What A Difference A Day Makes In The Languedoc
Surprise surprise at 00.30 hours last night as Peete (the dog) was requesting a little walk before settling down for the night we were somewhat amazed to see that our world had turned white. Snow in Beziers now that is unusual, though not unheard of but definitely not the norm, even in winter. I must admit it felt strange standing on our balcony taking photos of our orange tree coated with snow at nearly 1 o/clock in the morning. Any sensible person would have been snuggled up in bed that probably explains why I was outside.
When we woke up this morning the snow was still covering the ground and the rooftops. It looked crisp and sharp and felt crisper and sharper than it looked. I really did not want to spend the day indoors so we decided to go for a drive and maybe have a walk while we were out. 
As usual no route was planned but we had a vague idea that the snow would be pretty in the mountains. That proved to be the wrong direction because the nearer we got to the Haut Languedoc the greener they looked so we changed direction and headed towards the coast. Having lived by the sea in Somerset we knew it would be unusual to see snow at the coast but we went anyway. We crossed the Route de Narbonne and drove to Vendres a little village with a an impressive church, the tower of which dominates the skyline. When standing at the foot of the tower we could see the sun shimmering on the etang (lake) and also glistening on the pockets of snow that had not been fully exposed to the sun. On returning to the car we both agreed that a hot chocolate would be nice so we carried onto Vendres Plage and visited a little bar frequented by the locals. After the drink we walked along the beach, one side of the sea wall sand and sea the other side little snow drifts. Can I lay claim to a new expression .”Sun Sea And Snow”? Peete enjoyed her run along the beach , clear blue skies , shining water and no people but no dogs to play with either. Oh well she cannot have everything . I think she was quite content to get back in the car.
Until this point in the drive we had followed roads that we had been along before so we deviated off the way that we knew and went to Port Vendres not a lot to see today except men working very hard on some new construction. (Do not know what.) Apparently Charles Rennie Mackintosh painted scenes in this area during the last four years of his life. Some people say it reminded him of Glasgow ! I am afraid my imagination does not stretch that far. Ever onwards following the road that runs alongside the river Aude. We both enjoy watching birds and were delighted to see Egrets both little and great, Herons, Cormorants and many herring gulls. There was also a plethora of Buzzards funny though they all seem camera shy? 
I suppose it was inevitable that we would end up in one of the wine terroirs of the region and I am pleased to say that the signs for La Clape (pronounced Clap) began to appear. Had to be done (well it is a while since we went tasting) Chateau Laquirou sounded attractive and looked welcoming and we were not disappointed. Guillaume the young man who explained and described the wines spoke very good English (always useful) and made us feel very comfortable when we made mistakes with our use of the French language. To be really honest although the wines were excellent and we did buy some he could have sold me the Eiffel tower. Well just because one is on a diet does not mean one cannot look at the menu.!!
Think I had better stop at this point before I get carried away. Wonder if it will snow again tonight.
Tags: Chateau Laquirou, La Clape, Vendres, Vendres Plage