My blogual silence for the past week is because I've just returned from a short Easter holiday in Languedoc. We're lucky enough in Britain to get both Good Friday and Easter Monday as bank holidays, so only two days off work allowed us to have almost a week's holiday. In spite of the weather (snow, rain, sleet, hail, the odd spot of sunshine), we had a glorious time. Eight of us, ranging in age from 9 months to 35, stayed in an old house in the village of Caunes Minervois in the foothills of the Montaigne Noire, about 20 minutes outside of Carcasonne. We were lucky enough to be staying right next to this boulangerie, so plenty of fresh bread and croissants.


Carcasonne was just as stunning as I'd heard, wandering around the mediaeval city was amazing. This picture capures a fraction of its splendour.


Of course my best laid reading plans were foiled by the good food, good wine and good company so I actually read practically nothing (though have made a good start on both A Life Reformed and Half of a Yellow Sun for the Chunkster and African reading challenges respectively, so not feeling too guilty!). It was also great fun to read books with my niece (she's literally devouring books - I suppose chewing cardboard helps with teething!) and nephew.