Flying North to travel South.

[OZDUCK]

We then had the 17€ 'lunch special' at a small restaurant a bit off the main streets . It had been around 33 C when we were walking the ramparts so we didn't have any Cassoulet but we did come back on our last night in Carcassonne for it.

Carcassonne - Maison du cassoulet

maisonducassoulet.com

My wife had -:

Goat Cheese with honey wrapped in Filo Pastry and fried


and

Chicken Breast in a creamy Mushroom sauce. Plus Sweet Potato fries



I had :-

Legume soup - basically pumpkin soup



and

Haddock with Sauce Provençale plus Rice



We then finished it off with a Pana Cotta and Raspberry Flan

 

[drron]

I’m glad I walked the ramparts when I went 3 years ago as I couldn’t do it now.

 

[OZDUCK]

Outside the main walls

A wagon went flying past







That evening we went for a short walk and instead ended up having a long walk and taking a different route up to the fortress. We hadn't intended to do the climb twice in a day but as the skies got darker it began to look so lovely that we kept going. The trouble we had with the long evenings in France was that by the time it was getting really dark for some good night photos it was after 23:00 and we were ready for bed.

Firstly we crossed the river by a small concrete walkway upriver of the main bridge



The Pont Vieux



We then walked through the old town towards the fortress and the views kept getting better





This was steeper than it seems here





The curved lines are not faults in the photo but marks left from when the 'artist' Felice Varini "was commissioned by France’s Centre des Monuments Nationaux to install a massive illusion of concentric yellow circles on the city’s border.". He received a similar commission in Fremantle and, despite his claims to the opposite, caused much damage to the heritage listed limestone buildings there.

Freo artwork removal descends into legal battle

The removal of the Arc d’Ellipses artwork has descended into farce, with a former Fremantle mayor suing the City for $50,000 in damages to his High Street property.

thewest.com.au

The Walls of a Fortress City in Southern France Ripple With Bright Yellow Concentric Circles

Twenty years ago, the fortress city of Carcassonne in southern France was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In celebration of the important anniversary, Swiss artist Felice Varini (previously) was commissioned by France’s Centre des Monuments Nationaux to install a massive illusion of...

www.thisiscolossal.com

We walked over the Pont Vieux on the way home



My wife got this excellent photo of the moonrise over the fortress



And my lesser one

 

[OZDUCK]

I’m glad I walked the ramparts when I went 3 years ago as I couldn’t do it now.

It certainly took a lot out of me.

 

[OZDUCK]

Finishing off our castle visits.

On our last evening in Carcassonne we walked up the hill again for a meal.

We used the tradesmans entrance again





It was very quiet inside the walls in the evening and many restaurants were closed by 20:00





A plethora of grotesques



My "Castelnaudary cassoulet
with two confits (duck and pork)
and green salad"

Cassoulet - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My wife had the Sea bream with chive and white wine sauce





Our last view of this historic site

 

[OZDUCK]

We did one quick day trip to Narbonne. This required us to backtrack about 30 minutes by rail

Narbonne - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Monument near the railway station commemorating the Franco Prussian War



There are some very handsome buildings there









The Canal de la Robine passes through Narbonne on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. It is a branch of the Canal du Midi

La Nouvelle branch - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There are many signs around town commemorating the Languedoc wine revolt of 1907. I had never heard of before this trip but had seen some references to it in Nimes. It started as a protest against - "the rise of poor quality wine to substitute for the lack of good quality French vintage, with raisin-wine and other adulterated, high sugar wines being produced to mask the poor quality of the grapes being used" plus "the dramatic increase in the 1900s into the south of France of wine being produced by the French colonial community in Algeria". "Matters reached a crescendo on the 9th of June 1907 when between 600,000 and 800,000 people converged on Montpellier to protest against the introduction of foreign wines into France and the proliferation of adulterated wines. Here socialist fervour combined with agricultural malaise to lead to a highly tense atmosphere as the threat of the protestors taking over large parts of southern France emerged." Military force was used to quell the revolt and some protestors were executed.

The Lanquedoc Wine Revolt of 1907

Discover the fascinating history of the Languedoc Wine Revolt in 1907, as French winemakers protested against foreign competition and the proliferation of adulterated wines. Learn how a massive gathering in Montpellier marked the high point of the revolt and led to government intervention to...

thisdayinwinehistory.com

This commemorates probably Narbonnes' favourite son - Charles Trenet

Charles Trenet - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And painted on the side of the building his lyrics to his song L'âme des poètes. "The song is a tribute, among other things, to his own work as a poet-songwriter-singer, as well as to the poet Max Jacob, a friend of Trenet who died in 1944 in the Drancy camp"

 

[OZDUCK]

Palace of the Archbishops. Parts of it date back to the 12th C. Now a museum

Palace of the Archbishops of Narbonne - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

We couldn't work out a reason for the flower display except that it was still spring.







