I always think/thought of the French as being especially health minded when it comes to their diet. After all they are the ones who can eat can eat all that bread, cheese, and foie gras that’s washed down with glasses of red wine and still have low rates of heart disease. Even the newly-crowned Miss Fitness Europe 2016 is from right here in Carcassonne. So how come we can’t find brown rice? Continue reading “Where’s the brown rice?”

If you just glance at this photo you might think that we had gone to a drive-through gambling establishment. In Louisiana and some other states too they have drive-through liquor stores where you can pick up a case of wine and a frozen daiquiri to-go without ever leaving your vehicle. In France, it’s all about the food. There are about 3000 stores here, including this one called Casino, where you place an online order and a couple of hours later just drive into the designated area and it’s loaded into the trunk for you. We even have a chocolate maker here in Carcassonne who will do that for you. Continue reading “Drive, he said”

Carcassonne has three chocolate shops around the main square plus a fourth one about a 5-minute walk away. These are not your ordinary salt water taffy and fudge candy stores but artisanal workshops with many of their treats created on the spot. You may have read an earlier post about the annual Chocolate Fair and these folks carry on the tradition daily. Of course, that does come at a price and now I know why these confections are so highly prized. Continue reading “Worth its weight in chocolate”