Chateau d'Agel Minervois

I have many favourite sayings. One of them goes something like this; "everyone brings joy to this house, some by coming, some by leaving." Of course there is the flip-side to that. Some places I'm happy to see, some places I'm happy to leave. I suppose, as a traveler, leaving should always bring joy. I mean, if you're not moving anywhere, then you're not really traveling are you? Of course leaving some places bring more joy than others.

I have been known, on ...

... me that this isn't the first time holes have been patched and gutters dug. Its a losing battle, but it must be waged.

At times I've spent hours alone in the garden, happily picking away at weeds. The last couple days her and I have helped a friend of hers, Terri, tend his plot of land that previously housed a vineyard ...

... previous entry. In England they'd be called 'chavs', in Ireland they'd be called 'knackers', and in Canada we'd call them trailer park boys. Being that we're in France I've taken to calling them "le Garcons du Trailer Park". According to Wikipedia, the all knowing, A chav is an "aggressive teenager, typically unemployed or of working class background who repeatedly engages in anti-social behavior such as street drinking, drug abuse and ...

... civilized patrons milling about and sampling wines, I felt a little bit like a hobo. Lucky for us Tabby knew the girls working there, and knew the wines very well.

We tasted three wines, and listened to Tabby explain why we tasted them in the order that we did, what to taste for, and some basic wine theory. I have only a rudimentary understanding of wine, and I would be lost to explain the information she imparted on us, but it was a real pleasure to listen to ...

... characters compete for my attention. I get lots of curious stares, I'm sure I stick out like a sore thumb. One man stops to talk to me, quickly switching to English. He's tall with shaggy brown hair, sporting torn jeans and an old grey sweater. As a matter of chance he works as a volunteer at a community center for the poor, I don't pass up the opportunity to join him there.

Escambi, or "exchange" is a small room with poor fluorescent lighting, and no windows. A single ...

... towards La Redorte. We learned many things about the history of the canal with which I will not bore the reader here except to say that it was a major engineering feat of its time. It was also very pretty. The banks were lined with tall plane trees whose strong roots held the banks together and also acted as a mooring for the many rented and privately owned boats. We passed through just one lock. On the upward leg we had to wait some 20 ...

... hotel for the same night. [All will be revealed later.] We did a small shop at a new bigger inter-marche that we found on the way out of town. I saw the England v Portugal game in the evening. The one in which Rooney was sent off, Ronaldo gave his wink and England lost on penalties. I left the bar at full time. Couldn't stand the suspense. The Brazil v France game afterwards was much more ...

... player. I know the words to all the tracks now! I now find time to write up my old diaries too and have adopted the garden table and chair on which to do it. Australia v Brazil that night. They lost 0-2 but what a mighty performance. Anne came with me and we were the only couple who were watching. The bar lady kept us supplied with beer and wine and kept the TV tuned to the correct channel ...

... trolleys...that was a first. There was a fair selection of produce, some of it familiar, but no baked beans. They were unheard of in France. Mr Heinz what have you done...or not done. We picked a bad day. It was chaotic. Obviously the locals do their major shop on a Sunday just like we used to do. There was a long line at the checkout. Surprisingly we found our way back without getting lost. We ...

... therapeutic equipment and spa baths fed by the springs from the hills behind. It was very busy inside and out but not a whole person any where. Apparently the waters also help the brain damaged which explained a few other strange sightings on the street the night before. It was a private institution and as I understand it a lot of accident victims were sent here funded by their insurance companies. We continued west and stopped at Olargues. My eye had caught ...