Posted by: LizzieBG in Roujan on
Wednesday 28 May, 2008
Sunday 1 June, Château de Margon (next village from Roujan) Open Day. Not only will the wonderful formal gardens of the Château be open, you'll be able to see another photographic exhibition by rising star 14-year-old Poppy Eady-Gosling. Here are some examples of her work. If you miss this occasion her work moves to Le Grand Café in Roujan for the month of June, where photographs will also be available to buy.
Venez nombreux!
Posted by: LizzieBG in Untagged on
Sunday 25 May, 2008
Hi, it's Lizzie back again. The lovely Maryellen and Mike are on the plane back to Perth, so I'm the diarist once again. I've kept a low profile for a while as I hardly know what to write other than that we have foul weather at the moment. There's no keeping quiet about it. May is usually wall to wall sunshine, but this last week has been disguuuuusting. Rain, rain, sun, rain. The vines have grown over a metre in a week.
Sensible people stay at home, or go to eat luscious shellfish overlooking the lagoon, but my darling brother decided last night would be a great time to take the family camping in our vineyards. Pitching the tent in the dark (for the first time) to the sound of not-so-distant thunder must have given them an inkling of what was to come. Nevertheless they report that, despite an absolute deluge which only stopped 15 hours later, they had a great time. The tent has three bedrooms so they were all comfortable listening to the rain whilst having a long lie-in. Breakfast cooked over a fire made from old vines, then home (seven minutes away) for a shower completed their adventure. The tent's still there. I hope it doesn't get nicked.
Fortunately it's all due to end in three days' time - so if you're booked in, don't panic! The pool is plenty warm enough to swim in and after a day of sunshine you'll never know it's rained at all. Apart from the giant vines, that is.
Posted by: LizzieBG in Happiness, Guests on
Friday 23 May, 2008
Guest Maryellen writes again
On Monday I went with Lizzie and some others up to "Chateau Mal au Dos" to see Ali and Lizzie's potager and vines up there. It is a 7 minute drive from Le Couvent or a 40 minute stroll.
After a walk around the block which took in some of the forest up there, Liz showed me how to pallisage the vines, bringing their young shoots and branches through wires that run parallel with the ground and clipping them against it to keep them safe from the strong winds that occur. I pallisaged away until Lizzie made me get in the car to bring me home - it was so relaxing and enjoyable to be gardening in such a meaningful way. Mon mari and I went back yesterday to do some more pallisage - the block is in an amazing location that has views in almost every direction. Mon mari was convinced that when we come back to Roujan we must stay up there!
Other treats through the week were a visit to St Guilhem le Desert - a beautiful stone village on the side of a gorge north from here and dinner at L'Entrepots at Pezenas (again!). The service and food at that place is exceptional!
I am dreading leaving here tomorrow - I have had a wonderful time. I have watched other guests sadly leave over the last 2 weeks and been thankfully spared up until now. Lizzie and Ali are wonderful hosts and are genuinely happy to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Their garden and home is spacious and welcoming and their dogs and neighbours are happy to make you feel at home as well. Quel domage - we have to go!
Posted by: LizzieBG in Guests on
Saturday 17 May, 2008
We thought it would be interesting to ask the occasional guest to write the diary for a change, so first up is Maryellen, one of our four current visitors from Western Australia.
_______ ::::________
Maryellen here - Lizzie has invited me to write the Le Couvent diary.
It is so wonderful here in Roujan - I have come in from my poolside position in the sun, where I was listening to birds I haven't heard before, to write a little entry in the diary.
This morning after a beautiful breakfast at Le Couvent which featured fresh strawberries with mint, elderflower and acacia honey, mon mari and I drove into Pezanas to the market (10 minutes by car). Pezanas is picturesque and lively on market day and we had a great time walking around finding bargain clothes and delicious food. We bought a wine yesterday in Fougeres (spectacular!) that we wanted to eat with soft fromage de chevre and acacia honey, so I was on a mission to find the cheese at the market. During my mission I also found great T - shirts, baked cheesecake, olives, tapenade verte, paella, pate and a butcher (or five) selling everything from the tip of a pig's head to the bottom of its trotter. We had a lovely stroll through Pezanas and came home to Le Couvent to make a picnic to take up to the pool. Mon mari is still up there surrounded by oyster shells and an empty bottle of picpoul noir (a rare grape variety found only in the Languedoc) ! It is all incredibly indulgent and delicious in a peaceful, rural way that I absolutely adore.
