Yesterday we arrived at our next gite, Chez Providence, in Cuxac Cabardes, a small mountain village about 20k outside of Carcassonne. It is at an elevation slightly over 500 meters according to our GPS. And, yes, we do have wifi in the apartment!

Our gracious hosts, Christina and Nico, met us and showed us around the apartment. They also have a B&B upstairs. We had prearranged dinner with Christina due to our travel plans. She welcomed us with a marvelous dinner: pate foie gras and white wine for entree, and potato salad, smoked chicken, deviled eggs, assorted vegetables, all on a lovely vinagrette salad. For dessert Jean had orange slices topped with contreau and creme fresh. I passed on dessert.

Cuxac Cabardes’ 500 residents are in stone houses terraced on the mountain side above a small river. It is a great village for walking if you like ups and downs. The terraces switchback to create an interesting maze. A small part of the town is across the river. There is one store, one boulangerie, one butcher (no beef), one pharmacie, and little else. The entry of Chez Providence dates from the 12th century. Our apartment was added in about the 15th century. The stonework in this town is very interesting as you can see in some of the photos. The church is a historic site as it dates from the 8th century. Cuxac Cabardes was a crossroads during the Cathar wars when the Catholic Church led crusades to rid the region of the Cathars. There are ruined Cathar castles throughout the region.

Today we adjusted to our new surroundings, took a walk around town, and are having the local Monday night dinner specialty – pizza. A pizza maker comes to town on Monday evenings and parks near the river. People order by telephone in advance and then he makes and bakes them on site in his truck. We will walk down at 7:00 to pick up our pizza!

More soon!

Paul

This slideshow requires JavaScript.