Travellers’ Tales…

Mum and Dad have returned from their tour of Spain tired and happy (though a little less happy about the long queues through the Gatwick South Terminal). We had stuck them on a train in France at Narbonne and they got off in Spain at Barcelona, where the next day they joined a coach tour. They explored Barcelona before they travelled down to Valencia, to Granada, Seville and ended in Madrid. They saw many grand buildings and enjoyed the company of their fellow passengers, though they did say that the constant travelling and high temperatures did eventually tire them out and they were glad when they finally got to the end. They thought the tour was very comprehensive and well organised and supported by informative and engaging guides and that it was a good way to quickly see a country when you are stuck for time.

Baby Cuddles…

Our friends James and Nikala have just had their first baby boy, Noah, and we visited them recently to congratulate them and for Sue to have cuddles with the little bundle of joy. We had lunch and a walk in the park while we chatted (mostly about babies and baby related subjects). We welcomed them to the parental club and warned them that the easy bit was now over and the hard work was just beginning.

Birthday Treats…

Sue had her ‘still in my forties’ birthday party recently and we had a good turnout for her do around home. The weather held off enough for some to spend time outdoors on the deck while the rest were dancing in the dining room.

There was a good spread put together by a cast of many, including Sue with her now legendary sausage rolls and Carole who made an array of colourful cup cakes to accompany the rich chocolate cake she made.

Jamie impressed by his appearance baring an espresso coffee machine as a gift (he claimed he thought it was Sue’s 50^th but everyone told him he had set a precedent now and had to do better next year.)

Need an App? Then I know who to call…

Jamie has decided to hand in his notice and go into business full time with his friend Simon in a company called Locassa. They have set themselves up as independent App Developer and iPhone App Developers and have been establishing themselves for a while now with successful implementation of applications for a number of high profile customers.

So if you are looking for a company to help you with the development of an App or you know someone who might be interested in the services that they can offer, then you can point them in the direction of their website

More of wot I have read…

Ravenor: The Omnibus by Dan Abnett

I like this sort of stuff – modern Boys Own styled war stories. The stories are full of graphic and violent action but it does add depth and colour (though much of that colour is dark – storm grey, olive drab, blood red and midnight black) to the Gothic universe of the Games Workshop – Warhamer 40k table top game system. It is interesting to read how much attention and detail has been created to support a war game, the back story development is fascinating and very visual. If it wasn’t for the obscene amount of violence I think it would make a good movie.

‘In the war-torn future of the 41st millennium, the Inquisition fights a secret war against the darkest enemies of mankind – the alien, the heretic and the daemon. The three stories in this omnibus tell the tale of Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor and his lethal band of operatives, whose investigations take them from the heart of the Scarus Sector to the wildest regions of space beyond, and even through time itself. Wherever they go and whatever dangers they face, they will never give up until their mission succeeds.

The Omnibus contains the novels Ravenor, Ravenor Returned and Ravenor Rogue, plus two short stories and an introduction by the author.’

France avec la famille…

We have just returned from our summer holiday to the South of France with the family. My Mum & Dad are over from NZ and we went with them and my Uncle and his girlfriend for a week to the Minerve and Aude regions halfway between Narbonne and Carcassonne.

We stayed in the quaint village of La Redorte set amongst wine groves at a lovely gite called Villa Camellia that is owned by the family of friends of ours. The village has all the usual facilities and also had the added attraction of being adjacent to the Canal du Midi (an impressive 17^th C construction that joined with other canals to provide a link between the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay.)

Overlooking the ‘Port of La Redorte’ was a restaurant that benefited by the view and the passing trade from the various barges and river cruisers on the canal. The eatery Le Rivassel capitalised on the tourists by putting on an energetic and entertaining final evening for us with Brazilian night complete with exotic dancers.

We hired a couple of cars for the six of us and experienced our first driving trauma soon after picking them up as we got separated on the motorway system as I failed to follow the sat-nav properly. Luckily both parties managed to navigate their way to the village separately. We only had minor navigational issues after that due to sat-nav errors or miss-read maps.

Sunday – We drove out to the historic Cather town of Minerve that sits attractively on a spit of land between two gorges (one called Brian). It has some lovely craft shops and the route there goes through some spectacular countryside.

Monday – This day we decided to brave the tourist hot-spot of Carcassonne, a large walled town that had been restored to its former glory complete with impressive Basilica and Chateaux. This is a bustling place full of noise, sights and scents to entertain for hours, and we wandered around missing the occasional shower until we finished up in a square full of restaurants where some of us partook of the local speciality Cassoulet (a stew of haricot beans, sausage, and duck or goose).

Tuesday – Close by is the small and perfectly formed little historic village of Caunes-Minervois in a town known for its marble, statues of which could be seen in the park in the distinctive pink and white colouring. There is a cute Abbey in the village that has layers of historical construction on view along with a rather unusual art exhibition. The old town was well worth a wander around and we ended up in a small square where we had a picnic lunch next to a marble fountain and under the shade of two enormous plane trees. We made a small detour to the now closed Marble Quarry before we continued on to our next destination.

Lastours is a small place in the mountains that is known for the ruins of four castles, Les Quatre Chateaux, which sit above it in the middle of rugged terrain and provide a dramatic view of their crumbling walls and turrets.

 

On Wednesday Mum & Dad stayed at the gite expecting a visit from friends that did not materialise as the rest of us took one car and went out for the day. Our first stop was Lagrasse, another old town full of character and crumbling walls. In the small town centre was a traditional covered market square and across the pretty river was an impressive abbey. 

After lunch we took a very winding and vertiginous road out to one of the most impressive of the Cather castles - Peyrepertuse Chateaux – sitting as it does at the top of a mountain ridge where it can dominate two valleys and, along with its partner castle on the other side of one of the valleys, protect the approaches from the Spanish boarder. There is a torturous road part way up the mountain to a car park where you can then continue on foot up the steep path to the castle itself and there get the most amazing views.

Thursday we ventured further abroad to visit the very grand and popular Abbaye Fontfroide where we had a guided tour around the wonderful old monastery, church and rose gardens. 

We then went on until we reached the coast and the little fishing village of Bages, where we had a delightful authentic French lunch at the tiny Les Jardins de Bages cafe.

On Friday we dropped Mum & Dad off at Narbonne to catch the train to Barcelona where they joined a bus tour around Spain for the next week. After we returned to the gite the four of us remaining went out first to Conques-sur-Orbiel – a case of mistaken identity, and then on to the town of books Montolieu renowned for its second-hand book stores. Lastly we went up probably the most frightening road yet to Cubservies there to see the cascades, supposedly some of the tallest falls in the country.

And as mentioned earlier, our evening, and holiday, ended with the exotic Brazilian rhythms of the Latin band and swaying hips of the scantily dancers down beside the canal.

It was a great break I think for all of us and we would thoroughly recommend the area, the gite in particular, for a family holiday.