleted. Yes, I use the usual, check where it came from too. If I didn't buy anything from them likewise. Spam web site, only go via links I already have .. doing my best you see.

It's one of the reasons I got rid of my loyalty cards (as they all went electronic and had to be paid for) and now shop around depending where I physically am when I need to stop .. and I gave up looking at the catalogues long ago. If it's a price I am prepared to pay and need it, it gets bought, if not it stays on the shelf! It ain't a bargain if you didn't need it in the first place!

Now had time to look at a few .. these are some of the restaurants in the Narbonne end of the Minervois. Watch for closing days, usually Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and sometimes Sunday if they are open all week. I've noted those I know as I have used them. Those not noted I have not used. Table'O in Beaufort, Ty'zac (Wed) Le Ty Zac(Olonzac) is open for lunch only on Monday Cafe de la Grille in Capestang? Pretty sure it's open every day. Serves steaks, pizzas (they have a pizza oven) fish etc. Very hearty traditional French food. The restaurant is not 'fancy' but we have always had very good food and service (Not me, tbhis from someone else) Lo Cagarol in Aigne (?Thursday) Long time since I've been a tyical circulade viallge as is Olonzac, but Aigne is prettier. YOu can get on to the road from MInerve too from there. Bella Npoli in Narbonne is pretty good. La Belle Epoque - St Marcel sur Aude - (Sunday) also a bar so open all day. Might think of more when I think futher, but another busy day here!

I think restaurants are very specific to what you like, and sadly there have been quite a few closures since Covid. The larger towns have several, along the canal du Midi, which la MInervoise follows, you wil lfind them them too. I'd have to reserch a little more to really help .. La Croisade is liked, Chantovent in MInerve, from memory, Homps has several choices along the canal in the village centre, the unpretentious ones you often find only by asking in the villages. French cuisine done here is not a varied as you will find elsewhere in France, with a strong Spanish influence. I prefer the food in the SW myself. Ty'zak in Olonzac, very popular pizzeria plus the standard types of meal.

HI again, nkostaskis, Sounds like your plans are ocming on apace. Look at the Narbonne tourist office web site, also for La Clape, the Minervois .. you can get to Carcassonne from Narbonne in about an hour, but in the middle of July I would not suggest that, Carca will be heaving with people. You could drive from Beziers along the Minervoise, plenty of villages dotted around off that road, which will take you first to Olonzac, in about 30 mins (watch for speed limits on that section, they are very keen in that bit), and whilst the road eventually also goes to Carcassonne, I would suggest you aim to go through Olonzac, pretty enough, with some commerces if necessary, and onwards to Minerve, one the seats of the Cathars, and the most accessible. Apart from Beziers (huge massacre of the Cathars in 1308 - I think that's the right date), the rest of the sights are way down west of Perpignan in somewhat inaccessible places for the short trip you are making. MInerve is spectular. Good restos too. Plenty of tourist shops. As you can see, it is one of my favourite places, though I usually go out of season. The tourist web sites of the various regions are very helpful. You might also like to look at Fontfroide, just south of Narbonne, and also well worth a visit. Ex-monastic building now very nicely restored etc, if I could only remember which brand of monk they were! Nice resto too. Don't know horse riding places, sorry, not my thing. Hope that helps, from the top of my head.

I have a rheumatologist called Dr Couture .. one would hope his stitches would be perfect!

I've eaten at the Novotel .. it's perfecty fine as well. There is also a Courtepaille and IBIS adjacent to the Novotel. Plus most peoples favourite shop - Grand Frais - best fresh veg and fruit ever - but that won't interest you! But is explains why I know the area so well! If you really must, towards Narbonne on the road from there, you wil find a Macdonald's. but nect to that is a sports centre, swimming pool etc. As for things to see in Narbonne. Spoilt for choice. Archbishops Palace in main square, take a tour and get to the top - marvellous view, also the Cathedral, oddly shaped, next door, can be seen for miles, but never completely finsishd as planned, hence it's odd shape. There are Roman remains, a new Vino exhibition, (not been but heard it's good), the tourist office just up the road from the main square, palace and cathedral, is worth a vist, it sits over an arm off the canal du midi, which name currently escapes me, but walking along that canal path, is very interesting indeed. It has a theatre, on the canal side, where you can park if you decided to drive into town, for free, and it's about a 10 min walk, if that, along the canal to the town square. Plenty of restaurants, markets, etc etc. Anything particular you like to do/ see?

Hi again, Nkostakis. From either of those you can go in whatever direction you'd like easily .. Narbonne being perhaps an hour nearer Spain (and as I said, my preference for towns of the two, though lacking a good quality central hotel, but there are plenty with easy access to the autoroute, including a Novotel near the southern rocade, with very easy access to the autoroute (could hardly be nearer, but getting ito town is easy too, I find the road system in Narbonne less confusing thatn Beziers. And there are buses too. Whatever you do the French will faire le pont over the weekend, which means they will be moving mainly and certainly, it being a Thursday, more than Friday, so as to be in place for Friday 14th and the weekend. My experience of 14th is that it is quiet .. very little traffic on the route around our little town, which we can hear when there is a lot on it. Some food shops might be open on the Friday morning, but nothing much in the afternoon, at a guess. From Narbonne you can be at the Spanish border in about an hour ..or less, and it is more likely that it will flow smoothly trhough the border itself. People in France tend to go to family for 14th July clebrations. Watch the speed limit in Spain, 100 immediately after the border, reverting to autoroute speed of 120 once on the the autoroute proper. No tolls when I last went through in November. Saturday travel, difficult to say, as holiday makers changing at the weekend will add to traffic (and you wil be passing a very popular holiday spot )so I would not recommebd the coast road that weekend. So it will be very much luck, but mornings are usually less busy than afternoons when people are on the move.

Menthe, I think (I've never bothered to make them) they have to be same consistency as the batter for Yorkshire puds, which again I have never been successful at, if you've ever made them. But obviously cooked differently ...

I had ripage as a minor fault also on the last CT I did for the car I have now sold .. I never did find out what it was, and thought it might be something to do with a slipping clutch (I had problems with day one with that car with the clutch as it caught far too high for me, and I was never able to get them to change it). So now I know!.

Quite, only thing I saw about was in Connexion. As it happens, I had been on the impots site last week to check something else entirely unrelated to this, and saw nothing on there about it all .. in fact I have yet to find out where the form is hidden, even if unintentially. So, yes, much more could be done to publicise this. I have no problem with the action itself, but it is somewhat stupid, unless it is really a hidden money maker, to keep it so secret.

I read it was to work out who would pay taxe d'hab this year .. as it is removed for all main homes. Seceondary home owners and those with empty properties will still have to pay taxe d'hab, at least as far as I read it. To be done befoe the end of June it said, and most can do it when they do their tax returns, it also said.