Well, our time here is drawing to a close, and what a glorious time it has been. We feel we have made the most of our great adventure - only 2 items on our list not experienced: Carcassone (which we have driven around and shopped at a couple of times, and which has a fairy tale castle that supposedly inspired Walt Disney, and of course it has a wonderful restaurant overlooking the castle - don't all iconic French sights have the very important restaurant overlook...

'twas raining when we awoke, as it has on so many mornings. This morning we just took it easy, reading and what-have-you until lunchtime. We had decided to have lunch in Caunes today, at a restaurant down by the bridge, but it was not open, despite the advertised opening hours. We walked around the ancient walled village but were not inspired, so we went over to the new part of town (probably only 300 years old) to the restaurant that also doubles as a pizzeria,...

Well, yesterday's adventures in the rain have not helped our health at all. Tom's taken a step backwards in his recovery and I've got a touch of the dreaded lurgi too. Not to worry - lounging around with iPad, sudokus and Agatha Christie in France is no big hardship.

Woke up late this morning - only to find I've got a touch of what Tom has had, so he put his foot down and said we'll stay put for today, even for lunch, because today is Fete des Meres in France - Mothers Day, and the restaurants are bound to be booked out. So I got out my trusty Word Lens app and came to grips with the French washing machine! Made it so much easier to use! We had chicken enchiladas for lunch and just took it easy all day. But we have made g...

The head cold that Tom has been fighting for the past few days blossomed in the last 18 hours, so he's rugged up and staying in bed in our heated cottage. We shall have soup, cheese and bread for lunch and tacos for dinner (I know, sticking with the Mexican theme - might help clear his head). In the meantime there are books (Alice Sebold, Donna Leon,Terry Pratchett, Kathy Reichs, Lonely Planet travel and heaps more - they're all over the house: in the toilets, ...