Judith

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.

Menthe, been most odd this year. Like you snow is not usual, but it's not as unknown as with you. We get cold winds regularly, and this year, when they have been cold, they have been strong (they always are that) but colder than ever. Though in between remarkably milder than usual. But a lot, lot more cloud cover than normal, and rain at odd times, heavier than sometimes, etc. Last night the rain arrived slightly later than forecasted (it is often thus), and I could see there was snow in it when looked at our Veluxes, but it wasn't very white and was definitely mixed with rain. Much less rain thatn forecasted this morning too. I didn't bother looking out, seen too much snow in my life to get excited about it!

Not entirely true Ken. I have had problems in the past, and no, it is not my computer or me, I am pretty au fait with their workings, up to date with software etc etc .. the forum software has always been a bit dicey. And I, like Menthe, have been on the forum for many years, and both of us have had problems signing in / getting on at some point, and had to change our IDs etc through no fault of our own, Menthe more than me, but she speask true.

Nkostakis .. oickingup on the posts since I last looked on here. You can go from Andorra towards Toulouse - it's the way I went and is not too bad. The motorways (in spite of what ssomon says) are not too bad mid week unless someone does a silly. Avoid bank holiday weekends eg 14 July, but 10 should be OK. Avoid travelling the weekend after it will be hell on the motorways but ordinary roads are fine. I have travelled the auto route from Toulouse to Carca regularly over the last 2 and half years, usually no problem at all .. I would avoid going through Carca .. it's not very easy and is tedious. Everybody uses the motorway to get from one side of Carca to the other. Hotels in Narbonne tend to be on the outskirts but it is a much smaller town and much easier to get around, also has bus routes. Beziers does have a few hotels in the centre, but parking is not easy, and it is city I avoid when I can (it is our sub prefecture so I can't entirely!). Toll payments on autoroute are usually by card. The route to Girona in July, about as ususal .. the coastal road is scenice, but long and that woudl be busier .. avoid the towns along the coast, they wil be busy. Restaurants, almost impossible to say, they change, and it's pot luck .. I do have lists, but that would be better in a separate post once you've sussed your route out.

I can't log on on my ipad, just see the posts, so when I am travelliing I just don;t post. I did have a big problem and like you I had to change my id, so far so good, but it isn't an eay forum to get onto once things go wrong. I sympathise. 😘

Sadly Menthe, the banks are very expert at charging you for almost anything if you let 'em. Pharmacies vary, and I am now learning that the one in our village (since it merged with its competitor when the pharmacist retired) has become very unreliable as well as incompetent. And I still don't know who is in charge there, impossible to work it out! When I can, I go elsewhere now, and get better and faster service too. That pharmacy is also much better arranged with only one queue. The local one has two different serving spots (it's poorly laid out), and thus 2 queues ..doesn't mean you get served more quickly though!

Have to support HectorsDad .. I live between Carcassonne and Narbonne. Carcassonne and the Canal du Midi and the villages of the Minervois have much to offer .. and if you have never visited the Cité, the medieval one it is a must, and though there are some tourist sights in the Perpignan area, it is a much bigger city. I have not yet found anything very exciting in it. The Palais des Rois de Majorca is supposed to be worth seeing, I haven't been, and there is Tautauvel close by .. plus the coastal areas if you like that. I suggest you try to stay in both, for pehaps a few days each Do some research, there is plenty of information out there, and plot some short stays and routes between them. It much depends on your interest. Beziers has the 5 rise locks, quite something, a trip on the canal itself can be very relaxing and you'd see plenty of villages that way .. wine tasting available all over the region .. just a few suggestions. Narbonne also has a lot to see, Roman remains and a splendid cathedral. Plus another canal. As a town, I prefer it to Carcassonne, Beziers, or Perpignan. Carcassonne to Perpigan, about 2 and half hours drive on the motorway (tolled), Narbonne about an hour from Carca, 30 mins to Perpignan .. etc. then another hour to Girona, and Barcelona another 1-2 hrs (I don't often go much beyond Girona, but the only unknown time is crossing the border). Can be fine unless either side decide to have a control check when it can be slow. For Girona - it is a gem, and should be visited. The old town and its walkways (steep cobbled streets) take your breath away, and it has city walls well worth the walk. Even I, with one hip on the blink, found them challenging but very, very enjoyable. Plenty there to think about. Good luck!

Many thanks Banana! And to yours to, thanks for all you do for this forum. The next few days will be a much needed respite this year, methinks!

Menthe, It is certainly one of the more "difficult" forums to access .. I have given up trying to sign in on my ipad, so can never reply to anything whilst away from home ... so very frustrating .. but do not stop posting and replying, you make my time on here so very pleasant, you speak sense, are knowledgeable about France, and come up with lots of lovely discussion ... and yes, do have the most wonderful of Christmas seasons from the damp and cold south! xxx

Menthe, quite right, I hadn't added the years up, but just checked mine and so it is. Mixing it up with WARC cards, and no doubt the UK one, which, in fact, as I had a paper one, I never did need to change, until I got to the magic age when we all turn into the age at which the authorities believe we become incapable, and had to change it!

Ken, I really cannot be bothered to join in your word games, whether you think it or no, that's what came over to me .. but I'm out of this now .. going around in circles is not my choice.

Ken, whilst I do accept what you say, if people in this region chose not to live here, in what is a basically a coastal plain of great depth .. even the Romans lived here .. there would be no-one living along the Languedoc and other coastlines. I agree that new builds now should not be put onto flood plains when possible, but history will show that flood plains have been populated over eons of time, since the world began even. They even occur in the Bible ... but you do seem to have an holier than thou attitude which is totally unehelpful, for not all get even the chance to make a choice, it's there or nothing.

Ken, where I am, most properties are in a flood plain area because that is what it is, and have been here for hundreds of years, not new build, very old towns on the whole, not particularly pretty, not because it is cheaper .. but what it is ..the whole of this part of the south of France is very low lying and always has been, it is not however, reclaimed land .. just a coastal plain where all the towns and villages are around here .. even the ones in the hills suffered the year after we did .. the weather patterns here are usually very kind, but there are storms every now and then, and have been over the years, which are reputed because they are more severe than the usual storms (2 fronts coming together, along with tides on the whole.) We were lucky in some ways, it came up and then down, and whilst there was a lot of mud and some furniture it wasn't possible to rescue, most was .. but all the floors needed to be redone and the kitchen was eventually replaced .. we were relatively lucky, but it is still not nice.