A medieval experience behind two walls ~ Carcassonne

A medieval experience behind two walls ~ Carcassonne  

September 29-31: Hotel de la Cite, Carcassonne (Sat to Tuesday)

 

This day we drove for 4 hours to Carcassonne (population 4,000) famous for its medieval citadel, La Cite, with numerous watchtowers (52) and double-walled fortifications. I felt like I had arrived at Disneyland.  It is the largest fortified city in Europe.  Its citadel known as the Cité de Carcassonne, is a medieval fortress dating back to the Gallo-Roman period, and was restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Ducin 1853. It became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997. 

View from wall & church in distance

The first walls were built in Roman times with major additions in the 13^thand 14^thcenturies.  We checked into the Hotel de la Cite which is in the middle of this walled city, next to the church. 

Hotel de La Cite

Sitting on the garden patio we ran into Kathleen and George the same Canadians we had met in Gordes.  We invited them to join us for a drink and afterwards went to dinner together.  Three of us had  a famous rich, slow-cooked casserole originating in southern France, containing pork sausages, duck, pork skin and white beans. It is served in an earthenware pot and also sold in cans and jars in supermarkets as well as tourist stores. We enjoyed our meal and our discussions about our favorite travel places, politics, and the future of the world given the advances in technology. 

The next day (Sunday) we toured the palace and walked the ramparts (outer walls) and later together with our Canadian friends did in a boat tour of the Canal du Midi outside the walled city.

Canal due Midi 

Monday it was much colder and windy. These winds are known as mistrals, and blow at 30-60 miles an hour, about 100 days of the year. It turned our palace tour into a ghost town of sorts and there were signs warning us to hold on to rails in the storms. John persisted walking both sides of the rampart walls. (these winds occurred again in Avignon when we were on the Avignon bridge)  We met again with Kathleen and George for a drink at the hotel and dinner afterwards having so much talk about that we were the last to leave the restaurant. One of the pleasures of any trip is the serendipity chance meeting of new friends who have as George would say have “interlocking circles”.   We hope to entice them to Vashon.

  

Avignon

The last day we drove to Avignon to tour our last Market (Les Halles) which unfortunately was closing just as we arrived.  Most stores close at noon or 1 pm and don’t open again until 3 pm. We walked from here through quaint streets to eventually see the famous medieval Benezet Bridge over the Rhone river, inspired by a shepherd’s religious vision.  Do you remember the 15^thcentury nursery rhyme? “on the bridge of Avignon, we will dance, we will dance, we will dance, on the bridge of Avignon, will dance all in a circle.”  Only four of the original 22 arches still have survived due to floods.  

From the bridge we could see the Gothic Palace of the Popes(home to 7 popes) where in 1309 the French Pope moved the Catholic Church from Italy. Sadly, we leave Avignon wishing we had spent the night here and return to the hotel at the Marseille airport in order to catch an early morning flight. 

 

There is still so much more to see in this area such as Aries with Van Gogh art, Orange with a well preserved Roman theatre and Aix en Provence.. and more. Then there is all the food we haven’t tasted yet.. such as meringue…oops John did find lemon meringue in our last lunch in Avignon, but then there are so many éclairs, tarts, macaroons, cheeses, tapenades and pates yet to try and of course plenty of Roman ruins and hill capped villages to discover. So friends would you like to move here with us for retirement?  Oh by the way I found pavlova with raspberries for evening dessert at our final airport hotel to cap off the trip! And of course, croissants for breakfast and a 2^ndchocolate one at the airport. Are your taste buds salivating?

Crepes with cheese and an egg 

Quiche

Croque Monsieur

cheese with salmon whipped cream! 

Escargots 

By the way,  did you know that Texas is 20% larger than France? And France has a population of 67 million? And Rick Steves says the French work 20% less than Americans but with greater per hour productivity (and consume on average a glass and a half of wine per day).  This is a beautiful area of the world with a pace of life that seems anything but rushed. There is  a real emphasis on the art of  food, well prepared, and of course fine wine. Bon Appetite!

Two Weeks en Provence Googlemapping

Two weeks en Provence….

googlemapping through small hill top villages with no set plans

September 25-26: La Ferme de la Huppe, Provence (Tues and Wed night)

La Ferme de la Huppenestled 

We reluctantly left Charembeau and drove 3-4 hours to another peaceful 18^thcentury farm house (built 1776) consisting of 10 rooms called La Ferme de la Huppenestled in the Luberon mountains nearby Gordes. 





We had lunch here and of course I had cheese 
and I’m not quite sure what John had but will include a picture of his artful meal. 




This place was very calm and meditative named after a bird living in the mulberry tree at the entrance to the restaurant. Our room called La Cambrawas spectacular with a claw foot tub and beautiful stone wall.  