This passageway lead to the Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur Cathedral of Narbonne. Construction began in the 12th Century - first stone laid in 1272. It is still unfinished after a temporary halt in construction occurred in the 14th Century.

"The abandonment of the initial project was linked to several factors. The plague epidemic of 1348 and the raid of Edward of Woodstock , known as the Black Prince, in 1355 had repercussions on the economic development of the region, but, in the longer term, it was the silting up of the river port of Narbonne that put an end to the project."

Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

I like the prone dog

















The incomplete rear of the cathedral

 

[OZDUCK]

We arrived on Market Day and it was a pretty big one. This was just a small part of it.



More of the canal. The market was on both sides of it.







As usual in France if we are unsure where to eat we went to the local market hall. Completed in 1901 it was voted the most beautiful market in France in 2022











The little restaurants inside were pretty busy and we ended up sitting at the zinc counter top. We could see into the kitchen area so it was fun. The food was excellent.







I had traditional sausages from the Pyrenees



My wife had the Noix de Saint-Jacques/Chorizo - scallops on chorizo

 

[OZDUCK]

This was formerly a department store of the Aux Dames de France (To the ladies of France) group. Founded in 1898 and bought out by Galleries Lafayette in 1985.

Aux Dames de France — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

Some more of the city









And since I am sure you are all missing the Romans and their legacy ---






Head banging time again



















Narbonne is a nice little town and we had a pleasant few hours there. However I wouldn't say that it is a 'must see' destination.

 

[OZDUCK]

Back in Carcassonne we took a couple of hours cruise on the Canal du Midi.



Departure point near the Railway station. Not our boat but very similar





I was surprised how few old large trees, especially Plane Trees, there were on the canal bank for long stretches. You could see many large stumps on the waters edge. The on-board guide said that most of the original Plane Trees had either died or had to be felled because of a fungus infection. Her story was that the fungus was in ammunition boxes made from American Plane Trees brought in by the US Army in WW2. The BBC article below from 2011 goes into more detail. It says that 42,000 trees would have to be felled.

The disease killing Europe's plane trees

Europe's plane trees are being killed by a fungus - it is already in France, Italy and Germany, and is heading north.

www.bbc.com

A canal side wreck



We passed through several locks

 

[OZDUCK]

This boat was being used as a floating charter 'Cruise Boat' with a Captain and cook. Suitable for those who want to cruise the Midi in luxury and ease.

Boutique Hotel Barges' Canal du Midi Cruises: Mirage

Boutique Hotel Barges - Mirage: luxury French hotel barge cruise vacations on the rivers and canals of Southwest France

boutiquehotelbarges.com

Both the locks we used had female operators. They control the lock gates remotely by the device
at her waist. Apparently very few, if any, of the Lock Keepers live in the cottages these days.



Hours, and months, of operation.



Some of the locks are very close together



We turned around before this lock gate. It was a double lock.



This plaque shows the distances to the next set of locks each way.





We stopped for a 20 minute break here. You could buy snacks and drinks there.

Épanchoir de Foucaud - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

While we were there a small odd looking lane flew over. It is a Nord Noratlas beginning service with the French Airforce in 1953 and retired in 1989. It was often used to drop parachutists. This is the only flying example left in the world and is based near Marseille. It is preserved as a historic aircraft and hired out for special purposes. Carcassonne has a French Parachute Regiment based there and this was around June 6 so some commemorative event may have been occurring.

Nord Noratlas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Nord Aviation 2501F-3 Noratlas, F-AZVM ´Le Grise´ —

Nord Aviation 2501 Noratlas operated by L’association Le Noratlas de Provence, flying display during Tag der Bundeswehr open doors event at Fliegerhorst Landsberg/Penzing, June 2017. In late 1940s, the French Air Force opened the competition [...]

afterburner.com.pl

 

[OZDUCK]

Back in Carcassonne

Around the canal





Another pilgrimage trail marker











This is why I chose the ground floor flat in our building. It pretty much required me to use hands and knees to get to the top floor.

