The morning began with Croissants and Café. There was excitement in the air. Our hosts, being part of the British Empire, were readying for the Royal Wedding. The kitchen was strung with British bunting and a television was set up for viewing the ceremony. The Horticulture team, after finally receiving the plants that were ordered for the project, began their work on the terrace cut-flower garden. I have been with the Chateau de Gudanes Cultural Enrichment project for two years and this year’s horticulture team was just as stellar as the previous year’s. There are many challenges to working in a remote area in the Pyrenees’ Mountains, e.g. logistics, working with local vendors, trouble-shooting, having limited access to tools, etc. but this team of people made it happen. Our plants, having been ordered three weeks prior to arriving in the France, did not show up until May 18th. We were concerned with the time-frame we had to finish the project, one and a half days, but it’s finished and will be exactly what the owners desired. This specific cut-flower bed will be used for floral displays and events hosted at the Chateau. Collectively we planted hundreds of plants including delphiniums, dahlias, salvias, ranunculus, scabeosa, peonies, and many other lovely varieties.
In the meanwhile, the designers of our group started out their day in Mirpoix with Karina exploring a few local brocants (antique markets). Karina has filled the chateau with many historical treasures from these shops. Items can date back many centuries. This group returned to the Chateau just in time for lunch and the Royal Wedding.
During lunch, everyone gathered in the kitchen to watch the royal wedding while eating some grilled Toulousian sausage and baguette sandwiches. After lunch part of the group headed out of town to go horseback riding. This area of the Pyrenees is known for the Merene Horses, the black prince of the Pyrenees.These horses are Native to the Ariege region and their images can be found painted in the Cave of Niaux, dating back 12,000 years. Our horticulture team finished the garden just in time for a rainstorm. The rain came at a perfect time and was much needed. We only had a half filled rain barrel on the terrace where we were working, to fill a watering can, because during the early spring, the upper terrace wall collapsed and took with it the fire hydrant used for irrigation.
Our last dinner together was spent at La Cube de la Maison. The family that owns and operates La Cube has lived in the Ariege region of France for centuries. They own and operate not only the restaurant, but raise and butcher the beef, pork, and duck the restaurant serves. The owners work with 40 local vendors to source everything within the region and nothing there is from outside of the country. From Carpaccio, thinly sliced raw beef in olive oil, to Le coup La Cube, raspberry sorbet covered in eau de vie (water of life) topped with vanilla bean whipped cream, the food se magnifique! Karina, the owner of the Chateau, her daughter Jasmine, and Anine, the event coordinator for the Chateau, gifted each of us with a little token to remember our time in the Ariege. After a beautiful dinner and a long day of work, we were all ready to turn in for our early morning departure to Toulouse.
– Ali Schultz & Melissa Daughenbaugh