After our late lunch we drove to the hilltop village of Gordes, known as a commune a few miles away with apopulation 2000. Its houses and building of white stone are carved out of the cliff of the mountain. 

Gordes

Main Square in Gordes on a slant

When we drove in at sunset I exclaimed at the beauty of the city looking magical in the sunset telling John it was one of the most beautiful scenes I had ever seen. He laughed saying we had seen many other amazing sites but I really meant it and that scene is now engraved in my memory as much as seeing the Buddhist Bhutan monastery peaking out of the mountains over 10 years ago.  My only regret is not getting that picture to share with others.  When 2 days later we returned to stay at the Bastide de Gordes hotel I was never quite able to capture the light on the village in the same way. 
I am sorry. 

Goult:The next day (Wednesday) using google as our guide we explored the small hilltop village of Goult, only to return on Thursday for their weekly morning market. Goult has also been restored with care with picturesque streets, amazing stone walls and views of the landscapes with cultivated terraces and vineyards surrounding this hillside village. 

Bought marzipan from this man in Goult 

While tempted to stop for cappuccino here we headed for Roussillon, another amazing surprise. 

Roussillon

This hilltop village is said to be one of the “must see” in the Luberon and we loved it. It is situated in the heart of the one of the biggest ochre deposits in the world and is famous for its red cliffs and ochre quarries. We took a hike into one of the quarries and I loved the contrasts in colors between the shades of orange, red, yellow and pink in contrast to the dark green pine trees. It was a photographers’ paradise and I could easily have spent the day here taking pictures. I would like to have been there at sunset to capture the light in this magical place. The streets lined with ochre colored walls are wonderful. 

  

our lunch spot 

September 27-28: La Bastide de Gordes Hotel, Gordes, Goult, Bonnieux and Minerbes (Thurs and Friday)

Thursday we moved out of La Ferme and went back to Goult for the morning market and a cappuccino. Next we went to Bonnieux, another hillside Luberon village (population 1800) and we climbed the 86 stone steps to the top to see the church. Here was a beautiful view of the villages of Gordes and Roussillon.

  The houses were more earth-toned colors compared to the red of Roussillon and dated back to the 17^thand 18^thcentury. The landscape included olive trees, lavender plants and grape vines.  Apparently this village once belonged to the Popes and several bishops chose to live here.  

Moving on from here we went to Menerbes, a walled village on a mountain top at the foothills of the French Alps, for lunch. (population 1100) While we didn’t run into Peter Mayle, we did find a wallet in the parking lot lost by a New York tourist. Based on his license picture and Nexus card we caroused the restaurants hoping to locate him. We would stop men who looked 60 years old, were bald, spoke English and asked them their name. Since that sleuth work was not productive and we seemed a bit strange, over lunch we worked the internet to determine this man’s New York email or phone number.  Eventually we found his work location and called his secretary to tell her we were giving his wallet to the local office.  Success! We also had a wonderful lunch outside on a terrace with another spectacular view.

Bastide de Gordes Hotel

Back to check into our new hotel in Gordes, the beautiful Bastide de Gordes,  in time for a drink on the balcony with yet another amazing view of Gordes as we had done the night before. 



I have to confess that the backdrop to Thursday was the stressful Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford interviews which we watched in their entirety. I found it distressing due to my own personal Me-Too childhood experience and needed to leave the hotel room to walk the town to calm down. I have enjoyed this break from what is going on in US. 

Lisle-sur-la-Sorgue

On Friday morning we met a couple who had been sitting next to us on the balcony the night before watching the view.  When we asked them where they were going they said they were driving to L’isle-sur-la-Sorguefor lunch as they had been there before and thought it was an amazing place.  Since they were Canadian from a nearby town where I grew up in Ontario, we struck up a conversation and decided we would change our plans to go there as well. This was a great decision. This island town is known for its antiques stores and markets, plus its waterwheels of the Sorgue river.  Canals run between the narrow streets and there are great mossy waterwheels turning in the river. 




While we didn’t do any antique hunting we did enjoy enjoy sauntering around this village and having lunch in a cute outdoor garden. 

John's pork dinner 

 











Afterwards we returned to Gordes where John biked to an abbey while I swam in the beautiful hotel pool with amazing views. 

Thinking there couldn't be anything more delightful to absorb or digest I learned John had made a reservation for dinner  in the hotel’s Michelin 1-star restaurant. The cuisine known for its chef Pierre Gagnaire was truly awesome. This chef is quoted as saying, “cuisine is art, love and technique.” Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera to this meal as I would have loved to illustrate the art design of the table settings as well the food. This was an incredible experience but I'm afraid won't turn me into a cook.