A blog about 2 Canadians who bought a house in a small French Village, Bellac. They blog about the trials, tribulations and the joys of life in France owning a small house.
The second part of our outing was to Toulouse and then on to Carcassonne. Toulouse is France's 4th largest city while Carcassonne dates back to the sixth century. We had programmed out GPS to stay off the toll highways, so we spent the morning driving along smaller country roads winding through hills, valleys and finally sunflower fields. We rolled into Toulouse and found parking and set out on foot to see what we could in a short period of time. We luckily parked near the major square, which was hosting a market day, but the world only needs so many i-phone covers, batik dresses, cheap knock off suit cases and socks. We wandered out of the Place Capitole and towards Place Saint Georges, passing through the major shopping district of Toulouse. We saw the fountains
Vernon and the fountain in the Place Wilson
and carousel of Place Wilson, the parking lot of Place Victor Hugo and our short tour ended at the Basillque Saint Sernin. It was a very quick overview of the centre of the city leaving something to see if we are ever back this way.
A gate in the city wall.
Garden near the Place du Capitole
Sticking to the non-toll roads on our way out of Toulouse found us on a highway that paralleled the expressway, but we weren't in a hurry. Along with more sunflowers, we began to notice the vineyards along the way. As we got closer to Carcassonne, only about 50 kms away, it was like any modern French town. The highway was littered with big box stores, light industry and our cheap hotel. Not something I had in my mind of a town dating back to the Romans. We checked in to the Ibis Budget and were quite surprised with the hotel and the room. Even though the W/C was smaller than an airplane's, and the molded plastic toilet had no seat, the price, the air conditioning, breakfast, wifi, and free parking made up for any slight uncomfortableness.
The main entrance to La Citè.
As for most of this trip, we had done little background reading, so arriving at the La Citè later was a complete surprise. I had imagined the inner city was all part of the paid attraction but we found out the the inner city was the most alive area in town. It is full of restaurants, souvenir shops, squares, hotels, cookie and candy shops and exclusive hotels. It reminded me of Mont Saint Michel of northern France, without the ocean and the mountain. We had almost settled for a small restaurant down outside the walls, but were very glad we waited. Inside the walls we discovered the Taverne Du Château where we found our elusive holy grail, pizza. It was a great introduction to an incredible dinner, and for dessert we wondered around to give us a head start on tomorrow. Within the walled city is the Château and Ramparts, which are surrounded by their own walls, a fortress within a fortress. The main buildings of the keep date back to the 12th century. The ruling family, Trencavel, were getting too powerful, so the Pope called a crusade against them and the city became part of the royal domain in 1226. Until 1659 Carcassonne was used to protect the border between France and Aragon. It feel into disrepair as it was more of a military outpost. In the 19th century, archeologists rediscovered the city and began to restore the city to its medieval appearance today.
Carcassonne's Ramparts with the lower city in the background
Along with touring the buidings of the inner Château, we were able to walk around the outer ramparts to the entire city. The views of the country side as well as the inner city were spectacular. To treat ourselves we had a great lunch at Saint Jean restaurant with croque Monsieurs and beer and more beer. We did notice that we were the only table drinking beer, but it seemed more refreshing than wine on a hot afternoon. Our table was ombragé (in the shade) and it was the perfect way to wind down. Some souvenir shopping and then the 20 minute walk back to our hotel for a well needed break. Our final dinner was back in La Cité where we tried the local specialty, cassoulet. It is like a chilli, with white beans, sausage, pork rind and duck. It was good, and the restaurant we ate had it on their 13 euro menu, so it was a small sample of the dish. The salad and dessert made up for any disappointment of having a bean stew for dinner. At least we got extra bread to soak up the delicious sauce it was served in.
Joan of Arc in Carcassonne lower city
The next morning, we headed into the newer part of the city to take in the splendour of the two churches in the centre of the city that the guides said we should see. The city was pleasant and well worth the short time we spent wandering the streets watching the city wake up. Being Friday, we thought it best to be be back on the road again, giving control to our GPS to take us on the fastest but non-toll highway home. It didn't take us long to realize that this would be an all day event, so we fought back control and headed to the toll expressway to get home before we threw the GPS out the window. It was a great break and we were able to see just a little bit more of this amazing country. There is something new and exciting around each corner. A great place for a holiday home! To view any of the photos in this blog, just click on the image to make it larger.
It is now Saturday morning and things are getting back to normal. Or as normal as our new normal can be. We just got back from a quick 5 day break to southern parts of France. We rented a car from the local grocery store for a week, packed our bags, and headed off south. Our plans were to stop into two picturesque villages in the most southern part of Limosin as featured in a travel magazine we purchased back in March, canoe along the Dordonge River, and see Carcassonne. We have learnt from experience not to plan too many villages into one day.
