Mazamet

On May 31st, 2013, we left Nice after our month there, and drove to Mazamet, a 6 hour drive. The drive went by quickly as we were on an autoroute and I had downloaded an audio book on my IPad, that we played through the car radio. Most people will not have heard of this town, as it is not a tourist destination. We chose Mazamet for a few reasons. It is a working town, set in Les Montagnes Noir (hopefully hiking), in the Western part of France (an area we want to discover) and relatively close to Barcelona, which we will be visiting later in the month.

The Tarn

Mazamet is located in the Department of the Tarn along the River Thore and is one hour north of Carcassone, a fortified village which most people visit if they are in this area. In the late 1800's Mazamet was one of the largest tanning and textile centres. It happened quite by accident. The story goes that some imported sheepskins went mouldy and this made the wool fall off the hide after washing the wool in the local river...no need to shear the sheep.....wow, what a discovery! Another word for those of you who play "Words with Friends"......"fellmongery" - wool removal without shearing. They were able to process the wool and the hide after the animals had died. The bonus was that the sheep had already been butchered for meat, therefore they were able to save even more money. This brought prosperity to this area and there are several grand mansions dotting the hillsides. Today, there are still some tanning and textile factories. They also say that the water from the Arnette river is very soft and helps with the tanning of skins. We have been told that the leather manufactured in this area is used in high end purses....guess I won't be seeing any of that, since I only carry a small purse under duress!

Our Gite

Our gite is located on the property of the owner on the edge of the old town, walking distance. They think that this building used to be a summer cottage for a mansion at the end of the block; the gite faces south. Six sets of French doors that look onto the owners' garden. Very comfortable and well stocked. We even had a welcome basket of bread, homemade jam, butter, milk, cookies and oh yes, a bottle of wine. Had tea with the owners, who are an English couple who have moved here from Wales. They are both professors of art, but with cutbacks happening in the academic world, they decided to make the move. I had to laugh, a guidebook I read said that Mazamet is lacklustre. That may be the case, but we chose it due to its location near the mountains. Quiet and lacklustre is nice!

Vendor selling his local made wine...check the containers

Weather here is very cool and rainy, however supposed to get better on Sunday. The sun actually came out on Saturday afternoon! On our first full day in Mazamet, we went to the local market which takes place in the central square on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Only a two minute walk from our gite. Every type of food vendor, so no need to go to a grocery store...several Bouchers (butcher) , poissonerie (fishmongers), Boulanger (bakers) and other fruit and vegetable vendors. We will definitely be supporting the locals. One of the vendors was selling prepared meals such as paella, cassoulet (a local dish with porc and white beans), and various other dishes. The picture above shows a farmer selling his local wine (lots of vineyards a little south of this area). The containers look like plastic gas Jerry cans. People bring their own containers, mainly empty 2 litre pop bottles.

Then decided to drive to the town of Castres so I could buy a pair of longer slacks....summer definitely still not here in the mountains! When we arrived in town, we came across a huge screen set up in one of the local squares. We soon found out that the Castres rugby team is playing tonight against Toulon for the French championship in Paris. We were told by a waiter that the population of Castres was about forty thousand and that half had gone to Paris for the match. Very clear that this town is rugby crazy. The teams colours are blue and white. Most buildings had blue and white balloons, banners, team flags and even the City Hall was decorated in blue and white. All the mannequins in the shop windows were also dressed up in blue and white. We happened to walk by a chocolate shop that had chocolate in the shape of rugby balls and shoes. Also, the teams shop was so crowded, not another person could have fit in. Found out that Castres won in an upset for the first time in 20 yrs.

Chocolate rugby balls and cleats

Lunch at a small tea shop and the two couples next to us and the waiter were talking about the rugby game. I asked the gentleman next to me if the game was being televised and if so, at what time. Well, once again a wonderful half hour conversation with this couple, probably about our age. When they found out that we were renting a gite from an English couple, they told us they had a gite on their property in a small town nearby. The woman asked " Why would we rent from English people,they don't know anything about the country". She may be right, but certainly won't be sharing that with our current landlords! They gave us their business card for the next time we want to rent in France.

