This last week has seen the temperatures still up around the mid 30’s however it hasn’t stopped us from doing things, and not only drinking!

We spent a day wandering around the city of Toulouse. We decided to go by train as previously Greg had driven through the “Centre Ville” , and it was not a pleasant experience for him!

 

Our first stop was , of course, coffee in the main square, Place du Capitole, however there are no pictures of the buildings in the square to show you as it was full of workmen and scaffolding, obviously getting ready for their annual festival. It was quite disappointing.

We wandered through the streets and there were some beautiful buildings.

 

Our second coffee of the day was at the very pretty Place St Georges.

 

 

We decided to have lunch at Entrecote. We had been to the same restaurant in Bordeaux previously , and loved it, basically Steak and Frites with sauce. Greg was not” happy ” to say the least , as our steak was extremely well done and not medium like we had asked for. He even asked to talk to the Maitre D to complain!

 

We continued to wander after lunch and by that time it was becoming rather warm.

To escape the heat, we decided to check out the Saint Etienne Cathedral, built over 5 centuries.

 

Greg’s knees were starting to talk to him, so of course, time for a refreshment before heading back to the station to catch the train home.

It was a great day!

 

We still have places to see around the area where we are staying!Only one week to go! We had been told to visit Mirepoix, a small town about 30 minutes in the direction of the Pyrenees, and we were not disappointed!

It was a lovely drive with the snow capped Pyrenees in the distance making a stunning vista!

Mirepoix is an ancient “Bastide ” town , which are fortified towns built in the 13th and 14th centuries. The highlight of the town was the central square, Place des Couverts, which was surrounded by medieval houses and arcades.

One of the best buildings was the Maison des Consuls, with it’s carved figures on the woodwork. There are apparently 103 carvings overall. The Cathedral is the 2nd largest single naved church in Europe and is a classified historic monument.

 

 

We  loved wandering around, and of course there was certainly time for a refreshment!

 

We spent a day touring the Minervois area . We stopped at a lovely village called La Redorte and walked along the tow path of the Canal du Midi to see the” L’Epanchoir de L’Argent-Double”. It is an aquaduct built in 1684 in order to evacuate excess water from the canal.

We stopped next at Homps to have a look at the Port of the Canal du Midi.

We then decided it was probably nearly lunchtime, and soon as Rhonda saw a restaurant where the Plat du Jour was Loup grille, grilled sea bass, the decision was made!

 

It was sensational, in Rhonda’s  opinion the best one yet, and again it was washed down with some nice local rose!

 

 

 

We detoured slightly for our next stop to the village of Minerve, as we were told it was “not to be missed” , and we were so glad we stopped!

It is as described in the guide books as “an extremely picturesque fortified medieval village , perched on a naturally defended rocky peninsular high above a canyon” , and that describes it perfectly!

Greg was in photography heaven!

Now for some history…..

The most infamous event in the history of the village took place in the early 13th Century. In 1210 a group of Cathars found refuge in the heavily fortified village, but after 6 weeks of siege, the village surrendered  to the Crusaders and 140 Cathars were burnt alive at the stake!

Next to the Church in the centre of the village is a carved stone with a profile of a dove. The dove has become a famous symbol of Catharism in recent years!

We have another blog to follow in the next few hours as we have just returned from a fabulous overnight stop in Girona ,Spain! Plenty of photos!

Thats it for now!

Cheers

Greg and Rhonda!