News from Caussi.com

Languedoc Beach Lovers Visit Caussi - September 2011

Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed your Caussi house during our trip to Languedoc in Sept 2011. The house had everything we needed and we really enjoyed the view from the roof-top Terrace; we spent most of our afternoons up there after returning from our daily excursions!

As far as tips for future visitors, I will summarize our adventures categorically and hopefully there will be some nuggets there!

Beaches/Plages (we are beach lovers so that was foremost on our list of places to visit)

L'Espiguette - beautiful beach outside of Montpellier near Le Grau du Roi - one of our favorites - 1.5 hrs from Caussi - very remote - bring chairs umbrellas & cooler as there are no services - 5.5 euros to enter & park - long drive but well worth it!

Leucate - great beach between Narbonne & Perpignan - 1 hour from Caussi - bring chairs umbrellas - there are restaurants nearby for lunch - parking is plentiful and inexpensive (there was no charge for parking this Sept - last July there were meters and for a few euros you could park all day) - NOTE: nearby is the African Preserve near Sigean - opens at 9AM - great for a couple of hours before the beach - a little pricey @ 27 euros per person but lots of animals - rated as one of the best preserves in the world - 1 hour in car driving thru and up to 3 hours on foot if you so desire (We drove first and then walked for only 45 mins - time for the beach!!)

Portiranges - the closest beach at 30 mins from Caussi and the one we spent the most time at (3 visits) - You can bring your chairs etc. but you can also rent chairs + umbrella from the Maui Plage station (rents pedaloes, boards & other water sports) at west end of beach - ample free parking - very busy in season - it was nice and empty in Sept.

Argeles (North) - beach outside of Perpignan - 1.75 hrs from Caussi - go to north end of beach as the middle & south are a bit tacky with dozens of beach shops & numerous restaurants - lots of free parking at north end - only a few minutes from here to Colliure (very crowded around lunchtime - go early if you want to park and eat) & Banyul sur Mer (where we had lunch at a nice small sidewalk cafe)

Touring (we picked the cloudy days to tour - there weren't too many!!)

Avignon - went there to visit a few shops Diane had in mind - interesting city - lots of traffic (cars & people). Took the opportunity while there to visit Tavel (15 km away) and pick up some great Rose Wine to bring back to Caussi (we consider Tavel roses to be among the tastiest in all of France - at least the France we've experienced so far - Provence & Languedoc) to sip on the terrace in late afternoon.

Roquebrun - we visited twice; once via D908/D14 route and another times via opposite direction of backroads from Caussi - loved the river and had a great lunch at the Auberge St. Hubert (the Cafe Nice was too crowded for our taste)

Great scenic drive - From Olargues D14 up the mountain to D53 towards Cambron (?) and then back towards Belarieux - beautiful dark pine forests, herds of horses and great mountain views. 2-2.5 hours leisurely drive.

Restaurants ( I don't think we spent over 75 euros for any meal [2 persons] - including tip & wine - most were around 35-50 euros)

Karting Course Restaurant (in Caussi) - has a great lunch there on our first day - meant to get back for dinner but did not make it

La Forge in Bedarieux - beautiful place - good food - ate outside - next time will eat inside for the interior views

La Cave Gourmande in Montagnac (between Pezenas & Meze) - we found this place last July and was glad to see that it is still there and still as good - Italian fare - great lasagne - Open Sun & Mon so thats a plus (most restaurants closed those days) - 45 minute ride from Caussi but worth it (D13 most of the way from faugeres to Pezenas) - center of town at 2nd traffic light - left-side of road going to Meze

Hana Sushi in Pezenas - good sushi but a limited selection - great energetic staff

O Bontemps in Magalas - made a reservation - on arrival found closed until mid-Sept - confused as to why they took rez?!?!? - anyway we found a little Mom & Pop just down the hill from O Bontemps and had a delightful meal & lots of fun with owners - went back for a second meal on our last night - can't remember name but have pictures of resaturant with name - great pizzas among other things!

La Bella Vista in Faugeres - closed the first weekend we were there - finally ate there on a Sunday - good simple food & wine - nice people

Meze - can't remember name but ate at same place twice last year - busiest place in the harbor - good crowd = good food - had oysters, mussels, shrimp etc. etc. - it was nice to be back there - approx 1 hr from Caussi

Le Baroulet in Roujan - beautiful setting in hotel courtyard - food was OK but not great - atmosphere made up for it!