Visited the Goya Museum which was in a lovely old building, but the museum only had three Goya's, so not sure why it carries his name. Then drove to the small village of Brassac, which had a 12th century stone bridge. Wonderful rolling wooded countryside, with farms dotting the hills.

The 12th century bridge in Brassac

So, it's Saturday, we go out for dinner to the local pizzeria/brasserie. I speak French....owner....where are you from....Canada....omg....our new best friends are the owners of the restaurant, they spent 3 years living in Trois Rivieres in Quebec. They gave us a list of must visits, confirming the list with other patrons in the restaurant....love it when this happens! Walking home, all the pubs are showing the rugby match. Get home, no rugby match on Sky TV...yes Robin is upset, so he has to watch the French Open instead...o.k. smile back on his face.

Is it my red hair? As we were walking to dinner on Saturday night, we heard a car beeping it's horn...look around, they are behind us and waving. We stop, a woman runs out and asks us the location of a certain restaurant. I tell her we are tourists, but I just happen to know where this restaurant is, as we plan on going there later in the month. Being asked for directions is something that has happened to us on several occasions since being in France. Is it my hair colour (a lot of French woman do have red hair) or is it that we just blend in and don't look like tourist's. Interesting in either case.

Our first hike in the Mazamet area

Sunday, the 2nd, decided we need to find a hiking trail and we do. The trails are not what we would call hiking trails, but more like walks in the countryside including through farmers fields. Very reminiscent of some of the hikes we did in Ireland. Walked for close to two hours, then back to where we started to visit the 13th century Cathar village of Hautpour, perched on the hillside giving wonderful views of Mazamet. Made the most fabulous discovery of a wonderful little restaurant in this ancient village, so we decided to have lunch. As we were walking back to the car I commented how inexpensive lunch had been. Robin said, they must have forgotten the cost of the wine. I ran back and spoke to the waiter and the owner and indicated that we probably owed them more. They laughed and said "no, it was their gift to us". I told them we would be back. It is possible to walk to this ancient town from Mazamet, which we will do the next time.

Monday the 3rd we find another trail to hike in the Montagnes Noir, just about one km. from our gite. Finally some blue sky. Great two hours of hiking in different terrain from yesterday, hiking through chestnut tree forests. Then a drive to the small village of Saissac, a Cathar site. I am quite taken by the Cathar history. A recent book ( The Templar Legacy) was based on the Cathar's. A little history lesson..

The remains of a Cathar castle in Saissac

"The Cathar condemned the Roman Catholic Church, arguing that it did not respect the teachings of Christ. The "bons hommes" believed themselves to be the only true disciples of the Apostles. They practiced the art of extreme poverty and worked with their hands to earn a living, like weaving. They were strict about biblical laws, notably those about living in poverty, not telling lies, not killing and not swearing oaths. Cathars believed in reincarnation and refused to eat meat or other animal products. The Catholic Church looked upon the Cathar's as heretics".

The walls of the castle are crumbling due to the fact that a treasure seeking group bought the property in 1862 and dynamited parts of the castle, hoping to find a supposed Cathar treasure. Taken over by the French Historical society, the site is now protected.
The market on Tuesday's in Mazamet (also Saturday) has a few different vendors, along with more clothes vendors. We bought our fish, meat, cheese, bread and vegetables....set for the rest of the week. Then off to Albi, which is the largest City in the Tarn area and is about 60 kms. from Mazamet. The hallmark is Sainte Cecile cathedral which was built in the XIII century and is a Unesco World Heritage site. It is said to be the largest brick cathedral in the world. It is in the Gothic style, but also said to be a militant style of architecture, meant to underline the strength of the Catholic Church against the Cathar heresy, which I wrote about earlier. The interior is entirely painted and the organ, from the 18th century, is a masterpiece.

Sainte Cecile Cathedral, Albi

Albi is also the home of the Toulouse-Lautrec museum which we will see on another visit. When we have been hiking and driving through the countryside, we have noticed a bush with yellow flowers. We learnt today that it is called "pastel" and produces a blue dye. You can find all sorts of cloth products, cosmetics and pottery items which are blue in colour and referred to as "pastel". Albi flourished in the fifteenth century based on the trade of pastel and a type of saffron.