Sept. 18th, 2010
We are now in Beaucaire at the bottom of the Rhone in the south of France. It is a large, very popular port. We thought we might want to stay here for the winter, but
1. we were put on a waiting list as they are fully booked
2. it is a bit noisy
3. it is VERY expensive

and then we received a phone call from a barge friend (Laura and Don) who said they had a friend who had booked their barge for the winter and paid at a very lovely, little port in a small village called Castelsarrasin... and they now had to leave for family reasons, but couldn't get their money back unless someone else booked the spot! Our friends highly recommended it as a small, quiet port in a really beautiful old town. So we took their advice and arranged to take the place of the other people. We will be moored next to the shoreline with water and electricity, and the cost is 2/3rds less than Beaucaire. We now have officially reserved the spot and paid for 6 months. We will start on our way there next Monday. It is about 2 'barge weeks' away.

So, get out a French map and find Castelsarrasin on the Canal du Midi, our winter home!

Beaucaire is in the 'Camargue' area, the delta before the Rhone goes into the Med. It is known for it's beautiful horses, flamingoes and bullfights, of all things!!! There is a bull ring in Beaucaire and they have regular bullfights, matadors, festivals, etc all during the summer. Ugh! I guess because we are coming up on the border of Spain and France, that things do tend to have a Spaish influence.

The Camargue is also known for rice and salt. So yesterday, we bought a mixture of wild Comargue rice... red, black and white! When I cooked it, the water turned black... most disconcerting, but it was very good. I seasoned it with Camargue salt... which is green. We also bought some local wines, one of which we tried last night and it was very good.

So all is well. My little tomato plant on the back of the boat had been battered by the winds (known as the Mistral) in Avignon , but seems to be recovering and the 'little gems of taste' are ripening once again!