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.

Bike Rentals in Languedoc

All around Caussi are spectacular (and occasionally challenging) bike rides.  You'll find posts on this blog from two recent visitors with details about their itineraries. (Category: Sports)

If you decide to embark on serious (or even casual) biking, there's no need to box up your own bike and take it with you to France.

Here's a list of places to rent a bike near Caussi and note that Mellow Velo delivers! 

http://www.creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/activities/bike-hire-rentals.php

Great long bike ride from Caussi

May 2008: I brought my road bike and had some unbelievable rides in all directions. The riding is generally pretty challenging since there aren’t many places to go that don’t involve climbing. The best long climb I went on was about 55 miles—the route goes from Caussi to Cabrerolles to St. Nazaire to Roquebrun, then up the D14 towards the D908. Before you get to the D908, there’s a turn that takes you on about an 8 mile climb, through Le Pin and Le Lau, then a rather exciting descent down to Les Aires. It is a spectacular ride.  There are several nice rides in the other direction, all involving Pezenas les mines, which is a lovely little town.

For serious bikers: bike routes around Caussi

From Stephen Kling (July 2007): I had a great time in Caussi, largely because I was able to fit in a half day of bike riding almost every morning, still getting back in time for breakfast. In fact, I dragged a full-sized touring-bike-in-a-box all over Europe for that very purpose.

The back roads in France are narrow, seldom travelled, and beautifully, even obsessively, paved, and I loved 'em. Route numbers in France for back roads like these are, at best, a symbolic gesture, since one number can seemingly indicate many roads that are only distantly acquainted. We kept stumbling over D158, and its cousins, D158b, D15b8, and never did understand the method behind them. So my directions use towns and villages as landmarks. If cyclists stays off the fast main roads like D909, he and she will be fine.

I covered three areas, mostly:

First: West: a 60-70km circle that started in Caussi and looped back into the hills beyond Cabrerolles, to St.-Nazaire de Ladarez, and then Causes-et-Veyran, Veyran, through Murviel les Beziers, St. Genies de Fontedit, Autignac, coming back to Caussi. Incredible views, vineyards and villages, knockout sunrises, desperate climbs over sharp passes into narrow valleys and then terrifying descents plunging nearly to doom. About 4 hours, depending on how much espresso you consume along the way. And don't forget the pulse quickening sprint to the top of the mountain at La Borie Nouvelle: 8 death-defying switchbacks on the way to nowhere in particular.

Second: East: Gentler was the route to Faugeres, past the old train yard, and on just past the center of town by a hundred yards to a meandering slow climb on a tiny road that cuts by the town cemetery. Past vineyards and sheep farms and stone walls, it leads up to a meadow at the top of a ridge. Here was a rare open pasture under an endless blue sky, rimmed by trees and a few lazy cows. A ferocious-seeming dog decided he would brook no interference until I gave him my well-rehearsed death-stare. He slunk away, suitably humbled. The ridgeline dropped away to a smooth, quick glide into Penzenes-les-Mines, an ancient walled village hemmed into a tiny valley. Here were many walkways too small for two people to walk abreast, let alone drive a car. If one is especially interested in pain and torure, there's a punishing schlep just past Penzenes up over the mountain, past a sizeable fortress that apparently withstood the Moors. I saved that ride for another day. Reverse direction, or take the turn to Bedarieux and back to Faugeres and Caussi. I covered about 40km. in 3 hours or less. No place to buy a snack, though. Carry a bit of baguette.