Chez Caussi - we grilled a nice steak on the Weber grill one evening when we did not feel like going out!!! Priceless

All in all it was a great trip. We had beautiful weather. The village of Caussi was charming. It was so quiet, that, if not for the occassional bird chirping or insect buzzing, you might think you'd gone deaf! Talk about great sleeping! I was able to use the cable for the DSL line to call home via Skype so that was very helpful. Made great use of your juicer - fresh OJ every morning! Thanks so much for your hospitality.

By the way, you are now the owner of 2 new beach chairs, a new beach umbrella & a new cooler which we found convenient to buy while we were there - hope new visitors use them well!

Tim and Diane

Our Holiday in Languedoc - July 2009

 
  Susan, we've done nothing but rave about our stay to all our friends - I fear we are becoming boring!!  We loved the house, the village, the area - everything. Your info was great, and helped us get the most from our week. Our kids favoured River swimming at Roquebrun and Serignan Plage "best days ever in my life" to quote Megan, my 10 year old!!

We travelled down to Avignon by Eurostar, then picked up a hire car,which worked well all in all. On the Wednesday evening we wandered down to the village Petanque square to watch the village competition, and Megan ended up meeting a new friend and taking part in a kids team, getting through to the semi-finals.... what an amazing holiday experience. We met Bob and Tanya, two British people who have had a house in Caussi for 20 years, and via the Welsh connection, were invited to dinner with them on our last evening... lovely. A week just wasn't long enough!

A sports lovers Caussi stay - May 2009

Dear Susan,

Needless to say we have had a wonderful time in your perfect house in Caussi! We are leaving tomorrow morning so I wanted to drop you a note.

We really appreciated your friend who wrote the descriptions of the bike rides--we did most of them, or variations, although it may have taken us a bit longer as we stretched them out to take up much of the day rather than doing them before breakfast!

Phil of Melo Velos met us at your house when we arrived  and was just putting the front wheels on the bikes are we came up the lane. and he will pick them up tonight at 7 so that we had them today.

We also loved kayaking on the Orb, and in fact after a short trip one day went again for a longer trip a second time. We also loved the hike from Moureze with the view of the Lac du Salagou.

Another great outing was biking from Valras Plage to the L'Oppidium (Roman ruins, see photo below left) an then arriving in Colombiers just in time for an amazing lunch at the Chateau--would recommend it.

We also fell into the camp that rather liked Sete: a delicious meal--real food for real french people. Tonight we are going to La Forge for dinner (rode by on our bikes but it was closed that day!).

Cooking at home, shopping in Laurens (low key, but great strawberries and everything else) and Pezenas (a much bigger deal, but very wonderful), selecting from all the available varieties of delicious cheese, drinking the fresh wonderful Langued'oc red wine have been high points. All in all a wonderful time and there were many things we would have liked to do but had no time for!

Everything in the house is easy to use and has worked perfectly. The deck needless to say is perfect--hard to imagine anything nicer than sitting up there and sipping wine, eating cheese and watching the sun move slowly across the vineyards.....

all the best, and many thanks for sharing your wonderful house,

Kathy

Visitor Comments - Swimming, Weather, Tour de France, Chateau de Grezan

July 2007: We took a quick side-trip to Pezenes les Mines and thought it was a beautiful village to stroll and explore. And, if your guests happen to be around when the Tour de France passes by—WOW—do not miss!!!

We loved the beach at Roquebrun; we went there on three hot days and sat in the shade and took dips in the water, with the magnificent view across the way—just lovely. (Our trip to the Mediterranean was not a success; our 11-year-old was very upset by all the naked women! Or at least he was upset being in their presence while his parents were sharing a beach blanket with him. We left after 20 minutes!)

Loved the local markets; we bought fresh fish and vegetables at the one in Laurens and then stopped at the boulangerie there and had an amazing dinner that night. Actually, our very favorite thing was cooking at the house and eating on the rooftop terrace in the evening. We did it every night—didn’t even eat out once

We happened to go to Carcassone on the one day when the temperature was 41 (100+) and aside from there being no shade anywhere, the crowds and honky-tonk souvenir shops took a lot away from the experience. Or maybe it was just the heat. The introductory film was pretty interesting, though.

We were much more impressed by the castle we found outside Laurens called Chateau de Grezan (www.grezan.com) There's a restaurant and hotel there. We were very impressed to see such a huge walled edifice completely intact in the middle of nowhere.

Aside from our day at Carcassone, the temperature was very comfortable—perfect, actually—breezy and sunny. And your beautiful house always stayed cool no matter what.

Biking in Languedoc

All around Caussi are spectacular (and occasionally challenging) bike rides.  You'll find posts on this blog from two recent visitors with details about their itineraries. (Category: Sports)

If you decide to embark on serious (or even casual) biking, there's no need to box up your own bike and take it with you to France.

