Hello France!
Travel day - July 11
After our Swiss vacation - two more trains today - neither Panoramic, although quite scenic and the latter even TGV fast. Minor adventures in car rentals - one driver? two drivers? accept a bashed car? Back roads and small villages -we love technology getting us there! Then a warm welcome in Roujan.
What a terrific choice - family visit & southern France
Not Switzerland-Bassy
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Culoz
Argis
Redessan - Water Tower
Repairs at Manduel
It's about 20 minutes now
We visit in Roujan - conveniently located in the Hérault
Maison de la Plume
Entry Gate & our rental vehicle
Gite France
Gite The Netherlands
Gite Canada
Gite Canada
Our view
What a great way to start the day!
The property is a school building which dates back to 1875. It currently consists of a newly renovated building featuring three separate private holiday homes (gites) each with a large outdoor patio and access to the shared swimming pool. The owner/caretakers (my niece & her husband) live onsite in a separate building. Wonderful hospitality and a delightful place to stay.
Maison de la Plume - 8, rue Albert Fabre -34320 - Roujan - Languedoc - https://maisondelaplume.com
BEZIERS - July 12
Close by - interesting - an enjoyable way to spend time together.
Terrific people and fresh just baked croissants - the best breakfast
We start with the tourist train
Saint Nazaire Cathedral
Jardin des Poètes
The Paul Riquet statue
Municipal Theatre
The Market Hall
Béziers is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in France, having been lived in since 575 BCE - before Roman times. One of the bridges into town has been standing since the 12th century and the Saint Nazaire Cathedral has occupied its spot since the 13th. There are many lanes closed to cars simply because they aren’t wide enough—they were built when horses and buggies were the only form of transportation. Part of Béziers’ regeneration efforts feature a fun scavenger hunt to find 16 murals across the town that are created to fool the eye. The murals tell the story of Béziers through the eyes of its heroes including World War 2 resistance fighter Jean Moulin and the poet Moliere.
Cloisters of the Cathedral
Pont Vieux
Small ampitheatre
The Canal du Midi was born in Béziers
The idea to link the Atlantic to the Mediterranean via a canal, to avoid pirate raids in the Strait of Gibraltar on one hand and to shorten the long trade route on the other hand, had first been thought about by the Romans, then envisaged by Charlemagne, Francois I and Henri IV. But Béziers-born Pierre-Paul Riquet pulled off the feat of building the masterpiece of civil and design engineering under the Sun King (Louis XIV), in the XVIIth century.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Canal du Midi This 360-km network of navigable waterways linking the Mediterranean and the Atlantic through 328 structures (locks, aqueducts, bridges, tunnels, etc.) is one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering in modern times. Built between 1667 and 1694, it paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. The care that its creator, Pierre-Paul Riquet, took in the design and the way it blends with its surroundings turned a technical achievement into a work of art.
Recently the canal has undergone extensive bank repair and tree replacement (they were diseased). Primarily used by pleasure boats now for a one or two week journey. Carcassone to Sète is a popular route.
ROUJAN - Dinner at Le Grand Cafe
CARCASSONNE - July 13
UNESCO World Heritage Site description: Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne
Since the pre-Roman period, a fortified settlement has existed on the hill where Carcassonne now stands. In its present form it is an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town, with its massive defences encircling the castle and the surrounding buildings, its streets and its fine Gothic cathedral. Carcassonne is also of exceptional importance because of the lengthy restoration campaign undertaken in 1853 by Viollet-le-Duc, one of the founders of the modern science of conservation.
La Cité de Carcassonne by Émile Roumens (c. 1900), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne -cc
The Lady of Carcas
City Gate
The Moat
The City, a medieval town still inhabited, has 52 towers and 2 concentric walls totalling 3km of ramparts.
The Legend of Dame Carcas:
“During the Saracen occupation, the Emperor Charlemagne laid siege to the town of Carcassonne. The Saracen king Ballak was killed and it was left to his wife, Dame Carcas, to intervene to save her people. After five years of siege the last defenders died of starvation, so Dame Carcas set up dummies made of straw and shot crossbow bolts at the besieging army to make it look as there were still plenty of defenders.All that was left in the city to feed the population was one small pig and a measure of wheat. She decided to force-feed her pig with the remaining wheat and to throw it over the ramparts.Upon hitting the ground, the pig burst open and from its torn belly came a flood of fine wheat.
Charlemagne immediately raised a siege that served no purpose: there was so much wheat in Carcassonne that they fed the pigs with it! Before the great army left, Dame Carcass called back Charlemagne to make peace. She ordered the trumpets to be sounded – in French, “Carcas sonne”. And so the emperor turned back to receive her allegiance!“ And that is how Dame Carcas saved her people and the town came to be called Carcassonne.
Carcassonne Cathedral was built in the 13th century as a parish church, dedicated to Saint Michael. Following war damage in the 14th century it was rebuilt as a fortified church. In 1803 St. Michael's was elevated to cathedral status.
The cathedral plan is characterised by its relative simplicity. It forms a single nave with a 20 metre high vault, lined with several lateral chapels. The chior screen has retained its 14th century stained glass. The sober façade has a single decorative feature in the form of a large rosette 8 meters in diameter, and the adjoining bell tower is relatively massive.
No one has figured out how to get out of the parking lot....
Small local wineries
Villages
Planted by order of Napoleon to shade his marching soldiers
Not every town is pretty
A wine collective
Blowout! Right here
This kit instead of a spare
Definitely did not work
You call on the emergency line
Waiting for the gendermes who call a tow truck
The tow truck is here
The tire place
Two new tires to match this one
The old one!
A huge gallic shrug from Avis
NARBONNE - July 14
Rather than medieval/renaissance things, I’d hoped for Roman things - at the recommended Narbo Via. But - it’s a holiday, so it was closed. The cathedral - instead - was well worth the drive.
Narbonne Cathedral of Saints Justus and Pastor. The first stone of the cathedral, especially sent from Rome by Pope Clement IV, ex-archbishop of the city, was placed on 12 April 1272. The High Gothic style of the Cathedral takes its inspiration from the great cathedrals of Northern France. It was built between 1272 and 1340 and remained unfinished because, in those troubled times, the Consuls refused to demolish the ramparts to provide stone to continue building. Its construction stopped completely in 1355 due to the invasion of the city by the Black Prince, and never finished.
The most striking feature of the cathedral is it's unique choir, with vaulting soaring to more than 40 metres.
The side chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Bethlehem, has a 14th-century altar-piece in painted stone.
Fête Nationale Française - Bastille Day - July 14
It marks the anniversary of the fall, on July 14, 1789, of the Bastille, in Paris. Originally built as a medieval fortress, the Bastille eventually came to be used as a state prison. Political prisoners were often held there, as were citizens detained by the authorities for trial. Some prisoners were held on the direct order of the king, from which there was no appeal. Although by the late 18th century it was little used and was scheduled to be demolished, the Bastille had come to symbolize the harsh rule of the Bourbon monarchy. During the unrest of 1789, on July 14 a mob approached the Bastille to demand the arms and ammunition stored there, and, when the forces guarding the structure resisted, the attackers stormed the prison and released the seven prisoners held there. The taking of the Bastille signaled the beginning of the French Revolution.
In Roujan festivities included a parade, young people carrying paper lanterns and, of course, fireworks.
Pézenas - July 15
It's market day - what fun
We've enjoyed everything about our visit -- well maybe not the bill for the towing and tires - but yes to everything else. Thank you for your hospitality. Tomorrow we're off to Barcelona.