Collonges-Rouge
Our first destination was Collonges-Rouge. The village is famous for its red sandstone bricks. These come from the exposed Meyssac fault that you can visit just down the road. This is the only place in France that you will see these bricks. The red colour comes from the composition of 2% iron oxide. They have made the village into a tourist attraction, but even with restaurants and gift stores, the hillside village is still a magnificent visit. It was a free city and this gave it many privileges such as not paying taxes to the King. The renowned wine was one of the sources of the wealth which was used to build houses, castles and mansions with ornate architectural details with the famous red sandstone. It is a car free village, which makes for a very leisurely stroll.
Collonges-Rouge
Cesar Tower in the Château de Turenne
Just a few kilometres down the road is the village of Turenne. This was the centre of the Vicomte of Turenne of which Collonges-Rouges was a city in. At the top of the hill are the remnants of the Château de Turenne. It was a climb of 130 steps just to get to the main entrance from the base. This doesn't include the climb from the parking lot up through the village to the base of the château. The buildings that remain of the château include the Keep/Clock Tower, and the Treasury Tower, where money for the Vicomte was minted. The main buildings were destroyed in 1738 by King Louis XV who had bought the château to pay for the last Viscount's gambling debts. It has been replaced by a French Garden. Across the garden still stands the Tour de Cesar, an 11th century watch tower. I climbed the 64 uneven steps to take in the spectacular view from the top. For centuries the Viscounts of Turenne commanded much of what I could see from the top. Steve escaped to an ombragè spot to enjoy the gardens. Both of these villages are on "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France". This is a list that I'm sure would take a lifetime to visit and there are many more villages that are worth a visit that are not on the list, but one can only see so much. We headed back to the car for a short drive to our Chambre d'Hôte for the evening. After being welcomed at La Masion de Tari by Martine, it wasn't long before we had changed and were enjoying a cool dip in la piscine. It was a great way to wind down after a busy day of sightseeing and driving. La Masion de Tari was in a very rural area, and we needed to head out to find dinner. We had pizza on our mind, so off we went to find an Italian dinner in France. Google maps had located a few nearby and I thought it would be no trouble finding them. Well things went wrong with our virage à droite au lieu de gauche (a right turn instead of a left turn).This took us to the town of Sarlat. We did find a grocery store to load up on snacks and lunch for tomorrow's canoe trip. We divided and conquered the store, as it was closing time. I was holding a bottle of wine when I ran back into Steve at the check outs, who had one of the bags of wine. What was I thinking? one bottle of 75 cl or 3 l of wine. After stocking up, we recommenced our quest for pizza. The town of Sarlat was just up the road, but we quickly realized that something must be happening in town, as the traffic was very slow, and all the parking was complet. We drove once around drooling at the sight of perfectly good restaurants and then headed south to where were were to be originally. We let our GPS lead us to a pizza place in the village of Domme. We didn't realized that the village was a very historic hill top village and car-free as well. Our quest for our holy grail wasn't going well and being hungry, nerves were a bit raw. After driving along the one road through town, we found our way down out of the village. Just as we arrived at the base of the village, there appeared out of the mist a restaurant with a terrasse, a welcoming atmosphere, and most important, easy parking. It didn't take a long read of the menu to get a table for two. Well we didn't find our holy grail of pizza, we did find a restaurant with a varied menu with French foods. It was a great meal, I had the duck and Steve had the cod, with very nice service, so good that we went back the second night to try the veal and the hamburger. After dinner, our drive back to the B & B was only about 15 minutes instead of the 90 minute tour to get here. Alls well that ends well, so we ended the evening by enjoying a night cap on the terrasse outside our room (thanks to the bag of wine) and then to bed for a good night's sleep before our canoeing adventure of the next day.
Tuesday morning we enjoyed a continental breakfast at our hotel, and then off to our day on the river. In planning our day, I was overwhelmed with the choice of canoe rental companies. I trusted the Trip Advisor award, and picked Explorando Canoes in Grolejac. We reserved a canoe for two for the day. The way it works is you park, get your canoe, pick how far you want to go, and then they will shuttle you back to your car at the end of the day. The River Dordogne was a slowly flowing river interspersed with some little rapids. It winds itself past cliffs, ancient châteaux and villages. Our trip was 17 kms from Grolejac to La Roque Gageac with an estimated time of 3.5 hours. We took about just about 4.5 hours which included coming ashore in a shady spot on the shore for lunch. As we drifted down the river, we were able to drop our feet overboard to keep cool. We arrived in La Roque Gageac about 30 minutes before our bus was scheduled to take us back to the car. We spent the extra time wading in the river trying to keep cool. The bus ride back was reminicent of our trip in Peru. A large bus on winding narrow roads and bridges, which in parts were high above the river valley but this on trip there were only other cars and buses attempting to share the road but no donkeys to avoid. Again arriving back at the inn, we were quickly changed and into the pool. Dinner was back at the same restaurant, sometimes you need a bit of easy. It was another great dinner. Back at the hotel, the night cap was much shorter, as we were exhausted from our hard day on the river. It's a good thing we were not in Simon Fraser or David Thompson's expeditions, as British Columbia might not yet be discovered.
