what's it like having a holiday house in Belesta?

Wonderful would be one answer I could give to that, but why so wonderful?
For a start the scenery and architectural history. It isn't hard to find a lovely view or a medieval looking chapel or ruined castle somewhere in the vicinity. Two days ago, I took a drive up to les monts d'olmes ski resort, the closest one to the house. It's a 35 minute drive and in the late afternoon I decided i'd go up there and take a short walk to lac fage belle for a dip. I'd been up there in February when it looked much nicer with all the snow everywhere, and a water level about three metres higher than now. Nevertheless, it still looked gorgeous and the water was perfect for a swim. I was expecting it to be chilly, but i was able to do a couple of laps without feeling cold.

Another thing that I love is visiting the local markets. Tuesday is the tiny little Belesta one; meat van, fruit and veges and a cheese stall and that's it. Friday is Lavelanet, where I went yesterday. Lots of variety of fruit and veg stalls. all full of excellent produce. The nectarines and peaches I bought are exploding with juice. Eggs, meat, cheeses of all sorts, bread, a man sharpening knives, two tea stalls, spices, paella, vietnamese snacks, moroccan food. I love it. And you can be fairly sure that most of the local produce is organic. Apparently the Ariege, the local department, has the highest rate of organic farming in the country. it seems they never switched over to modern fertilising, herbicides and pesticides in the first place. And of course, the prices of so many things are so cheap compared to Australia. Saturday, a bit further away is the excellent market at Saint Girons, Sunday it's Esperaza and Monday, Mirepoix. That might be my favourite for the location. set in the medieval centre of the town. you can wander around looking up at the carved beam ends on the buildings and see all sorts of visages.

 Vide grenier(empty attic) visiting is also a good way to spend some time, browsing through other people's bric a brac for some bargain decorations for the house, or some books to fill the shelves, or to pick up some home made jams or biscuits. And I have become fond of the sausage/frites/ beer restauration on offer. A little point of similarity between Australia and France- the love of a bbq'd sausage.

being in a touristy area means there are lots of evening options, with lots of nice restaurants and bars to visit. We, John and I, saw an amazing band at the craft brewery bar at Puivert last Saturday night. Who knew you could reproduce the sounds of Jimmi Hendrix's Voodoo Child on an electric cello? The trumpeter and saxophone player were pretty incredible too.

And I like being able to potter around renovating, however badly without it costing an arm and a leg. A full timber 40m2 timber ceiling cost me 120 euros. And I like being able legally to do my own basic electrical work. I am almost completely finished my attic conversion now and am pretty happy with the outcome. see what you think.
from this...

to this...

And of course, there's all the quaint medieval villages and castles, ruined and intact, that litter the countryside. Today, driving back from the Mirepoix market, we stopped off at Camon, a 'plus beau village' and took a brief look at a chateau that is still someone's home, as well as seeing the ruins of leran castle in the distance. Driving between all these lovely places along plane tree lined country lanes makes it all that much more pleasant.

 On Sunday, the tour de France came through the village, which of course, is a huge thing here and it was fun to be standing in a crowd of locals and tourists, cheering on the riders, although they were here and gone in the space of seconds. I had no idea the caravan of tour vehicles preceding the bikes was such a big thing, but it was really fun, with all the sponsors having trucks and cars with people throwing promotional caps, shirts and all sorts into the crowd as they drove through. The local boulangerie must have made a mint. I went in for croissants at 9 and they had sold out. There was a queue out the door. But it is a very good boulangerie after all. Definitely the best millefeuille I have ever bought and there quiche lorraines are pretty delicious too.

Not so pleasant is the coming canicule, or heatwave. Luckily Belesta is only forecast to reach 34 but La Trimouille, where I used to have a house is forecast to be 42 tomorrow and Paris is forecast to be 41 on Thursday. I despair at the lack of action to do anything about the impending disaster of global warming. I feel like we are sleepwalking into the apocalypse to be honest. Imagining the south of France as an extension of the sahara is not a pleasant thought, but the way things are going, I am afraid it is quite likely. Most of France is in drought now and rivers around here are barely flowing. On a personal level, I really must stop coming here in summer. It is just too hot these days. Plus thirty degree temperatures in July and August are the new normal in much of France now, with regular trips into the forties.