Despite all the fun and excitement of the opportunities to
travel around France and wider Europe, we are actually living in a very small
yet proud town called Limoux. Tucked away in the south, this little town of
10,000 people is 'our home away from home'...
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| The view of the Aude river to the west of the town |
The town of Limoux is in the Aude department, in the
Languedoc-Roussillon region in the south of France. The river Aude runs through
the town, which was founded in the 8th century. There isn't a great tourist
population here, as the attractions in the town itself are quite limited. Limoux
is on a main road though, and is only a 20 minute drive from Carcassonne, and
about an hour and a half north of the Pyrenees.
The town of Limoux is known in France for two things:
Blanquette and Carnaval.
Blanquette de Limoux is a type of sparkling white wine made
only in this area. The story is that the method of making sparkling white wine was
actually invented in the Abbey of Saint Hilaire, which is just outside of
Limoux, pre-dating the drink that made the region of Champagne famous.
Blanquette is served everywhere in Limoux, and is the drink of choice prior to
and after a meal, and at any other time of day for that matter. Limouxins are very proud of
this drink, which was, fittingly, the first thing we were offered when
we arrived in the town.
Carnaval de Limoux is something that we are yet to
experience, but have been told (and perhaps warned) about. Carnaval is a
three-month festival held from January to March every year, whereby locals, and
anyone that wants to join in, dress up with masks that roughly resemble clowns,
parade through the Town Square with local bands, and basically work their way
through the bars around the Square. This festival occurs three times a day on
every Saturday and Sunday throughout the Carnaval period. We aren't quite sure
what to expect, but no doubt I will be writing about it in January!
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| This old Church is hidden in streets full of apartments |
While the town is known to party, it is actually a really
pretty little town, where the people are so happy and life seems easy.
We have walked pretty much around the entire town; we have found a Church
hidden among residential buildings, and another old Church now used as a piano
museum. The river is quite pretty; we have spent afternoons just sitting on
the water's edge or on the bridge looking at the stunning landscape. The town is surrounded by
mountains on one side and vineyards on the other. They say that people only
come to Limoux to get to somewhere else, which I guess makes it the perfect
place for us to live and explore the area!
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| Our little slice of French heaven |
The house that we live in is more like a 'granny flat' on
the property of a bigger house. Most average people in Limoux live in the
apartment buildings in and around the town square, with the larger houses being
more on the outskirts of the town. But for some reason there is a big house
with a large garden one street back from the apartment buildings, about 200m walk from the middle of town, and on one
side of their garden is a two-story building, which we are fortunate enough to
live in. It seems to be quite new, and is nice and cosy.
Inside is very basic, but somehow it is just what you would
imagine a little French house to be like. One wall is completely exposed rock
and cement, while the other walls are very thick and solid as well. Downstairs
consists of a living area with a heater at one end, and a small kitchenette at
the other end, with a sink, stove top, microwave and a small bar fridge.
A set of open wooden stairs lead upstairs, which is all
open-plan and has our bed, shower and toilet. The floor is wooden, and a
heater keeps the whole area warm. We have our own washing machine and dryer in
a little shed connected to the house, which makes us very self-sufficient here.
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| The old bridge crossing the Aude was built in the 11th century, while the Church on the left, St Martin's, was built in 1263. |
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