The age of some of these places often comes as a surprise







There was a surprising amount of space behind but it wold have been for three or four houses

 

[OZDUCK]

Last of Carcassonne. It is a pleasant but quiet place. But really the only reason for a tourist to come here is to either visit the fortress or access the Canal du Midi.

More savage creatures





The rather interesting Art Deco Style Police Station





Place Carnot at night





We had a nice meal one night at a little bistro. The owner/chef explained every meal on the menu to us - in very good English.



I can't remember what we had but it seems as though we were in a mood for meat



Entrecote?



Lamb - I think


.

 

[OZDUCK]

We then continued north. Our final destination was Bordeaux but as the train passed through Toulouse we decided to spend a night there. Not enough time but, as always, you can't see everything. We panned to spend most of the day there but our train from Carcassonne was over 90 minutes late as there had been a bushfire near the railway line south of us near Arles. The train originated in Marseille and it could get to us by using a circuitous route that bypassed Arles. As I remember, someone on here had a relative whose train out of Arles that day was cancelled.

Toulouse - a capital city in southwest France

Discover things to see and do in and around Toulouse, a capital city in southwest France

about-france.com

Toulouse Station





The Canal du Midi ran between the hotel and the station



We stayed in a basic hotel that you could see from the forecourt of the station. It was only about a 100 metres walk between them. The rooms were like Australian motels of the 1970's. But it had A/C that worked - unlike many of the places we used in France. It was the cheapest place we stayed in on our holiday and it included a basic but fine breakfast with the usual meats, cheeses, bread and croissants.







The glamorous view



There were many interesting older buildings in thelocal backstreets



The nearby Allee Jean Jaures

 

[OZDUCK]

We took the metro into town but I picked the wrong destination and we had to walk back across the Garonne River. The metro here was a bit like the one in Lyon in that it had driverless small carriages that ran frequently. Unfortunately it was also like Lyon in that the ride was very harsh with lots of shudders, shakes, jerky starts and bumpy stops. The temperature was in the mid 30's C and if there was A/C it wasn't working.









The riverfront was very nicely landscaped in front of the big flood walls





There are plenty of interesting buildings in Toulouse

 

[OZDUCK]

Then we ended up at the Covent and Church of the Jacobins. Construction started in 1230. "Toulouse being the city where the Dominican order was founded in 1215, the Convent of the Jacobins of Toulouse is sometimes considered the mother church of the order, although it was not the first convent built by the Dominican friars"

"Following the French Revolution of 1789, the Dominican order was banned, and the friars forced to leave. In 1804 the conventual complex including the church became the property of the city of Toulouse, and in 1810 the emperor Napoleon requisitioned the church and converted it into a barracks. Floors were installed to create upper storeys for dormitories, while stables and an armoury occupied the ground floor. During the period the building served as a barracks, the stained glass windows were destroyed, and the medieval paintings in the choir were painted over with whitewash"

Church of the Jacobins - Wikipedia

Heading towards it








" A seventh column continuing the same line supports the 22 ribs of the vaulted roof of the choir, the famous Palm Tree."




We both tried to capture the beautiful reflections of the stained glass on the floor.





Now this is a cloister garden

 

[OZDUCK]

More around Toulouse

The street names are in both French and the Occitan language



Le Capitole - "housing the town hall, a theatre, and rooms of state"

 

[OZDUCK]

We then tried to visit the Jardin Des Plantes but as we were just about to enter the gates the Park Supervisor was ordering everyone out and locking all the gates. Looking on-line I could see that bad weather was expected - but not for at least an hour and it never actually arrived. This was the second time we were locked out of a French park because of rain.

The lovely promenade towards the park



Rules are rules!



We could only gaze in through the bars







Most of the eating places around our hotel were full of young people and loud music so my wife googled for any good restaurants close by.

She came up trumps with this one - an "African" one.



We were a bit out of place but the staff were very pleasant and happy to talk to us. At the end of the meal they were delighted when we, truthfully, told them how much we had enjoyed our food.



My wifes first mojito - a Virgin one - and only just a little over the top. They said mojitos were their speciality.



Mafa Beef for me. It is beef in a rich peanut sauce with rice and fried plantains. The server warned me it was spicy but it was no spicier than a mild satay. A chilli sambal was also supplied and that was very hot.



Flame grilled chicken with plantains and cassava couscous (attieke) and mustard. It was served with a tomato and onion salad that was very similar to what you would have with an Indian meal. However the onion was far sweeter than we are used to.



And that was the end of Toulouse. You could easily spend 3 or 4 days there. But it definitely feels like the big city it is.