Here's a list of places to rent a bike near Caussi and note that Mellow Velo delivers! 

http://www.creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/activities/bike-hire-rentals.php

Great long bike ride from Caussi

May 2008: I brought my road bike and had some unbelievable rides in all directions. The riding is generally pretty challenging since there aren’t many places to go that don’t involve climbing. The best long climb I went on was about 55 miles—the route goes from Caussi to Cabrerolles to St. Nazaire to Roquebrun, then up the D14 towards the D908. Before you get to the D908, there’s a turn that takes you on about an 8 mile climb, through Le Pin and Le Lau, then a rather exciting descent down to Les Aires. It is a spectacular ride.  There are several nice rides in the other direction, all involving Pezenas les Mines, which is a lovely little town.

Walk to the top of Mt Caroux

One fall day in 2007, we headed by car to Lamalou-les-Bains and then up the mountain to the hamlet of DOUCH, beneath the summit of Le Caroux.  Douch is a perfect village where time seems really to have stood still. Half-a-dozen rough stone houses, inhabited by a handful of elderly residents, cluster tightly together for protection against the elements..  In the meadows below nestles a picturesque church with an ancient cemetery full of graves like iron cots.
From Douch follow the path south of the village to the popular, easy 2.5 miles ascent of Le Caroux (1040m), where you’ll find extraordinary views from the summit along the mountain ridge, south to Beziers, the Mediterranean sea and even the Pyrenees, on a clear day.  We could see the mountain goats scampering up and down over the rocks below.
Walking back through the fallen fall leaves was exquisite—and we stopped in the charming inn at Douch for tea before claiming our car in the parking lot. 
Driving back to Caussi, we chose the route through Rosis, where the road levels out into  a small mountain valley, whose slopes are brilliant yellow with broom in June, and then the village of Combes.  From Combes,  the D180 winds through cherry orchards to Le Pourjol 

The Auberges de Combes (tel 04.67.95.66.55.) offers a splendid meal in an exquisite gorgeous mountain setting (Closed Sunday evening and all day Monday).  Although we’ve driven by many times, we haven’t stopped for a meal yet.  The very first Caussi renters, the Hackman family of Kansas City, raved about their lunch at the Auberges de Combes so we recommend it.

For serious bikers: bike routes around Caussi

From Stephen Kling (July 2007): I had a great time in Caussi, largely because I was able to fit in a half day of bike riding almost every morning, still getting back in time for breakfast. In fact, I dragged a full-sized touring-bike-in-a-box all over Europe for that very purpose.

The back roads in France are narrow, seldom travelled, and beautifully, even obsessively, paved, and I loved 'em. Route numbers in France for back roads like these are, at best, a symbolic gesture, since one number can seemingly indicate many roads that are only distantly acquainted. We kept stumbling over D158, and its cousins, D158b, D15b8, and never did understand the method behind them. So my directions use towns and villages as landmarks. If cyclists stays off the fast main roads like D909, he and she will be fine.

I covered three areas, mostly:

First: West: a 60-70km circle that started in Caussi and looped back into the hills beyond Cabrerolles, to St.-Nazaire de Ladarez, and then Causes-et-Veyran, Veyran, through Murviel les Beziers, St. Genies de Fontedit, Autignac, coming back to Caussi. Incredible views, vineyards and villages, knockout sunrises, desperate climbs over sharp passes into narrow valleys and then terrifying descents plunging nearly to doom. About 4 hours, depending on how much espresso you consume along the way. And don't forget the pulse quickening sprint to the top of the mountain at La Borie Nouvelle: 8 death-defying switchbacks on the way to nowhere in particular.

Second: East: Gentler was the route to Faugeres, past the old train yard, and on just past the center of town by a hundred yards to a meandering slow climb on a tiny road that cuts by the town cemetery. Past vineyards and sheep farms and stone walls, it leads up to a meadow at the top of a ridge. Here was a rare open pasture under an endless blue sky, rimmed by trees and a few lazy cows. A ferocious-seeming dog decided he would brook no interference until I gave him my well-rehearsed death-stare. He slunk away, suitably humbled. The ridgeline dropped away to a smooth, quick glide into Penzenes-les-Mines, an ancient walled village hemmed into a tiny valley. Here were many walkways too small for two people to walk abreast, let alone drive a car. If one is especially interested in pain and torure, there's a punishing schlep just past Penzenes up over the mountain, past a sizeable fortress that apparently withstood the Moors. I saved that ride for another day. Reverse direction, or take the turn to Bedarieux and back to Faugeres and Caussi. I covered about 40km. in 3 hours or less. No place to buy a snack, though. Carry a bit of baguette.