Each day has been so wonderful here - always something different with loads of asistance and ideas from Ali and Lizzie if you want it or the freedom to find your own way.
I'd better get back up to the pool before the last of the sun disappears. Enjoy your Rose wherever you are (though I do think it tastes much better here!).
Maryellen
Posted by: LizzieBG in Roujan, Bike-rides on
Thursday 15 May, 2008
So what are you doing on July 18th? We're going to be watching the whole Tour de France carnival pass by the end of our road. That's right, just 20m from the Le Couvent gates at 12.45 the Tour 2008 caravane will roar past. Described on the Le Tour website as:
* A 20 km-long procession
* 200 brightly decorated vehicles
* 43 brands represented on average each year
* 15 million gifts distributed
* 45 minutes of rolling entertainment
and that's before the cyclists come. I've seen the Tour three times before, and despite all the brouhaha about drugs, I am reduced to tears by the sheer power and determination of the cyclists as they hurtle past like a blast of wind. I hate the drugs thing, but I love to see athletes reaching their zenith.
So if you're free we have a couple of rooms still available. How about it?
Posted by: LizzieBG in Wine on
Monday 12 May, 2008
If you're thinking of coming to stay at Le Couvent, Roujan or you've already made your booking, why not think of incorporating a three hour (or longer) wine tour?
Wine expert Dominic George who runs Languedoc Wine Tours will pick you up from Le Couvent, take you to some of the best domaines in the area, teach you to taste wine, organise a tasting and explain about the wine-making process, then drop you off back here - after a picnic lunch too, if you wish. What a perfect way to spend a day in the biggest vineyard on Earth.
Just let us know well in advance and we'll arrange it with Dominic.
Posted by: LizzieBG in Roujan, Happiness, Entertaining on
Monday 12 May, 2008
Fresh from Australia via Paris, new guests arrived yesterday. They're on their honeymoon and over a glass or two of Le Couvent rosé they were telling us of their short but magical time in Paris. In particular they'd been impressed by the wonderful display of multi-coloured macaroons in Ladurée .
Yesterday morning, by absolute chance, I had skidded into one of the two Roujan baker's seconds before they closed and bought up the last of their special of the day. What was it? Yes, a pretty box full of colourful macaroons hand-made by the baker that morning. So, as I presented the plate to our guests I looked like the most accomplished magician ever to have lived.
Posted by: LizzieBG in Le Couvent Shop, Le Couvent Roujan on
Friday 09 May, 2008
I know, absolutely ridiculous. After all, we're just a B&B. But you're going to buy stuff like boxer shorts and BBQ aprons somewhere, so why not from us?
Everything on the shop will be limited edition - that is, the over-printing will be changed when we've had enough of it, it stops selling, or there are complaints. So if you like something why not get it now?
We earn a bit of commission on all sales and we intend spending it on random kindnesses and senseless acts of beauty.
If you're interested take a look. Le Couvent Shop
One of my favourites is the
Le Couvent, Roujan Dog T-shirt . Not sure how Kit the labrador feels about it though.
What's stoolball? It's an old English game, the fore-runner of cricket, originally played by milkmaids. You probably haven't heard of it because it's only played in Kent, East Sussex and now, Roujan. If you'd like to know more about the game you can check it out here .
Last year Ali & I made some wickets, painted them jolly colours and hauled together a team of friends and family & called ourselves the Languedoc Crocks. We were mentioned on a website and as a result the lovely Clare, captain of Causeway Stoolball Club in Kent, got in touch with us. Despite the fact that our team had played just twice Causeway was insistent on coming to play against us. It was a howling success as witnessed here .
Within moments of going home they booked to come for a long weekend again this year. So we did it all again. We had supper at Le Couvent, we went to Pezenas market, we played on the cricket pitch at St Pons de Mauchiens.
We laughed, we lost, we were 31 for dinner at Les Goutailles , we played again. Ali & Nicola got silly.
We were 36 for dinner in the vines at Chateau Mal Au Dos and then they squeezed themselves and all their bags into two people carriers and grinned their way back home to Kent. All between Friday afternoon and Monday morning. And then Clare wrote to book for next year. Hooray! What can we conjure up as a surprise then I wonder?
Thanks to all our friends and family who worked their socks off cooking and lugging stuff and providing wine, not to mention actually playing. And thanks so much to all our friends from Causeway Stoolball Club. It was fantastic. And we're going to beat you next year.
