Our Love Affair with France, part 1

It was a visit to this glorious place that started off our crazy dream to move to France, or at the very least to retire there. Carcassonne is quite literally out of a fairy tale. The medieval cité has featured in a number of films over the years, including Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. I have wanted to go there since I was a little girl, and boy does it exceed expectations in real life!

We were supposed to go there, for the very first time, for my 40th birthday. A long weekend exploring lots of medieval history, a meal at a 2 Michelin-starred restaurant was booked for my actual birthday, and plenty of cassoulet and fine wine was filling my head full of excitement and anticipation. Well, let me just say that it didn't entirely go to plan!

The year I turned 40 the French Air Traffic Controllers decided to go on strike. While I heartily approve anyone's right to strike for better terms and conditions etc, I won't lie - I was pretty p****d that they chose to do it around my birthday. We were waiting at the bus stop to go to the airport, just two and a half hours before our flight was due to leave, when I received a text telling me that our flight would be one of many that were affected, and so we went home - dejected and miserable.

Determined not to let it get us down, we searched online for something in the UK and found a glorious B&B in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Longbridge House is a place we can firmly recommend if you want a great place to stay in Somerset. The rooms are exquisite, breakfasts to die for and welcome warm and friendly. However, Shepton Mallet was not quite the view I had been dreaming of waking up to, and the options for a perfect meal on my birthday were a little limited, and so our brief trip to Somerset ranked amongst the worst holidays Aidan and I have ever been on (right up there with a rain-sodden camping trip to Lincolnshire a few years ago!).

So, we decided to try again in July of the same year, to give me the birthday of my dreams (that's right, I got to have two fortieth birthdays!)

Going for a week this time, our first B&B was La Rapière. Set right outside the walls of the medieval cité, we had a private terrace, and a little plunge pool (essential as it was so hot and sunny!) The breakfasts were basic, but the restaurant served good quality, simple fare, and the people were lovely - though they spoke no English so I had to get my rusty French in gear straight away!

Our favourite times of the day, were when we went back to the hotel, usually at around 4pm, and sat in the pool and watched the tourists as they walked the walls looking hot, sweaty and often flustered while we chilled out; and later in the evening when the lights came on and lit up the cité in all it's magical glory. Sitting on our terrace, with a glass of wine, listening to the Friday night Salsa party in the courtyard below (once we were too tired to carry on dancing!) was pure bliss!

Over the 3 days we spent there, we scoured every nook and cranny of La Cité. There are some brilliant little museums, and of course the castle itself as well as a lot of 'quaint' tourist shops, restaurants and bars lining the cobbled streets. We found some great places to eat, particular favourites were L'Escargot, for great French/Basque style tapas; Adelaide for traditional Occitane fare; and the Auberge de Dame Carcas which is small and often crowded, but utterly delicious (but beware, the size of the salad before your main course arrives is substantial!)

But again, it seemed that fate was to deny me my birthday meal. On the day we were to go to La Table de Franck Putelat for my 'birthday lunch' I had somehow picked up a nasty stomach bug (on top of my more usual stomach shenanigans), and as we walked along the Aude from our B&B to the restaurant, I had an urge to go to the loo that was imperative. We made our way to the public toilets in the park, but they were the standy-up/squatty kind you so often get in Europe and were filthy, so I did my very best to hold on until we got there.

Thankfully I made it, and hurried into the bathroom, almost before we had been greeted! I have rarely felt so rude. However, once I had relieved my needs, we were sat at a table in their lovely garden, and were served with perfect food and matching wines for each course. It was pure gastronomic bliss - for Aidan!

For me, however, not so much. I got to enjoy about one mouthful of each course, before they began to taste like cardboard! Exquisite fish, that flaked perfectly tasted dry and inedible. The glorious strawberry dessert in the picture, was like sawdust in my mouth. And, to top it all off, I had to run straight to the bathroom as soon as I had finished it, and throw up. Having suffered with an eating disorder in the past, I was all too aware of just how bad this might seem to other diners and the staff - and a huge insult to the incredible chefs. But I really was poorly! I spent the rest of the day either in bed, or on the toilet and much of the next day too.

But, it was now time for us to move to our next B&B, so I had to keep my legs tightly crossed as we made our way to the next part of our holiday - three nights at the utterly perfect Aux Anges Gardiens.... (to be continued!)