Les Trois Moulins, Castelnaudary

This is the first follow-up to my last post

On 1 August 2011, I boarded my crappy Ryanair flight - it was the only airline that carried people from London to Carcassonne, unfortunately.

Carcassonne Airport was small. One of those where you had to step out onto the tarmac and trail your way into a tiny building to join a half-in-half-out queue to go through the ONE passport control booth.

Got a bus to the city which stopped right outside Gare de Carcassonne (SNCF train station) for about €5, where I wandered around for an hour and had my first meal of the trip: croque monsieur and a big glass of ice-cold Coke. It was BLAZING HOT. The best!

Then I was off on a train to Castelnaudary, where Blanche, the farm owner, would greet me.

Was so excited as I looked out the window as the train whizzed past vineyard after vineyard after vineyard.

The farm is called 'Les Trois Moulins' as the building used to be an old windmill.. by old I mean 1000 years! Now, it's a farmhouse perched on a little hill surrounded by greenery, and there's a stream that runs through the area.

It took a further 20 minute drive from Castelnaudary train station to get to the farm.

This is the terrace area, where everyone has food and drink together.
There are two resident cats and a beagle called Fifi.

Bernard, Blanche's husband, used to be a chef of 30 years' experience and so the food was always top class. Lucky me or what! :p

I had the opportunity to marvel at him in the kitchen as he prepared lunch one day.. never seen someone chop up garlic and onions that quickly before. I was truly impressed! I watched intently and listened to all the little tips he animatedly shared with me, using what little English he knew, in his thick French/German/Moroccan accent.

I learnt how to say the names of a few vegetables in French, haha.

Their home was decorated with all sorts of things that they'd collected from their travels around the world.

Particularly loved this pink princess castle hiding under some big plants by the terrace!

That top window there was my room! It overlooks the terrace.

Le petit chat - her name is Louisette - next to some freshly harvested rhubarb from the garden.

Ok - these were THE reddest, sweetest, ripest tomatoes I have EVER tasted in my LIFE.
Drizzled with olive oil and chopped herbs (basil and.. some other stuff) and garlic.
What's left in the photo was finished by me..

This is 'Friga' (not sure about the spelling, but it's supposed to mean 'princess' or something similar in another language, which I forgot -_-) the resident horse.

She has been blind for several years, but is extremely intelligent.
I was taught how to approach her using my hands and voice, and how she was fed. She has no teeth left so she has a special diet of.. mushy stuff.

I couldnt help but feel sorry for her though.. imagine being a horse but not be able to run about freely or chew on grass anymore!

One of the strange flowers I encountered at the farm.

One evening, Bernard took me to the nearby village so we could have some wine at the pub. It's the only one pub in the village. By pub, I mean it's also a cafe, a sundry shop, and a restaurant. Imagine that! Everyone knows each other and there are no schools or cinemas or libraries or.. any other shops.

That's the pub owner balancing an apple on his head!

My jacket is by H&M

This is Axel. He's from Germany and lives in a caravan next door to the farm with his donkey. They've travelled 10,000km together! Crazy.

On my first day, Axel and I took his donkey for his daily walk. We took a short hike and arrived at a lake where we went for a swim as a respite from the heat. The water was really cold though!

This is Bernard! Always with a smile on his face, he was a real character.

He's holding Goliath the mouse and Dino, my most loyal travel companions.

The rhubarb that was harvested was made into a delicious pie by Blanche on my last night there, where I showed off my changing-colors-heart-light and got a special present from Axel ;)

It was a wonderful night - the air was cool and there was a funny light/thunder phenomenon going on in the skies.

No one could explain it, but you'd hear sounds like thunder repetitively and see certain dim flashing in the sky simultaneously.. but no sign of any lightning after. Apparently it happens all the time there.

Everyone was smiling and talking.. and me I was extra happy from the delish dinner of wild boar (freshly killed by a neighbour!) steak..