Around Mazamet

Well, we have finally got some great sunny skies in Mazamet, the locals are ecstatic. On Wednesday the 5th, we headed out for a hike on the highest mountain around here, Pic de Noire at 1,211 metres (3,970 ft.). This area has had a lot of log cutting/clearing over the years; but replanting is taking place. The trails up here are not as well marked as previous trails, but didn't stop us; just great to be out hiking. Then drove to the top of the mountain and had our lunch. We could see the Pyrenees in the distance, which still had some snow. Stopped at a small roadside inn for a dessert after our walk, not sure if we walked sufficient to warrant the dessert, but what the heck, wanted to check out this place for dinner later in the month.

View from Pic de Noire

A hike from the back gate of our gite up to Hautpoul on Thursday. The first part of the trail is an old Roman Road made of stones and logs. Due to the amount of rain in this area in the last week, lots of water running down the trail so quite slippery, also very steep. A total of about 2 1/2 hours with a stop in the medieval village to visit a young apprentice practising the art of "marqueterie" - inlaid work of variously coloured woods or other materials. The owner of the shop, a Monsieur Robert Hautpoul, was not in the shop. When asking the young apprentice about the various woods that he was working with, he mentioned one was from "Guyane"....as most of you know, Robin is from British Guyana, so we mentioned this. Well he goes on to tell us that the Patron (owner) spent thirty years logging in French Guyana...yikes, what a small world. We will definitely go back in the weekend to meet the owner.

Marqueterie

Drove to Revel , a Bastide, which is a medieval town built from scratch in the 14th century. A typical Bastide consists of a grid of perpendicular streets converging on a central town square, lined with arched galleries. The town also has beautiful corbelled houses, which are typical in medieval villages. in the Middle Ages housing tax was based on ground floor surface area and on the number of windows. As most homeowners wanted more floor space without having to pay extra taxes, they exploited the loophole in the tax system by projecting their first and second floors over the ground floor, creating an overhang effect. Revel is also the centre of marqueterie and the start of the Canal du Midi. We visited the marqueterie museum which was very informative and had beautiful works of art.

The centre of Revel

Then a drive just out of town to Lac de Saint-Ferreol, which is the principal reservoir of the Canal du Midi and is a Unesco World Heritage site. The lake was built in the 17th century by Pierre-Paul Riquet, the genius behind the Canal. The canal runs for 240 kms. from the River Garonne at Toulouse to the Mediterranean at Agde or Sete. Riquet was a minor nobleman and the holder of the lucrative salt-tax concession for Languedoc. He influenced King Louis XIV that this was a good idea and the project started in1667, took 14 years to build using tens of thousands of workers. The biggest problem was how to feed the canal when the Meditterenean is obviously at sea level, the Garonne at 132 metres (433 feet) and in the middle the Col de Naurouze at 201 metres (659 feet). Riquet's solution was to build a system of dams and reservoirs.

I have to make a correction in facts to a previous post concerning "pastel". We visited an artisan in Revel who specializes in the art of pastel. I was led to believe that the colour of the dye came from the yellow flower....wrong, it comes from the leaf. It takes 1 ton of leaves to produce 2 pounds of dye. The art dates back to the 13th century and the blue colours are absolutely beautiful. The seeds of the flowers are used in perfumes, face and hand creams.

On Friday the 7th off for a 1 1/2 hour hike in the area of our gite. We are fortunate to have these at our doorstep. Then off for lunch to the town of Castelnaudry. I previously mentioned that cassoulet is a dish of the region, well Castelnaudry is the birthplace of cassoulet, so what better place to try it. So much history in France even around this humble dish. It is said that when Black Prince Edward besieged the town during the 100 year war, the defenders gathered the last of their provisions, which amounted to some beans and scraps of meat. Not only did they manage to concoct a culinary delight under extreme duress , the dish fortified their efforts against the English. It is said that the English fled as they did not have the strength considering their diet was only watery baked beans! Today the cassoulet is still basically the same...white beans, garlic with bits of pork and sausage.

Actually, the biggest draw of Castelnaudry is not the cassoulet; it is the section of the Canal du Midi that runs through the town as there is a large basin in the canal. Funny enough one of the boat charter companies that runs out of here is "Le Boat", the company we have used on two separate occasions in other canals. Nice walk along the canals to walk off our cassoulet!

Plane trees along a countryside road

One remarkable thing about the canals in the south, are the plane trees that usually line each bank. They provide shade as well as stability to the banks of the canals. These plane trees are also seen all along the country roads. Unfortunately for the last ten years, the trees have been attacked by a fungal infection and are dying and there is a program underway to cut down these beautiful trees in the hope that the fungal infection can be stopped. Sounds reminiscent of our pine beetle problem in Canada. These types of diseases really change a landscape.

A few observations regarding small towns in France.
In most small villages you will find numerous pharmacies, banks, insurance companies, hairdressers and parfumeries. You might say, yeah, so what. Well it is simply the number of them, just not something you would see in North America.
Lots of cyclists in this area, some much older gentleman as well. It is odd however to see any women cyclists. Lots of marked routes for cyclists and they are well respected by vehicles.
A nice custom we have noticed is when locals enter a restaurant/bar, they look around and say "bonjour/bonsoir" to all the patrons.

Sometimes I wonder if it's just my quirky sense of looking at things. Recently at a restaurant, I was sitting opposite the main door and couldn't help but notice the various stickers on the windows and door. For example "rated in Michelin in 2009"......o.k. what has happened since then.....has the restaurant not achieved a rating since then? Has it gone downhill? Should I be eating here? If you were the owner, wouldn't you remove the sticker not to cause questions from people like me? Just thought I would share my inner thoughts!

Dove Côte

In the countryside, we have noticed ancient dove cotes. They are quite elaborate and have been constructed in farmers fields since the Middle Ages. They housed the pigeons which provided food and fertilizer, which helped the rural economy.

O.K. Saturday night and just got back from dinner, another great meal. However this time drove 15 kms. into the countryside on a very windy mountainous road. Had just skyped our daughter Chris, son in law Gav and the girls before leaving for dinner and told them we would only have a 1/2 pichet of wine for dinner considering the roads.....good call as there was a serious thunder storm and lots of rain. Don't think the French are capable of a bad meal....definitely a diet upon our return. Fois gras as an appetizer...yum! Poor ducks and geese. I know there is a lot of controversy about fois gras, but it is a specialty of France. They are the largest producer in the world by far and last year made over 18 tonnes. I won't detail the process!

Lastours Cathar ruins

More rain on Sunday, so decided to take a drive to Lastours, a site of Cathar ruins. Will say these ruins were more impressive than those we had seen in Saissac, and the setting here is much more dramatic with wonderful tall cedars throughout the site.

Back to our gite to await the arrival of Robin's sister, Suzanne and her husband Colin. They arrived from Barcelona after spending five days there with Billie and Terry (Robin's brother). Our first day in the rain, we headed to Carcassonne, and walked around the old town. Both Suzanne and Colin have visited the City before, so we did not enter the castle itself. Robin and I will be returning here later in the month. Then drove through the countryside to the town of Limoux. This town is known for "blanquette", a sparkling white wine. The town itself has nothing of interest, so just had lunch in a restaurant in the town square.