We have done quite a bit of exploring and traveling this week , but also found time to relax!

The Languedoc area in which we are staying is also know as Cathar Country. The Cathars were a religious sect who lived in the South west of France during the 11th and 12th century. However early in the 13th century the Crusades led by the Catholics began to see the end of their era. There are many Chateaux and Abbys in the area of which we have seen a few! Yes we have begun our ABC’S! (Another Bloody Church, Another Bloody Chateau)

Our first Cathar castle was at Saissac built in the 11th Century, restored in the 14th Century, and again in 1979!

A small village quite close to where we are staying is called Montolieu (village du livre) or the village of books.

In the small village there are 15 shops that sell books in all languages.

 

We also discovered in the village a local bio vegetable “auto mat”. The local farmers bring their veges into town, place them in the fridges in the middle of the village and sell them. one kilo of beans for 3 euros! Cheap.

 

 

Another village close by is Aragon, a lovely village set on the hillside. Of course it has a lovely chateau built in the 12th century and modified in the 17th century!

Then we moved onto another Chateua at Pennautier, built under Louis X111 and has been in the same family since 1620. It is known as the Versailles de Languedoc, and is quite spectacular.

Of course with all this touring, one gets quite parched , so there is always time for refreshments. Beer or kir?????

Another place close to us is Brousse et Villaret, and its claim to fame is a an old paper mill, a beautiful building in a serene setting!

Some days are spent touring for a few hours during the morning or afternoon, but we have done a couple of full days out. One was venturing down to the Mediterranean Sea to the beautiful town of Sete.

It is the largest fishing port on the French Med coast. There are many canals throughout the town along with beautiful buildings. Of course, being by the sea Rhonda was desperate for her sea bass. or “loup”, and she wasn’t disappointed!

We had a great lunch down at the old port and walked lunch off afterwards.

 

 

Greg was quite taken with this “lady” at the Place de L’hopital! He thought that maybe Rhonda may look like this after 3 months in France. How rude!

 

Another BIG day was our “first” trip to the Pyrenees. What a great day it was!

Our first stop for coffee, of course, was the wine town of Limoux.

You may ask why coffee and not wine……well it was only 10am, however there were a lot of rose being drunk by the locals! By now we were well into Cathar Chateau territory!

Our first chateau was at Puivert, built in the 12th century. It is in the process of being restored with one tower being open to the public.

The roads we traveled were up and down and made us think of the Tour de France, as the Tour does spend a few days down in this area.

We then traveled onto Quillan, another town which we loved , and decided to rest , and “do lunch”.

And what a lunch it was. Entrecote for Greg and duck confit for Rhonda ,and no she did not eat all those frites!….Yummo. All washed down with a couple of glasses of rose! It was a lovely setting next to the Aude river.

The roads we travelled on had some spectacular scenery including snow capped mountains, but the most impressive sight was seeing the Chateaux at the top of the rocky mountain outcrops, and it made us wonder how did they build them?

The Chateau de Puilaurens was amazing, built at an altitude of 697 meters and begun in the 10th century.

Speaking of spectacular roads, the next part of our trip had Rhondas eyes closed some of the time! We ventured along the Gorges of Galmus.

Carved into the cliffs is the 7th Century Saint Antoine Hermitage. If you look closely you can see it in the photo! Greg should have got his tele photo lens out , sorry about that.

 

Continuing on, we had 3 kms of extremely narrow road and thank God we did not encounter another car coming from the other direction. Scary but stunning!

 

 

Our final chateau for the day was at Argues, a 14th cebtury castle, in the process of being restored…..as they all are. Of course we passed by many more but one can only take so many photos of ABC’s.

So we hope you have enjoyed our latest post and arent too bored already by chateaux , because there will be more to come!

Until the next chapter on Cathar Country, it’s time…..yep for that drink!

Cheers

Greg and Rhonda.

P.S. Just thought we would let you know the weather is fantastic! Usually around 25 to 30 degrees! Sorry to all you Melbournites!