Roque Gageac along the Dordonge River
A château along the Dordogne River
Caves along the river.
Garden in the Château Turenne
Collonges-Rouge manion
View from atop Tower Ceasr
Still to come, our continued journey to Toulouse and Carcassonne.
After spending last summer here in Bellac with wave after wave of guests, it is a different experience with just the two of us and no car. Looking back at the past five days since I last blogged, the week was full of... I'm not quite sure. Leisurely mornings, some gardening, a walk to the grocery store or two, a trip to the pool on the hottest day of the week, a trip to the local library and we even looked after the neighbour's garden while they were away for a few days. The attic has been an ongoing project as well, especially for Steve, with the ceiling being painted, and we had the electrician back this week as well to change a few switches and to change a light fixture. Now you can turn the light off at the top of the stairs as well as the bottom. Makes it easier for those late night trips....
My garden is coming along. The cucumbers are doing very well while the two sets of lettuce are lagging behind. The impatiens and petunias are doing well, but the geraniums haven't bloomed yet and the hydrangea may need to be transplanted, instead of just being in a pot. Just checking on a good place for it with enough sun but not too much, a happy medium. Linda, our neighbour, gave me a cactus like plant that grows like a weed, something I am able to grow, and looks great in a rock garden. So I am trying my luck with those as well. The lawn is still more weeds and clover than grass but that will be a long range challenge.
My lettuce. It will be a very small salad.
My cucumbers.
The start to my rock garden.
I know the photos don't do it justice, but if you are planning to visit, bring your own vegetables.
As we putter, we have adapted into the the village life. If errands into town don't happen before 12:30, then we have to wait until 2:30 when life returns to normal, except on Mondays and Sundays, and some Tuesdays. We have started to take pictures and notes of the times various stores and services are open just to keep it all straight. The post office clerk taught me how to use the self-service machine so I hope any documents get back to Vancouver all right. It unlike the bank machines didn't have an English button. I took out some easy reading books in French from the library and they even have an English section, so I am re-reading Lord of the Flies. Just wish their air conditioning was turned up a bit, as it would have been a great place to escape the week's heat. We had to resort to the local pool for that. It was a great way to keep cool on the hottest day of the summer so far. Only about 39 degrees.
It has cooled off nicely as the week went on, but still no rain. Tomorrow's forecast is for Belles éclaircies (Beautiful cloudy according to Google translate). Next week the heat, returns, in the low 30's so we will enjoy the beautiful clouds and the mid 20's this weekend. Which reminds me of a quote from Violet Crawley from Downton Abbey. Watch the video below.
As the weekend approaches, there is little change in life here except the Utile grocery store is open all day on Friday and Saturday, the church bells call everyone to mass just before 10:00 and we need to make sure we have everything in for Sunday's dinner before 12:30 as everything closes for the day but for the rest our life, there is no difference between the week and the weekend. I guess retirement is like that.
Steve painting ceiling (a.k.a.: waking up spiders)
The guest bedroom in progress.....
Dordogne River
We are getting ready for a few days out next week and we are heading south. Touring some picturesque villages, canoeing on the Dordonge River and then visiting the medieval fortress of Carcassonne will take up about 4 days. Looking forward to hitting the road again. Get the GPS out of the drawer and away we go.
Even though we are in a small town/village here in France, we are precariously tied to the rest of the world by our internet service provider, Orange. The service is overall not too bad, but regularly needs to reconfigure its internet connection which temporarily unties us from the world. We are still able to keep in touch with the world with our email, Twitter, Facebook and British television. It might be nice to stick our heads in the sand and not worry about Trump, American police shootings, the Islamic State, and Brexit to name a few worries, but the world won't go away.
Sticking to the non-toll roads on our way out of Toulouse found us on a highway that paralleled the expressway, but we weren't in a hurry. Along with more sunflowers, we began to notice the vineyards along the way. As we got closer to Carcassonne, only about 50 kms away, it was like any modern French town. The highway was littered with big box stores, light industry and our cheap hotel. Not something I had in my mind of a town dating back to the Romans. We checked in to the Ibis Budget and were quite surprised with the hotel and the room. Even though the W/C was smaller than an airplane's, and the molded plastic toilet had no seat, the price, the air conditioning, breakfast, wifi, and free parking made up for any slight uncomfortableness.