Third, Northeast: Remember the painful and punishing schlep of the previous route? That would be this one. Starting in Caussi, pedal straight through to Faugeres, and along the D909, for a mile. Here the highway can't be avoided, and it's not for the faint of heart. French drivers are demented and possessed, and this bit of four-lane proves the depth of their dementia. Take the steep and curvy road up to the one-lane tunnel to Bedarieux, and just before the tunnel, hang a sharp right onto a barely civilized rut (where was the road crew for this one?) that snakes back into a holler to the hamlet of Soumarte. It keeps going up: the intrepid cyclist is conquering the mountain that embraces little Pezenes-les-Mines, but this isn't apparent for a while. Not that there's any doubt one is pedaling up a mountain; the road meets another and corkscrews further into the sky, then unceremoniously drops a dizzying mountain's-worth in what seems like 100 yards. Suddenly, the terrain is like New Mexico; red earth, craggy bluffs, everything but turquoise-selling Indians. This road connects to Bedarieux toward the left, but going right sends you back up into the hills to a small town of pre-fab vacation homes amidst herds of goats, maybe called Les Vignes. A left turn after the prefabs (it's the only left before the road peters out) winds through a spooky, dark forest, ending at D908. Here's where we saw the Tour d'France, shivering in the damp wind the next day. Right on D908 to the first right turn, through another tiny hamlet and suddenly you're dropping a thousand feet down into Pezenes-les-Mines, sort of over the shoulder this time. Back to Faugeres over the ridge and the meadow and the wiggly farm road, and a well-deserved espresso at the bar across from the famous wine-selling gas station. Back to Caussi, after about 50km and 2-3 hours.

A shorter route:  A nice hour or two ride is the one from Caussi into the center of Cabrerolles, where one has the choice of two roads out. Take the left fork and glide down a mile-long hill to La Liquiere, then choose the right turn that pops up at the bottom of the hill. Within about a half-mile (1km to you metricists) take the unlikely-looking right that angles weirdly down a hill past a small barn, slip over the small river on the stone bridge, and look for the next right. That road snakes up the back side of Cabrerolles' mountain, through a drop-dead gorgeous valley devoid of anything but woods, vineyards and serious-looking hawks and eagles. Hairpin turns abound, enough to satisfy anyone who likes (or hates) heights. Then, when you are beginning to worry that you have really gone way too far into nowhere with no way back, a right turn appears, hidden in the apex of a hairpin curve, and carries you up over the mountain's top and down past farmers' fields back into Cabrerolles. Just in the nick of time.

And a variation: Take a left at the stone bridge instead and head toward Murviel-les-Beziers. You'll meander past vineyards, following the riverbed of a mighty and raging stream that must only rage during the winter, since it was bone dry in July. Several toney-looking vintners flip by as you cruise downstream (maybe I should say downriverbed), apparently all the way to Murviel. Look for a substantial right turn as a good place to turn back, or go ahead about 6-8km to Murviel (my estimate; I only saw the other end of that road on my West Loop ride.) Taking the right leads to an wide green valley, mountain meadows above dotted by sheep, and leads to dusty St.-Nazaire de Ladarez.

A wonderful week! I ate like a pig afterwards! And that's the whole point, isn't it?

Swimming

We're a big swimming family.  Wherever we go, we look for places to swim.  When we are in Caussi in the summer, we usually swim every day. 

A great place to swim for kids and grownups alike is in the Orb River at the town of Roquebrun. There's a beach for picnics, a place to rent a kayak or a canoe, and a great restaurant in Roquebrun itself.

Our favorite beach on the Mediterranean is Serignan Plage (about 20 minutes from our house). (Picture below). We often go there in the late afternoon on hot summer days.   It's easy to park right behind the dunes and, if you want comfort, you can pay 10 euros to lie on a shaded chaise longue...or, as we usually do, just take some beach towels and an umbrella from the house.

The town of Serignan is an old beach town with funky cafes and old architecture.  It's nothing like the crowded ticky tacky of Agde with its boardwalks and condos.

In March the water wasn't warm enough to swim outdoors. Our daughter was training for her New York swim team finals so we tracked down the Beziers town pool...a beautiful indoor facility with locker rooms, cafe, that served her needs perfectly.

Running and Biking

The Kogan family (August 2006):

My daughter and I ran the roads around Caussi each day, and found that they were both beautiful and great places to run. We biked on the Canal du Midi, and thought that the terrain was much bumpier than we expected (we had also biked on the canal by Dinan in Brittany).