(#7) On the road, part deux
Having Problems Loading Photos so until it autocorrects the blogs will be words only, shitdog
Leaving our oasis we stopped into a church we passed along the way, got down on our knees, oh sorry the Mamas & Papas just popped in for a stay . Anyways the church is the beginning of the pilgrimage to the Camino de Santiago (French Version). Amazing church, basilica actually, about 1100 years old, and I can fall asleep anywhere. The photos really do not provide the intense feeling you get from the surroudings. We entered through a rear entrance, good thing, the front entry must have been a half Km in length and that was just what we saw from the top of the steps looking down. Then we found a waterfall, which we couldn't find on the way to Allegre, that turned out was to be about 5 Km away before we gave up our attempt to find it. Pave' did the walk to the view point using her walking sticks of the first time on this trip. Travelling further south it was difficult to determine if we were just following the same valley and just driving up and down many hills in the valley or actually moving from valley to valley. The vista was immense that I will just say "A pictures is worth a thousand words" just won't make it. Unfortunately a picture could not capture the breadth or the intense fluctuations of hues and shadows that our retinas absorbed and assimilated.
The church front entrance, and it goes Way Down
On the way to our first waterfall
a view from afar
Our next stop was different, do you remember the "Shining" with "REDRUM, REDRUM"? This place could have been a perfect stand in for the hotel. It was a dark and stormy night. No air conditioning and the French doors had to be fully secured . Suffice to say not the best nights sleep. We ate at the hotel restaurant and it was a bit like asking 'what have you got' being answered 'you name it we got it" asking for lamb answered with a No Lamb. I guess we had not named what they got. We both had Aligot, which looks like whipped potatoes but has the consistency of fondue cheese, and local sausage. Different taste and very heavy, possibly not the best meal for the night to come.
Our luxurious bathroom
The closet
The next morning we set out to find another 'waterfall' using our indispensable GPS, give me a paper map PLEASE, ( a separate blog on GPS to come). We found it and it was worth it although I am not certain of everyone's front yard we ended up in and hastily beat a retreat. One can imagine why people from Paris or other cities would come to the region for the air. After the waterfall we had another "picnic' sitting in the rear of the vehicle leisurely observing the competing atmospheric weather systems in the near and far far distance. Which was much more pleasant than the ground visual of a family, one by one, urinating or deficating on the near side of a hedge. Thankfully we had finished most of our lunch, at least the wine is delicious and relatively inexpensive. Headed home a different way, see GPS blog to come for more, we did actually arrive back at a our starting point. Makes one want do one of those 'Rocky runs' up the steps of the hotel and pump your arms in the air except we had to wait for the river running under our car to subside just a bit since the vehicle did not come with a life raft or floatation devices as standard equipment.
The second waterfall
View from the top of the waterfall
For dinner we thought let's do something really different and go to the British Hotel restaurant, oh how cheeky, open but only for their hotel guests, really glad we packed our bumbersshoots. Got another restaurant on Evette , our French GPS, showing very close to the tourist office. I know he were that is and off we go. Park and Pave' is about to get out when I feel, once again, uncomfortable about French logic try the same location on my phone GPS and see it is another 800 M away. actually find the place for which we were rewarded with one of the best meals in our journey. To boot there was 60s & 70's Motown with the waiter very happy to explain the way menu to us in English. Since it was such a lovely evening out, we had the place pretty much to ourselves and we FaceTimed with Samantha for a short bit without fear of disturbing anyone else.
The following day we started out to our last stop before meeting up with the rest of the 'Balcony People' (a group label from 2008). Great travels until we got about 2 Km from our destination and the reroute was about 10 km, have I mentioned my love of GPS, but not for me. Time for duelling GPS, phone vs car, so up down and around not ever in a straight line and finally we arrived. No signs, no people, no cars felt a bit like being in the middle of a spaghetti western main street at high noon but with paved roads. The hotel was very luxurious in comparison to the location. Why did I choose this spot, well it was due to the great reviews of the connected restaurant. At dinner we asked what was around, the response, 'we are like an island and people come to us' which they did in a constant stream even when we left at 10 at night.
Our balcony
The pool
A very short drive to Castlenaudry and an overnight before beginning our canal trip. What we did not know that it was the bean festival time and the entire centre of the town, our route don't you know, was chaos. Rerouted down one way streets the wrong way, blocked streets with stages or eating spots, having to turn around in the space equivalent to a driveway, I think that would be about a 30 point turn, multiple times it looked as if we were going to dive right through the front window of some store. At one point we just had to turn a corner go across a small bridge and voila, home free. Not a chance as a city van stops in front of us while the driver strikes up a conversation with a stage crew and refuses to move. He did give us fantastic directions on how to get lost once again. Another GPS war but we found home base, unloaded before I headed off to pick up the rest of the crew in Toulouse. Into town to experience the festival and 'Cassolette', listened to a couple of bands before going back a nodding off.
