Gone fishing

A little trip out this afternoon -- we predicted the weather correctly, and after an overcast morning, it was a sunny-intervals afternoon. I've had a hankering to go back to Cucugnan ever since my bread class with Eric -- he buys most of his flour from there, and it's also the birthplace of my sourdough starter, over five years ago.

The baker, Roland Feuillas, used to be a rocket scientist. No, seriously, he worked for NASA, and then decided to drop out and research ancient wheats. He has been all over Europe looking for ancient varieties, and now he grows his own wheat, grinds it in the mill, and bakes his own bread in a wood-fired oven. Despite being in the back of beyond, Cucugnan is quite touristy, owing to the Château de Quéribus and the famous story about the Curé de Cucugnan by Achille Mir (there's a dedicated theatre which re-enacts it every day). We were amazed at the constant flow of customers in the bakery.

Sadly, the baker wasn't there today. But I bought some flour anyway. We had a wander round the village too: it's like a bit of Provence dropped into Languedoc. Want a further door fix? Here. Windows also available. We had come the "short" way -- fewest kilometres, but not necessarily quickest (an hour to do 40 km). On these roads, you have to drive slowly, but you can drive for half an hour and not see another car. It reminded us that where we live is not really the Corbières ...

We decided to return the longer, slightly quicker way, via the D611, aka the Autoroute des Corbières, so called because you can get anywhere in the Corbières using this road. It's an easier drive than the wiggling little road through Davejean and Maisons, but the scenery is equally spectacular, and the sun and clouds enhanced it further. A lovely drive, through places we haven't visited for many years. We stopped in the metropolis of Durban (pop. 700) to buy supplies for dinner. Then home, chill out, open a bottle of wine while the chicken simmered on the stove. La vie est belle !