From the Starks (week of August 19): "I can't tell you how much we enjoyed our stay at Caussi. We tried many of your suggestions for outings and had an extremely enjoyable lunch at the Chateau de Grezan just before leaving. The area and house truly gems (not to mention the wine)."
From the Reecers and friends (two couples who stayed for three weeks in June and July):
We had a wonderful time in and around Caussi and very much enjoyed your house, especially the roof deck. I was up there first thing in the morning just as the swifts were starting to work, and we had dinner there every evening that we were at home, which was most of them. The kitchen served us well--we found everything there that we needed. We also made good use of the charcoal grill--and the copy of Julia Child.
For simple and inexpensive meals out in a nice atmosphere, we really liked the Bel Air Cafe. Ditto the Bellevue in Lamalou les Bains--good salad lunches. We ate at Auberge de l'Abbaye in Villemagne one night, and that was very good. Much fancier of course.
The Monday market in Bedarieux was excellent. So was the little butcher shop/traiteur on one of the main streets in Bedarieux--we got some excellent sheep cheese, sausage, locally grown Charolais beef, and lovely eggs from Madame's little poules. Also wonderful were the nut tarts we got from Sylvain Ricot's truck in Villemagne (one day we went to Bousquet sur Orb, where the Ricot patisserie is located to get some more for an airplane picnic).
Our favorite villages for visiting and walking around were Olargues and St. Guilhem le Desert. And we heard a wonderful chamber music concert in St. Julien, just outside Olargues. We read the walking guides avidly and took several of the walks. They were great, but it was clear that the authors had much speedier walkers than us in mind: A walk of one and three quarters hours took us twice as long. Too much stopping to admire the flowers (and catch a breath).