Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Cabrières




After a long drive from Souillac, via Carcassonne, we arrived in Cabrières, a tiny town 10 miles northeast of Nîmes, in the south of France. If it hadn't been for the GPS we would not have found our hotel in the dark, narrow, winding streets.

Cabrières was colonized by the Romans in the first century BC. It appears in official documents as "Villa Cabria" in 978 and became Cabrières in 1435 (from the Latin "capra," which means "goat," as in the place where you raise goats). It was occupied during World War II by German troops, who set up a surveillance camp. Nowadays it is part of metropolitan Nîmes. 





Tucked away in a hard-to-reach corner is a Logis hotel-restaurant that we did not expect to be so nice. On the first morning we caught the end of sunrise from the hotel, from where you can see the church bell tower.






The warm temperatures we had made it possible for the kids to use the pools, which we didn't think would still be open this late in the year. 





We took the demi-pension, so besides a very generous breakfast buffet, every night we looked forward to their gourmet dinner. Dianny and I had never been into the French custom of having cheese after dinner, but now we're both fans of the Cabécou and Buche de Chevre, both great goat cheeses from the region.