Monday, May 29 – Canal du Midi: Baziège to Villefranche de Lauragais
Today was our longest walk on the canal, clocking in at 14.5 miles. Having been informed that it was un jour ferié (a holiday) to celebrate the Pentecost, we were then told that most stores would be closed, and restaurants would be impossible to get into given the holiday. Our hosts tried to make reservations at several restaurants to no avail. So, we did what resilient Californians do: we took our extra breakfast bread and prepared sandwiches, Roquefort and Fig Jam for me, Roquefort and Pont l’Eveque for Dave.
The place we really wanted to get in to was L’Estanquet at the Écluse de Gardouche (the Gardouch lock). On the walk I mentally prepared all the French phrases I could muster to somehow rescue our midday meal, given famous French finickiness. Finally, I settled on a simple solution: I would confirm that the restaurant was “complet” (full), and if so, explain that we had sandwiches in our backpacks, and ask to buy a bottle of wine and have a picnic on their lawn. Okay, I also wanted to use the bathroom. The lovely waitress said, “mais oui!” and sold us a bottle, threw in some plastic glasses, and tried to provide a wine opener, forcing David to admit that we usually pack that before our medications . She also suggested that we would be more comfortable at the picnic tables a few feet beyond the lawn. Nice lady!!!!
Happiness is a wine picnic.
The view from our picnic bench.
Arriving at Villefranche de Lauragais, we found no fortifications (I told this story on Dave’s video), but we did find the lovely La Louisiane and our super hosts, Catherine and Dominique.
Dominique, Catherine, and Bouba, their Bouvier.
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