Third, Northeast: Remember the painful and punishing schlep of the previous route? That would be this one. Starting in Caussi, pedal straight through to Faugeres, and along the D909, for a mile. Here the highway can't be avoided, and it's not for the faint of heart. French drivers are demented and possessed, and this bit of four-lane proves the depth of their dementia. Take the steep and curvy road up to the one-lane tunnel to Bedarieux, and just before the tunnel, hang a sharp right onto a barely civilized rut (where was the road crew for this one?) that snakes back into a holler to the hamlet of Soumarte. It keeps going up: the intrepid cyclist is conquering the mountain that embraces little Pezenes-les-Mines, but this isn't apparent for a while. Not that there's any doubt one is pedaling up a mountain; the road meets another and corkscrews further into the sky, then unceremoniously drops a dizzying mountain's-worth in what seems like 100 yards. Suddenly, the terrain is like New Mexico; red earth, craggy bluffs, everything but turquoise-selling Indians. This road connects to Bedarieux toward the left, but going right sends you back up into the hills to a small town of pre-fab vacation homes amidst herds of goats, maybe called Les Vignes. A left turn after the prefabs (it's the only left before the road peters out) winds through a spooky, dark forest, ending at D908. Here's where we saw the Tour d'France, shivering in the damp wind the next day. Right on D908 to the first right turn, through another tiny hamlet and suddenly you're dropping a thousand feet down into Pezenes-les-Mines, sort of over the shoulder this time. Back to Faugeres over the ridge and the meadow and the wiggly farm road, and a well-deserved espresso at the bar across from the famous wine-selling gas station. Back to Caussi, after about 50km and 2-3 hours.

A shorter route:  A nice hour or two ride is the one from Caussi into the center of Cabrerolles, where one has the choice of two roads out. Take the left fork and glide down a mile-long hill to La Liquiere, then choose the right turn that pops up at the bottom of the hill. Within about a half-mile (1km to you metricists) take the unlikely-looking right that angles weirdly down a hill past a small barn, slip over the small river on the stone bridge, and look for the next right. That road snakes up the back side of Cabrerolles' mountain, through a drop-dead gorgeous valley devoid of anything but woods, vineyards and serious-looking hawks and eagles. Hairpin turns abound, enough to satisfy anyone who likes (or hates) heights. Then, when you are beginning to worry that you have really gone way too far into nowhere with no way back, a right turn appears, hidden in the apex of a hairpin curve, and carries you up over the mountain's top and down past farmers' fields back into Cabrerolles. Just in the nick of time.

And a variation: Take a left at the stone bridge instead and head toward Murviel-les-Beziers. You'll meander past vineyards, following the riverbed of a mighty and raging stream that must only rage during the winter, since it was bone dry in July. Several toney-looking vintners flip by as you cruise downstream (maybe I should say downriverbed), apparently all the way to Murviel. Look for a substantial right turn as a good place to turn back, or go ahead about 6-8km to Murviel (my estimate; I only saw the other end of that road on my West Loop ride.) Taking the right leads to an wide green valley, mountain meadows above dotted by sheep, and leads to dusty St.-Nazaire de Ladarez.

A wonderful week! I ate like a pig afterwards! And that's the whole point, isn't it?

Swimming

We're a big swimming family.  Wherever we go, we look for places to swim.  When we are in Caussi in the summer, we usually swim every day. 

A great place to swim for kids and grownups alike is in the Orb River at the town of Roquebrun. There's a beach for picnics, a place to rent a kayak or a canoe, and a great restaurant in Roquebrun itself.

Our favorite beach on the Mediterranean is Serignan Plage (about 20 minutes from our house). (Picture below). We often go there in the late afternoon on hot summer days.   It's easy to park right behind the dunes and, if you want comfort, you can pay 10 euros to lie on a shaded chaise longue...or, as we usually do, just take some beach towels and an umbrella from the house.

The town of Serignan is an old beach town with funky cafes and old architecture.  It's nothing like the crowded ticky tacky of Agde with its boardwalks and condos.

In March the water wasn't warm enough to swim outdoors. Our daughter was training for her New York swim team finals so we tracked down the Beziers town pool...a beautiful indoor facility with locker rooms, cafe, that served her needs perfectly.

Running and Biking

The Kogan family (August 2006):

My daughter and I ran the roads around Caussi each day, and found that they were both beautiful and great places to run. We biked on the Canal du Midi, and thought that the terrain was much bumpier than we expected (we had also biked on the canal by Dinan in Brittany).