Blooming

After yoga class today, for once I decided to walk into town. It was a sunny day, so there might be blip opportunities. Despite going to Carcassonne most weeks for yoga, it's a very long time since I've bothered going into town -- I've always found the lower town dreary and drab. What a surprise! I knew the town council had been running a system of grants to renovate facades, but not that so many people had taken it up, at least on the main couple of shopping streets. Many buildings have been transformed with renewed, attractively coloured facades. At the same time, new businesses have moved in -- most of them smart new wine bars or bistros, or food shops, notably a fine cheese shop that you could smell from yards away. Also this lavishly stocked florist (see also extra). I was really quite impressed. But too skint/mean to buy these unseasonal flowers, so I took photos instead.

The main market is on Saturdays, but there were a few vegetable stalls in the Place Carnot today. One of them had a number of unusual vegetables, including some tubers labelled "Helianti". "What are these?" I asked. "They're like Jerusalem artichokes but sweeter and more digestible." Sold! I bought some to try. They are less knobbly than topinambours, so easier to peel too. She also had "cocktail avocados" from Spain -- small, cucumber-shaped avocados with no stone. I read recently that these had been developed to reduce avocado-related domestic accidents caused by clumsily using a knife to remove the stone. I bought some anyway -- they'll be handy for salads. 

The rest of the square was filled with a) an ice rink and b) wooden chalets selling blanquette de Limoux, mulled wine, oysters, and big seafood platters. It wasn't even 12 o'clock, but there were already people indulging. At least at Christmas, it's become a pleasant place to be, so well done to the council.