Good morning or good afternoon or good, whatever time you read this. It rained all day, so risking my camera for pictures was a little dicey. And there weren't many photo opportunities due to the fog and drizzle.
What a beautiful place for a child's swing-set.
I made a significant turn in the trail, and this sign actually pointed me towards Miami.
I had a proper lunch — a rare treat — at a cheeky new restaurant. I was more than glad to get out of the rain and eat something besides cheese and bread, bread and cheese, cheese and bread. My only complaint was they didn't have Coke Zero. I have not had a diet coke in a week. Oh, Mon Dieu!
Lunch was terrific. I had an excellent cheese omelette, but the lunch's real star was the salad. It contained all sorts of lettuce, some arugula, roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and other fresh vegetables. The dressing was a vinaigrette with a smidge of horseradish. Either the salad or the dressing had a hint of something floral — maybe lavender? It was exquisite. The schmere next to the omelette was a carrot mixture. I am sorry you weren't here to join me for this lunch, an oh-so-special treat.
I am almost to the City Center of Castres. I loved these colorful quai-side houses overlooking the Agout River. They were once the residences of artists and tanners.
After finding the Hotel Renaissance, I cleaned up, and warmed up. My first order of the afternoon was to find a market. I only bought important things: Coke Zero, a bottle of wine, and chocolate! Never has a Coke Zero tasted so good.
Next, I set out to find the Cathedral and do some window shopping. Still cold and still raining. I wanted to see the Goya museum, but it was temporarily closed.
The cathedral was small but, very impressive in the Grand Baroque style with impossibly high ceilings. It contained the usual amount of bloody, gory oil paintings that seem to be required in European Catholic churches.
The only ceiling that I could photograph was above the main altar. There was netting beneath the rest of the ceiling to discourage birds.
The cathedral had some beautiful stained glass windows.
No matter where I went in the church, there was the heady scent of lilies, probably leftover from Easter. Amazing, how smell can take me back to the churches of my childhood.
I am staying at the Hotel Renaissance, which is an old-world style hotel. I liked the ambiance of the grand piano and the barely lit bar. I expected to see Humphrey Bogart sitting at the bar, nursing a gin and tonic.
My first course was this salad with fried goat cheese the size of a hockey puck. I didn't have a clue what I was ordering. I just pointed at this salad. It was a good guess. I ate about half of the goat cheese and all of the salad. The salad had the usual green ingredients plus edamame. It was dressed with an unusual sweetish vinaigrette. And now, I was already stuffed.
I knew I was getting boef (beef). And it turned out to be a flavorful steak au jus. No one does steak as well as we Americans! This was a tad tough, but truthfully, I just wasn't hungry. Out of my purse, slick as a magician, comes the baggy, and when no one was looking, I squirreled ninety percent of it, leaving two bites for show. I ate two thick-cut wedges, one bite of the vegetable terrine, and I was done. No dessert for me.
Today's milage was 14.3 counting my wandering around Castres.
So, goodnight to you all, and hopefully, the weather will be better tomorrow. It could always be worse!
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