A few years ago we spent a delightful week in a 10-bedroom chateau, about 3 hours north of here, with our travel buddies Paula, Kate, Cathy, and Jane. That area of France abounds in natural beauty along with numerous caves where prehistoric humans left their mark. Although we could have gone to the better-known Lascaux caves to see replicas of art from nearly 20,000 years ago, we chose the similar Pech Merle where a limited number of visitors are allowed each day to view the original paintings. You’ll never guess what we discovered on the back wall of our courtyard. Continue reading “Cave drawings”

There are many variations on the phrase that starts with “A little bit of knowledge” and none of them end well. Every few weeks (or days) we fall victim to that concept and our most recent encounter could have indeed made us victims but Bill’s keen sense of smell saved us from that fate. We were looking at outdoor grills and everything that goes with them when we spotted this huge bottle you see in the photo that seemed really cheap for such a quantity of flavoring to give your food the smell of smoke. Just look at that delicious corn on the cob, steak, sausage, and asparagus and the words “barbeque, liquid, and grill”. Just don’t look at anything else on the label! Continue reading “Mistaken identity”

We go to the open-air market on the main square in Carcassonne at least a couple of times each week to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s fun to talk with the woman who grew those delicious tomatoes on her farm or the man who picked those luscious peaches from his own trees and now was “picking” them a second time to place in a paper sack for you to take home. While we can usually find any kind of produce we want there, it takes a weekly trip to the supermarket to get most dairy products, cleaning supplies, and the occasional rental vehicle. Continue reading “Milk, paper towels, and a rental van”