May 2016

The Pentecoste Fete arrived in Chalabre this week with thrills and excitement for families and friends alike, along with the music entertainment which continues into the small hours for four nights.  After the second night of revelry, we headed down to Spain for some sun and chill time.

 

This is the view en route to the Mediterrean. The French are always keen to make the most of their holiday weekends.  As the Fete days normally  fall on a Thursday, the French will take the Friday as “Le Pont” (the bridge) and make a long weekend of it.  The journey from Chalabre to the coast is under two hours and less than an hour to Narbonne.

 

We arrived around 3pm to the villa we always stay at in Empuriabrava. The resort has dozens of canals with houses and boats either side.  From our balcony we can see the boats glide past on their way to the Mediterranean.  The weather is glorious and we decide to walk down to the center to have a drink and something to eat.

Tony’s  bar has a great selection of tapas, from huge sweet olives to a platter of cured ham and slices of manchego – a sweet strong hard cheese. We ordered one of our favorites – tortilla (a dish of sliced potatoes cooked in an omelette and served in cake-like slices). Anchovy toasts, prawns wrapped in crispy strings of potatoe and baby squid in tomato sauce. All washed down with rosé and San Miguel.

We walked down to the beach afterwards and sat looking out to sea with the town of Rosas in the distance.

We have visited the French and Spanish coast every year since living in France.  It is easy to get to, lovely weather and excellent food, particularly fish, fresh from the local suppliers.

We have always adored seafood and for Ed’s birthday in 2006, we had the biggest paella we have ever seen, cooked by Didier at Hotel du France in Chalabre (www.hotel-de-france-chalabre.com)

We had about thirty people coming to the party and discussed with Marielle and Didier  what dishes they could provide for us.  We decided on a dish of Paella and some seafood platters.  On the Saturday afternoon, Ed and two of his pals, went over to the hotel to collect the food.  They came back almost immediately and we thought that maybe the hotel was closed.

“No, it’s not closed” Said Ed.  “We just need the car!”

They took the car and came back in five minutes.  Out of our large estate car came the biggest paella dish we have ever seen.  About three foot in diameter!  It covered the entire old hob in our yet-to-be converted kitchen.  Following that dish, came four huge oval platters of seafood.  Crab, langoustine, shrimp, crevettes, moules and smoked salmon.  They covered one entire table.

All we needed to add was fresh, crusty, Ancienne loaves we had bought from the local bakery, salad, and of course, wine!

It was night we will never forget – Vive La Vie

  

NOVEMBER 2005

We spent several enjoyable holidays in South West France, looking for the right property and eventually we found what we were looking for in Chalabre, one of the prettiest villages in the area.  There was a school for Abi, a bank, a doctor, several cafes, two butchers, two boulangeries and several other shops. One hour from Carcassonne and not much further from Toulouse. We agreed a price and set a date for completion around three months later.
In November we flew out to Carcassone and collected our rental car. As we reached the other side of Montreal, (a hill top village 15 minutes from Carcassonne) there it was. The view of the Pyrenees – in all its splendour. Snow clad mountains with the winter sun dancing off the peaks.
Soon we were in Chalabre and pulled up outside the Hotel de France. We introduced ourselves to the owners – Marielle and Didier. That was the start of our friendship which has lasted for more than ten years and is still as strong as ever today.
We told them that we had booked a room for three nights but Marielle looked confused as she didn’t speak any English. My French was good, so I explained and showed them the email.

Marielle said it wasn’t possible as they didn’t open on Sunday evenings – it was their one day off each week. There must have been a mix up with the bookings.

We were both surprised, as generally we were pretty efficient with our travel arrangements. We discussed it and decided that we would have to either go back to Carcassonne or find a local hotel. It all seemed a bit daunting as we were tired and hungry and didn’t know enough about the area to find a hotel easily.

Marielle was talking very rapidly to her husband. Then she turned to me and said in French.

“Ok, Mme Wood – please, we can give you a room. We won’t be here tonight but you can have the key”

“To the room?” I asked.

” Yes of course – I will give you a key to the hotel AND to your room.” Said Marielle.

“Really?” I was astounded.

“Of course, Madame. I’m sorry the restaurant isn’t open, but I can leave you some food and you can just write down any drinks you wish to have.”
We were flabbergasted and could hardly believe our ears. Just imagine that happening in UK – unthinkable. We looked at each other and smiled. Abi asked us if we were going to stay in Chalabre for the night. We hugged her and said yes, and probably for many more nights to come – very soon.

May 2016

We had a great trip down to our house in Chalabre.  We stopped overnight at the Chalet Du Foret in Vierzon, always a pleasant stay and dog friendly!

We arrived at the house with the sun shining and threw open all the windows and doors and stood looking at the snow capped Pyrenees glistening in the distance.

We walked over to the Hotel De France and were greeted with a huge welcome, kisses all round and a drink at the bar.  Good to be back.  We spent the evening catching up with their news about the village, their son Julien and  French life in general.  The meal was excellent with Didier’s usual attention to detail. Cassoulet for Ed and Steak for me.

 

Next the story of the first night we spent in Chalabre and just how accommodating the French can be ……