News from Caussi

kayak, bike, hike, wines, dine these friends did it all in May 09 in Caussi

Dear Susan,

Needless to say we have had a wonderful time in your perfect house in Caussi! We are leaving tomorrow morning so I wanted to drop you a note.

We really appreciated your friend who wrote the descriptions of the bike rides--we did most of them, or variations, although it may have taken us a bit longer as we stretched them out to take up much of the day rather than doing them before breakfast!

Phil of Melo Velos met us at your house when we arrived  and was just putting the front wheels on the bikes are we came up the lane. and he will pick them up tonight at 7 so that we had them today.

We also loved kayaking on the Orb, and in fact after a short trip one day went again for a longer trip a second time. We also loved the hike from Moureze with the view of the Lac du Salagou.

Another great outing was biking from Valras Plage to the L'Oppidium an then arriving in Colombiers just in time for an amazing lunch at the Chateau--would recommend it.

We also fell into the camp that rather liked Sete: a delicious meal--real food for real french people. Tonight we are going to La Forge for dinner (rode by on our bikes but it was closed that day!).

Cooking at home, shopping in Laurens (low key, but great strawberries and everything else) and Pezenas (a much bigger deal, but very wonderful), selecting from all the available varieties of delicious cheese, drinking the fresh wonderful Langued'oc red wine have been high points. All in all a wonderful time and there were many things we would have liked to do but had no time for!

Everything in the house is easy to use and has worked perfectly. The deck needless to say is perfect--hard to imagine anything nicer than sitting up there and sipping wine, eating cheese and watching the sun move slowly across the vineyards.....

all the best, and many thanks for sharing your wonderful house,

Kathy

Visitor Comments - Swimming, Weather, Tour de France, Chateau de Grezan

July 2007: We took a quick side-trip to Pezenes les Mines and thought it was a beautiful village to stroll and explore. And, if your guests happen to be around when the Tour de France passes by—WOW—do not miss!!!

We loved the beach at Roquebrun; we went there on three hot days and sat in the shade and took dips in the water, with the magnificent view across the way—just lovely. (Our trip to the Mediterranean was not a success; our 11-year-old was very upset by all the naked women! Or at least he was upset being in their presence while his parents were sharing a beach blanket with him. We left after 20 minutes!)

Loved the local markets; we bought fresh fish and vegetables at the one in Laurens and then stopped at the boulangerie there and had an amazing dinner that night. Actually, our very favorite thing was cooking at the house and eating on the rooftop terrace in the evening. We did it every night—didn’t even eat out once

We happened to go to Carcassone on the one day when the temperature was 41 (100+) and aside from there being no shade anywhere, the crowds and honky-tonk souvenir shops took a lot away from the experience. Or maybe it was just the heat. The introductory film was pretty interesting, though.

We were much more impressed by the castle we found outside Laurens called Chateau de Grezan (www.grezan.com) There's a restaurant and hotel there. We were very impressed to see such a huge walled edifice completely intact in the middle of nowhere.

Aside from our day at Carcassone, the temperature was very comfortable—perfect, actually—breezy and sunny. And your beautiful house always stayed cool no matter what.

A great kid-friendly vacation in Caussi...

Here are Dylan and Zelda enjoying dinner on the terrace (Aug 08)...The kids loved all the beaches...we went to Serignan Plage (a favorite), Roquebrun (kids loved the stones and cool, clean water).  Cap d'Agde beach has a great kiddie play/water park.
    We found lots of playgrounds as well...one right by the Bedarieux market.  Amazingly, they loved wandering around Pezenas with all the fun shops and the ice cream shop that delivers your ice cream cone shaped like a rose!  We ate at La Tartine in Pezenas...recommend it.
  Instead of driving from the UK, next time we may try the train or Ryannair to Beziers...

Loved this secret region (July 2007)

Our family had so much fun in Caussi!Thank you for all the tips and suggestions.  Your home is perfect. We really relaxed and embraced all that this “secret” region had to offer.  It couldn’t have been more perfect!  We loved the walks, the markets, the wine, the views, the weather. The best part of your sweet home is the roof top terrace.  No restaurant’s ambience could touch it!  We took one day to view the tour de France and went home by way of Girona, Spain.  Other than that we stayed near by because there was so much to explore and enjoy.

Many thanks again from all of us!

Loved Caussi

Labor Day 2006:
We had a really wonderful stay at your house in Caussi. We just fell in love with the house (which is really comfortable), the village and the area. We settled into a routine of going for a long run/walk early, to a market in one of the surrounding towns and then to having our breakfast on the roof terrace with its splendid vista.

Each afternoon we made a different jaunt going as far as Minervois, Carcassone and Roquefort where we bought more cheese than we could ever eat. We stopped on our way back at one of the local wineries and except for a meal at La Boucherie, cooked whatever was in season each evening.

Over the weekend, there was a fête in Caussi so it was quite lively. We appreciated your information which was helpful in grounding us and dealing with many practical issues.

 

Afterwards, we drove to Perpignan and Colliure and stayed at Casa Pairal.  The weather was splendid throughout and we really relaxed and were able to do the many things we enjoy. 

Visitors Speak (Summer 2006)

From the Starks (week of August 19): "I can't tell you how much we enjoyed our stay at Caussi. We tried many of your suggestions for outings and had an extremely enjoyable lunch at the Chateau de Grezan just before leaving. The area and house truly gems (not to  mention the wine)."

From the Reecers and friends (two couples who stayed for three weeks in June and July):
We had a wonderful time in and around Caussi and very much enjoyed your house, especially the roof deck. I was up there first thing in the morning just as the swifts were starting to work, and we had dinner there every evening that we were at home, which was most of them. The kitchen served us well--we found everything there that we needed. We also made good use of the charcoal grill--and the copy of Julia Child.

  For simple and inexpensive meals out in a nice atmosphere, we really liked the Bel Air Cafe. Ditto the Bellevue in Lamalou les Bains--good salad lunches. We ate at Auberge de l'Abbaye in Villemagne one night, and that was very good. Much fancier of course.

The Monday market in Bedarieux was excellent. So was the little butcher shop/traiteur on one of the main streets in Bedarieux--we got some excellent sheep cheese, sausage, locally grown Charolais beef, and lovely eggs from Madame's little poules. Also wonderful were the nut tarts we got from Sylvain Ricot's truck in Villemagne (one day we went to Bousquet sur Orb, where the Ricot patisserie is located to get some more for an airplane picnic).

     Our favorite villages for visiting and walking around were Olargues and St. Guilhem le Desert. And we heard a wonderful chamber music concert in St. Julien, just outside Olargues. We read the walking guides avidly and took several of the walks. They were great, but it was clear that the authors had much speedier walkers than us in mind: A walk of one and three quarters hours took us twice as long. Too much stopping to admire the flowers (and catch a breath).