Canal du midi - Day 23

Homps

Saturday, 13 October 2012
We had a nice slow start to the morning, then headed down to Homps (which is about 5 minutes drive away). We passed a lake area which must be very nice in the summer. We walked down the canal for a while (the opposite direction of our upcoming boat trip). It was a beautiful day! We passed a lock and were about to turn around then I saw a sign pointing to a restaurant and we kept going - and found this nice restaurant next door to a double lock. We sat outside and were quite protected from the wind by the trees. It was great. Bruce really enjoyed is vegetarian salad and I finally had Magret de Canard - duck is such a wonderful meat.
Then we strolled back to Homps to buy our tickets for our boat ride. This was a great Gabare ride. One of the really great things was that the commentary was in French and English ( and Spanish) and live! So if an interesting boat went past he would tell us about it. We learnt all about the history of the canal, the different styles of the bridges, the reason for the aqueduct we went over (originally the river we crossed merged into the canal but it meant they had to keep dredging the canal so they creates the aqueduct to go over the bridge). We went through one lock which the boys in particular loved.
After some chill out time 'back home' we headed back to Homps for dinner at a restaurant beside the canal.

	Strolling the canal [Map]		Boats moored [Map]
	The boys on the boat trip [Map]		One of the many bridges we had to cross under [Map]
	Getting closer [Map]		Lunch! [Map]
	The double lock [Map]

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Cathar strongholds - Day 22

Minerve, Carcassonne

Friday, 12 October 2012
It was a colder day - particularly the wind. We headed up to Minerve.
A bit if history:
With the backing of God and the Pope, with men hungry for loot and blood, Simon de Montfort laid seige, to the impregnable fortress village. And to speed things along he attacked St Rustique's well, the principal waters source for the village, found at the base of the village. Four catapults were set up around the village, -three towards the city gates and the fourth - the largest named "Malevoisine" to destroy the well.
The village was well protected with double surrounding walls, and overhanging ledges; but this did not stop the fear that Montfort gave. For the Viscount Guilhem of Minerve knew that the 200 men of his garrison couldn't resist the onslaught, if the gates should fall. And as the walls gave in of St Rustique's well, he negotiated the town's surrender. He saved the villagers and his self, but 140 Parfaits who had taken refuge, were burnt at the stake, because they refused to deny their faith. The burning of parfaits was the first in the crusade, a terrible act that was to be repeated for another 34 years until the fall of Montsegur.
Little is left of the fortress, except for the "candela" - a single slender octagonal tower. The village is a hodge-podge of narrow alleys, topped by a simple 12th century church that always seems closed. Nearby is a charming museum of full of figurines showing the history of the Cathars and Minerve.
We didn't go into the museum and as well as the church many of the shops were closed. But that doesn't take away the desolate beauty. We also walked down to the river bed - the river flows underground in the summer and only comes above ground in winter. There is also a natural bridge and Bruce explored under there a little. Michael wasn't quite so brave!
We then headed over to Caune-Minervois which boasts an 8th century Benedictine Abbey, a marble quarry and is also a medieval town. We had a nice lunch at the Marble place but the Spanish bus tour which arrived at Minerve as we left (which was annoying when we needed the toilet as they created a huge queue) arrived for lunch while we were still eating and the service promptly went downhill. So ..no tip was left there!
Then onto Carcasonne! Val and Mike's advice is to arrive early or late (around 4.00pm) when the tour buses are leaving. I think they are right. We probably could have done with being a touch earlier as the palace and ramparts closed at 5.00pm. This of course didn't stop us explore every corner and Michael buying another knight for his collection. We had a Pre-dinner drink at a bar and met a local and his dog. Actually..the local was from Belgium.

	Minerve from the Carpark [Map]		The candela [Map]
	In the village [Map]		In the 'dry' river [Map]
	More of the river [Map]		The abbey in Caune-Minervois [Map]
	the abbey garden [Map]		Inside the church [Map]
	Carcasonne walls [Map]		Carcasonne walls [Map]
	Carcasonne at night [Map]

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Meze and Sete...seafood! - Day 21

Meze, Sete

Thursday, 11 October 2012
Our last breakfast at what has become one of our favourite Chambre D'Hote. We are off to stay in a village called Perpieux which is near Carcasonne. We set the GPS for Meze as it had been recommended to us as a place to visit. When we are not in a hurry we avoid the toll roads but the route was not pretty and just towns...and some French towns are not that nice!
So we headed back to the A road and then were quickly driving alongside the Etang de Thau. After a bit of guessing we followed the signs to the Port Carpark and found ourselves at the beach - of sorts. It was getting hotter and hotter! Given the.car was loaded with all our gear Bruce carefully parked it under a camera. There was a wee marina with restaurants all around it- all serving seafood of course. So to Michael's frustration we checked out the menu of each one and finally chose the second one we looked at. We think that's part of the fun but Michael doesn't think that is to much fun.
It was a lovely meal and I had to try the local oysters. We chatted to the couple next to us - he was German and his partner was Polish. They live in Germany and had rented.a car to come away for a few days. We then headed into Sete to have a wee explore which was nice. It was very very hot especially out of the breeze. Sadly that has been the last of the hot for a while as ones we left that area it got cooler - and of course we were a little bit higher.
We headed off to our Chambre d'Hote in Perpieux. The town is a nothing much town and there reason we were there was it's proximity to Carcassone.. I had really difficulty finding a reasonably priced place in this area. Val and Mike are English and bought the place 7 years ago. Space wise it was great with two huge rooms and a bathroom in between. We had dinner with them which was nice as Michael really needed a night 'at home' and in a quiet room.