Just one of the diversions we encountered
Cassolette en masse
One of the stages fro the festival
Canal Du Midi experiences next.
Leaving our oasis we stopped into a church we passed along the way, got down on our knees, oh sorry the Mamas & Papas just popped in for a stay . Anyways the church is the beginning of the pilgrimage to the Camino de Santiago (French Version). Amazing church, basilica actually, about 1100 years old, and I can fall asleep anywhere. The photos really do not provide the intense feeling you get from the surroudings. We entered through a rear entrance, good thing, the front entry must have been a half Km in length and that was just what we saw from the top of the steps looking down. Then we found a waterfall, which we couldn't find on the way to Allegre, that turned out was to be about 5 Km away before we gave up our attempt to find it. Pave' did the walk to the view point using her walking sticks of the first time on this trip. Travelling further south it was difficult to determine if we were just following the same valley and just driving up and down many hills in the valley or actually moving from valley to valley. The vista was immense that I will just say "A pictures is worth a thousand words" just won't make it. Unfortunately a picture could not capture the breadth or the intense fluctuations of hues and shadows that our retinas absorbed and assimilated.
The church front entrance, and it goes Way Down
The next morning we set out to find another 'waterfall' using our indispensable GPS, give me a paper map PLEASE, ( a separate blog on GPS to come). We found it and it was worth it although I am not certain of everyone's front yard we ended up in and hastily beat a retreat. One can imagine why people from Paris or other cities would come to the region for the air. After the waterfall we had another "picnic' sitting in the rear of the vehicle leisurely observing the competing atmospheric weather systems in the near and far far distance. Which was much more pleasant than the ground visual of a family, one by one, urinating or deficating on the near side of a hedge. Thankfully we had finished most of our lunch, at least the wine is delicious and relatively inexpensive. Headed home a different way, see GPS blog to come for more, we did actually arrive back at a our starting point. Makes one want do one of those 'Rocky runs' up the steps of the hotel and pump your arms in the air except we had to wait for the river running under our car to subside just a bit since the vehicle did not come with a life raft or floatation devices as standard equipment.
For dinner we thought let's do something really different and go to the British Hotel restaurant, oh how cheeky, open but only for their hotel guests, really glad we packed our bumbersshoots. Got another restaurant on Evette , our French GPS, showing very close to the tourist office. I know he were that is and off we go. Park and Pave' is about to get out when I feel, once again, uncomfortable about French logic try the same location on my phone GPS and see it is another 800 M away. actually find the place for which we were rewarded with one of the best meals in our journey. To boot there was 60s & 70's Motown with the waiter very happy to explain the way menu to us in English. Since it was such a lovely evening out, we had the place pretty much to ourselves and we FaceTimed with Samantha for a short bit without fear of disturbing anyone else.
The following day we started out to our last stop before meeting up with the rest of the 'Balcony People' (a group label from 2008). Great travels until we got about 2 Km from our destination and the reroute was about 10 km, have I mentioned my love of GPS, but not for me. Time for duelling GPS, phone vs car, so up down and around not ever in a straight line and finally we arrived. No signs, no people, no cars felt a bit like being in the middle of a spaghetti western main street at high noon but with paved roads. The hotel was very luxurious in comparison to the location. Why did I choose this spot, well it was due to the great reviews of the connected restaurant. At dinner we asked what was around, the response, 'we are like an island and people come to us' which they did in a constant stream even when we left at 10 at night.
The pool
A very short drive to Castlenaudry and an overnight before beginning our canal trip. What we did not know that it was the bean festival time and the entire centre of the town, our route don't you know, was chaos. Rerouted down one way streets the wrong way, blocked streets with stages or eating spots, having to turn around in the space equivalent to a driveway, I think that would be about a 30 point turn, multiple times it looked as if we were going to dive right through the front window of some store. At one point we just had to turn a corner go across a small bridge and voila, home free. Not a chance as a city van stops in front of us while the driver strikes up a conversation with a stage crew and refuses to move. He did give us fantastic directions on how to get lost once again. Another GPS war but we found home base, unloaded before I headed off to pick up the rest of the crew in Toulouse. Into town to experience the festival and 'Cassolette', listened to a couple of bands before going back a nodding off.
Canal Du Midi experiences next.
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