House for Sale across the street...

We're selling our little house across the street for only 24,500 Euros. It needs everything done to it but has some lovely features and loads of potential...

We bought it a few years ago to renovate but we just don't have the time to work on it because La Muse is doing so well!

Here's a link to the listing on www.greenacres.com, a great site if any of you out there are ever looking to buy or sell a house. We've had our listing up there only 9 days and we've already had 10 people from 10 different countries contact us! The power of the Internet...

The Medieval Cité in Carcassonne

For those who haven't been here on retreat before: the medieval Cité in Carcassonne is only 30 minutes from here.

The fortress, which was completely restored in 1853 by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

About 3500 BC the hill site of Carsac (a Celtic place-name that has been kept at other sites in the south) became an important trading place in the 6th century BC. The town became identified when the Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC. The main part of the lower parts of the northern ramparts date from Gallo-Roman times. Skipping on a fair few centuries of history we come to 1096 when Pope Urban II blessed the foundation stones of the new cathedral as a Catholic stronghold against the Cathars. Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of Occitan Cathars, the people the Catholic Church decided to, to put it mildly, get rid of, premaently.

You can find out more information about Carassonne on the Office de Tourisme website.

Or check out their funny video:

Festivals - Limoux, Carcassonne, Mirepoix...

Carcassonne, Summer Festival Fireworks...

Every village in the region has their own type of festival in Summer, but the Carcassonne Festival is one of the major cultural events in the South of France and is now one of France's largest festivals with nearly 110 shows each year and more than 75 of them are free!

Here's a synopsis/program of what they have going on and here's an overview:

Throughout July, in the Cité and the Bastide St. Louis. A lot of the events are on the Place Carnot. The program has opera, theatre, dance, jazz, salsa, street theatre, country and western as well as other concerts, comedy and folklore.

In August a re-enactment of the days of the troubadours happens. Knights on horses in full costume, along with jugglers, gymnasts, dancers, acrobats, mime artists and musicians entertain with jousting and mayhem.

From mid-June to mid-September there's an organ festival with concerts on the great organ at the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire in the Cite. Concerts are free and take place every Sunday and on all public holidays.

On Bastille Day -14th July- the merry madness reaches its climax with a truly amazing firework display - the Cité looks like it's about to explode.

Here's a look at the year-round events:


Carnaval de limoux sortie de toutes les troupes mars 09

January to March: Limoux Carnaval (see the video above)

March :
Beginning of March - Dame Carcas Pig Fair, Carcassonne
Storytelling Festival, Limoux
End of March, there are the antique fairs, Carcassonne  
End of March or Early April - Wine festival Toques et Clochers

July: Carcassonne Festival (see above) 

August:
Period costume spectacle, Medieval City of Carcassonne
Puppet Festival, Mirepoix, Contact 04 68 31 54 67
Weekend in the middle to end of August: Vigne et Terroir festival

September:
Around the 6th September. The flea market in September is in the streets of La Trivalle.

October: 
Fete du Vin Primeur: A celebration of the wine harvest celebrated in the middle of the month



November:
St. Catherine' Fair on 25th November. Like all the fairs, there are arts and crafts and local produce on offer.


December, January and February:

Don't miss the eccentrically fun Truffle Festival in Villeneuve Minervois held one cold morning every year, with a pistol!
Sunday before Christmas:  Foie Gras Fair
Christmas market:  in the Place Carnot is great in an eccentrically magical kind of way with its stage, skating rink (3 Euro) with a big ice spectacular one of the evenings, fake icicles and snow on the fountain, Christmas trees and wooden stalls and a huge Ferris wheel with views of the town and Cite just outside the Bastide walls. There's sledging, the usual fireworks and many other things that make Christmas pretty memorable in Carcassonne, to say the least.

Please email us by clicking here if you know of any other festivals going on in the area and we'll update this post, or just leave a comment below the post. Thanks!