Midi Pyrenees

The town of Albi (81 Tarn et Garonne, Midi Pyrenees) holds its annual Carnival celebration from 20 – 28 February 2010.

Albi is perhapes best known for its pink brick Cathedral, the Toulouse Lautrec museum and the birthplace of the Albigensian Crusades which led to the Cathar heresy and battles.

However for a week in February the town goes into Carnival mode with Carnival Queens, Parades, floats, music etc to jollify the streets of the town.

I have stayed at the Mercure Bastides Hotel in Albi is centrally situated by the River Tarn with great views of the Cathedral.

Whilst in the area you can visit the vineyards of Gaillac AC. I can recommend the Domaine de Labarthe at Castanet which produces some very good Gaillac reds, dry and sweet whites. Sparkling and Gaillac Perlé ( a lightly petillant dry white).

For more info on the Albi Carnival see www.carnaval-albi.com

For more info on Albi see www.albi-tourisme.fr

Winter is the time for truffles in the Perigord and surrounding areas. Georges Vigouroux is one of the main Cahors wine producers in South West France (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) with several major chateaux under its umbrella including Chateau de Mercuès and Chateau de Haute-Serre with some classy rich winesn made from the  Malbec grape.

So bringing these two classic regional delights together should make for a great combination:

….. our first exclusive 2010 event in Château de Haute-Serre: “Truffle & Malbec Tuesdays” from January 12th to March 2nd in the restaurant La Table de Haute-Serre, with a special menu made of truffles. A perfect pairing between food and our wines has been set up by our 1 Michelin Star chef Philippe Combet. You can extend your stay in the land of the ‘black diamond’ with a visit to Lalbenque where the traditional truffle market starts every Tuesday in winter at 2 p.m. in the main street.

For more info see www.hauteserre.fr

Cahors Tshirt from jumboTs.co.uk

The Place du Capitole is the setting for a magical Christmas Market in Toulouse from 4 – 27 December 2009. Other celebrations take place in the city throughout December with Christmas Lights and parades – real snow however may be in short supply this far south,

As northern Europe settles into an unwelcome late autumn/early winter, memories of a balmy French summer  fade. Which is why a missive from the Aveyron is so welcome – evoking some of the magic of the region – and making the prospect of a winter break in the warmer climes of the Lot Valley almost irresistible especially with a tempting special offer at Sweet French Cottages self-catering neat Entraygues-sur-Truyere:-

SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER-BOOK A COTTAGE BY 1 DECEMBER 2009 FOR CHRISTMAS OR NEW YEAR’S 2009 & RECEIVE 15% DISCOUNT

Rain Heron, the Americal owner of the cottages writes:-

Autumn has arrived. The decades-old chestnut trees in the ancient forests are dropping their huge copper-colored leaves, followed dutifully by their fruit, the spiky chestnut. In just a few days time, the almost-fluorescent lime green of the chestnut husks will fade into a fantastic shade of gold sienna, making the fallen chestnuts resemble a huge colony of sea urchins. In contrast, the shiny, smooth dark chestnut brown of the nuts will become strewn about on the forest floor and along the country roads, making them quite easy to harvest. The acorns follow suit, although the forest animals, including the red squirrels like the original ‘Squirrel Nutkin’ of Beatrix Potter fame, seem to scavenge them with great gusto.

The fall weather is truly heavenly in the microclimate that we enjoy near the Lot River in the Lot Valley with its crisp, chilly mornings giving way to warm, sunny days reaching up to 80º F in the afternoon sun. The sun becomes lower in the sky at this time of year and the cooler evenings are perfect for pulling on your favorite jumper and gathering around the fireplace with the smell of fragrant woods on the fire (I also like to throw a handful of rosemary in the flame for an extraordinaire, herbal perfume). You can also roast chestnuts right in the open fire with one of the chestnut pans with their heavy perforated bottoms, which gives off a heavenly and distinct aroma.

The change in season here is clockwork. The trees begin turning cheerful shades of yellow, gold and orange right on cue. The garden follows suit with the regional harvest of nuts including walnuts and hazelnuts with the delightful fruits of late summer becoming ripe for the picking, such as figs, apples and pears followed closely by the most gorgeous eating grapes at all the market stands. With the advent of the season, the geraniums and roses are still in full bloom and the hydrangeas are stubbornly holding onto to their summer blooms, now turning the most gorgeous shade of burnished red and the palest of pinks.

The banks of the rivers are laden with freshly fallen heart-shaped birch leaves and the leaf bed is soft and colorful. The silhouettes of the birch trees — particularly the silver birches — are quite dramatic against the clarity of the fall skies. The rivers change from their summer greens to deeper shades of blue, contrasting beautifully with the still green hillsides.

This is my favorite time of year to go on long walks through the French countryside. I enjoy walking along country roads where the pavement looks inky and the crushed granite shines likes diamonds in the gravelly parts in the bright, crisp afternoon sun and the clouds billow effortlessly. The gentle autumn wind caresses my face and the sound of the rustling leaves captures my imagination. The vistas of the patchwork-colored pastures and vineyards and stone farmhouses along the river are postcard-perfect. I marvel at the way the autumnal light accentuates the myriad of colors, particularly late in the day when the landscape resembles the painting, “Chestnut Tree in Bloom” by Renoir. The late afternoons turn to sunsets that are softer and subtler, with their signature corals, pinks and lavenders unique to this time of year.

Once again, it is “Au revoir” to summer and “Bonjour” to autumn. Autumn is here in its full regalia and I, for one, find it an unforgettable, comfortable and insightful time of year.

More details on Sweet French Cottages

The route for the 2010 version of the Tour de France has been announced. The race starts in Rotterdam on 3 July 2010 and after a few days in Holland and Belgium the route takes in Champagne and Burgundy before heading for the Alps. Then southwest through the Côtes du Rhone before skirting the southern edge of the Massif Central, down through Languedoc-Roussillon before several gruelling days on the Pyrenees. One of the highlights will be on Saturday 24 July 2010 when there is an individual time trial from Place des Quinconces in Bordeaux up to Pauillac along the Route des Chateaux. In racing terms this is an important day as its is the penultimate day after 3 weeks on the road immediately before the Grand Finish in Paris on the Sunday 25 July 2010

From a spectator point of view it promises a good day out in the Medoc – as although you miss the momentary flash of 100+ professional cyclists zooming past, you get to see ech rider individually and can make a whole day of it with the race taking 2 hours or so to pass.

For more info see www.letour.fr

The wines of Domaine de Lauroux in SW France will be on taste at Nantwich Food & Drink Festival in Cheshire from 25-27 September 2009.

Karen Kitchener, owner of the Domaine with husband Nicholas, will be giving a tutored tasting of 3 of their Cotes de Gascogne wines on each day of the festival (2.30pm on Friday and Saturday and 10.30am on Sunday).

Since purchasing the vineyard in 2004, Nick and Karen have focussed on maintaining the reputation Domaine de Lauroux has held for generations – that of producing high-quality,award-winning wines, Floc de Gascogne and Bas-Armagnac.
The wines are now widely distributed across France, Belgium, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Sounds like a good day out with plenty of food stalls to sample and the opportunity to hear about and try some good French wines from the winemaker.

For more info see www.nantwichfoodfestival.co.uk and for more on the Domaine de Lauroux see Armagnacs from Domaine de Lauroux