	Meze 'beach' [Map]		Meze when we arrived [Map]
	lunch! [Map]		The port in Meze [Map]
	Meze town [Map]		Sete canals [Map]
	Sete [Map]

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Pont du Gard and Uzes - Day 20

Pont du Gard, Uzes

Wednesday, 10 October 2012
We had breakfast outside - George and Danielle have a lovely outside dining and lounge area. It was so relaxing!
It was a gorgeous day and I think the temperature hit around 27 degrees. George warned us that the surroundings of Pont du Gard have changed since we were last there. On the way we passed the Australian family on their bikes... and If they carried on down that same busy road I wouldn't have been particularly happy - and no helmets! (No one seems to where a helmet on a bike here!).
The entry into the Carpark at Pont du Gard is €18 and I've seem people moaning about that on Tripadvisor - but for this you get good parking; excellent facilities; an incredible museum and of course the national monument is cared for. We spent a good many hours strolling around, climbing up high above and going down to the river ( and having a paddle - it was a little chilly). The museum is fantastic plus there was a special exhibition on earth and all about it's building properties. Really good English and very hands on - lots of fun.
We headed back to Uzes for lunch and found a salon de the who was serving an afternoon menu. We then strolled around Uzes but didn't go into the palace or museum. It was getting pretty hot - which is a nice problem- so time to back to the Chambre D'Hote for a swim.
I found a restaurant on Trip Advisor that was highly recommended.it was round a corner and up a tiny alley. A gorgeous building inside - it was the old Dunjeon! I think this rates as the best restaurant we have been to so far ( do I keep saying that?). The food quality and in the case some really good service. A great day!

	View from our room over the pool with it's cover o [Map]		View to the Cevannes [Map]
	Pont du Gard [Map]		Reflections [Map]
	Michael after a paddle [Map]		the boys [Map]
	After we climbed up high [Map]		Lunch in Uzes [Map]
	Uzes [Map]		Uzes town hall [Map]
	Doorway [Map]		Uzes alleyway [Map]
	the muse [Map]		the tower in the muse [Map]
	place des Herbes [Map]		Sunset from our room [Map]

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Gorges and trains - Day 19

Anduze, Uzes

Tuesday, 9 October 2012
After a simple breakfast we stopped to snap a few more photos of Sainte Enimie and then headed off towards Saint jean du Gard. I had found a train called the Train a Vapeur des Cevannes which runs fro. Saint jean du Gard to Anduze and return. It was closed on Mondays but today was Tuesday so we were all go! The scenery on the way continued to be spectacular. It amazed us how many bike riders (I mean push bikes not motorbikes) we saw up those huge hills and scarily, most without helmets. We also saw numbers of people on the side of the roads gathering something - we assume it was truffles.
We headed into Saint Jean du Gard just after 12.00. It was a bigger town that we expected and it was market day so roads were closed. After a bit of back streets driving we found the train station. We can't really comment on the town itself as our main experience of it is those back streets and around the station.
The morning train hadn't been in long and the engine was being moved from one end to the other - so Bruce was off taking photos. We got out tickets and headed over the road to a restaurant for some lunch. Salads were a good option especially as it was getting reasonably hot.
The train itself was a nice journey. It's a very smokey train so I'm pleased I wasn't wearing white. On the way form Saint Jean to Anduze there was a couple on the carriage from England who are camper vanning. They spend 10 months of the year out of the UK - but I admit I can't see the delight in the little dirt air beside the tracks in Anduze. Each to their own. Our carriage was near the back but would have been at the front on the way back...so to avoid ending up completely black we changed carriages for the return journey.
Then some more lovely scenery until we found our way to our Chambre D'Hote near Uzes. This place is really great! It had a pool and given it was hot Michael had a swim. The pool temperature was 19 degrees so I not paddled but it was good to cool off. We had a lovely room upstairs (more stairs for that luggage!). I think it wins the award for best bathroom we have had. There is also a guest lounge next door which is shared with the other guest room but we had it to ourselves. The view is out over the vineyards and then to the Cevannes. Danielle and George are lovely. We headed into Uzes for dinner and ate at a nice outside restaurant in the Place des Herbes. One disadvantage - there are lovely trees which contain birds. I was under a sun umbrella (I think it is really there to protect from the birds) so after getting a wee deposit Bruce moved.
The restaurant was mainly non French people. There were two groups of Australians doing biking holidays. One was a family of four but they were finding the distances a bit much - I think 40 to 60 k's in a day is a lot!

	View from our room [Map]		Last minute snaps of Sainte Enimiie [Map]
	Sainte Enimie [Map]		Scenery from the train [Map]
	Sunset from our room near Uzes [Map]		Cute villages on the way to Saint Jean Du Gard [Map]
	villages [Map]		More villages [Map]
	Bruce doing what he does on trains [Map]		View from the train [Map]
	Train [Map]

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