Easter in Azillanet

Francia

For Easter we went to southern France to visit Valerie’s cousin, our first time in France. Despite some bad weather, it rained all day Sunday, we enjoyed seeing some things including the fortified city of Carcassonne, Narbone and her incomplete cathedral, part of the canal system that runs the length of southern France, the charming town of Minerve and lots of rows of vines. I think we have seen enough Gothic architecture for awhile as the cathedrals in Carcassonne and Narbone are heavily ornamented in that style.


In and around the town of Azillanet where we were staying it is mostly flat, just north of the Pyrenees, and there are row upon row of vines. This is a contrast for us and the wine areas we are familiar with in central and southern Italy where vineyards are predominantly planted on hillsides, sometimes very steep hillsides. We enjoyed sampling some of the local AOC wines, but we do have a preference for vino italiano.


Of course no trip to France would be complete with out sampling the wines as well as the food and cousin Celia did an excellent job in choosing some wonderful places to dine on several occasions. We also had the opportunity to spend a rainy evening with some of their neighbors sampling home canned products and cheeses.


The trip was short but gave us a taste of French hospitality and an opportunity to spend some time with family.