Next Chapter -Around Mazamet and Further Afield

Friday the 15th we drove to Toulouse, 1 1/2 hours away , to pick up our Sister -in-Law, Brenda. She will be spending the next two weeks with us in Mazamet, discovering more of the sites and we will be revisiting some that Robin and I think are worth seeing again. So glad she finally made it. The French air traffic controllers went on strike earlier this week for three days, causing Brenda to rebook her flight from Amsterdam to Toulouse. Fortunately Brenda had rebooked this leg prior to leaving Canada, so only one day delay in Amsterdam.

After welcoming Brenda to France, we drove into Toulouse for a quick visit. Lots of construction on the roads, as they are expanding their rapid transit system. There was an article in an airport magazine that stated that Toulouse was in crisis. In total opposite of what is happening in the rest of Europe, Toulouse is actually experiencing extreme growth and having trouble keeping up with housing and infrastructure. It has a population of 1.2 million in the metropolitan area and the population has grown at an average of close to 2% per year for the last ten years. The City is a centre of technology and the home of Airbus. They were just celebrating the success of the first Airbus A350 flight with banners in the main square. That flight affected Brenda's flight by about one hour. The city has the third largest University in France and this was very evident by the large numbers of young people in the City Centre. Also, one of Europe's largest cancer research hospitals is located here.

Brenda and Claire in Le Capitole square in Toulouse

We found Place du Capitole (the square at the centre of Toulouse) and wandered around some of the streets, through Place Wilson to Cathedral St.Etienne (yes, there are a lot of churches). Although we didn't get a chance to explore Toulouse as much as we would have wanted, still able to get a sense of the vibrancy of this City.

On Saturday, headed off once again to our local market. Just great to buy local food which is fresh and very reasonably priced. A quick coffee/tea break then off to visit Albi and Cordes sur Ciel. We did spend more time visiting the choir area of the Cathedral in Albi and amazed at the carved stone statues and beautiful woodwork. The whole Cathedral, walls and ceilings are painted. While having lunch in Albi a parade of vintage cars drove by. We have seen this several times on weekends while visiting various towns. Then off to Cordes sur Ciel, which is simply a delightful medieval village set on top of a steep hill. This town is now full of various artisans plying their wares in the old buildings. This fortified town was built in 1222 at the height of the war against the Cathars.

Robin, Claire and Brenda at Domaine de Bonnery

Treated ourselves to an absolutely wonderful meal at a restaurant situated on a farm about 10 kms. from Mazamet called Domaine de Bonnery. Great weather, sat in an outdoor dining room and experienced a wonderful meal. Only a choice of three entrees as they are a family run restaurant and they only serve fresh local food. Prior to receiving our main meal, we were served appetizers which included greek bruschetta, madagascar mussels, prosciutto with fresh melon and mushroom risotto. Then three of us chose lamb as our entree, then followed by desert. Thanks to a good friend, wine was paid for....thanks Patti. The farm also has an equestrian operation run by the owners' son and then to top things off their are peacocks roaming all over the property. Not sure why the peacocks are there, but they did provide entertainment as the various males were trying to impress the females.....Saturday night as Brenda says!

Brenda and Robin having lunch in Carcassone...yes we eat a lot!

A one hour hike/walk this morning, then off to Carcassonne. We had simply toured the outside of the castle on our last visit, so nice to revisit. The view of the citadel with its turrets and walls is quite something from a distance. The chateau itself is from the 12th century, however the City was settled as far back as the 6th century. We toured the castle which afforded us great views of the countryside. There are three kms. of walls, including 31 towers. From the walls of the castle, we could see the snow peaked Pyrenees. It is said that the castle was the setting for the children's book "Puss and Boots". The walled fortress and castle had fallen into disrepair and in 1835 a historian and architect, Viollet-Le-Duc set about to restore the town. He had restored Paris's Notre-Dame. Great weather in Carcassonne, about 31 degrees with strong warm winds, which they call the Cers. They also have a more humid wind which is called the Marin.

Set out early Monday morning for Marseilles. Although this has never been a must see for Robin and I, Brenda had asked us if we would consider going as she wanted to visit an uncle's gravesite. He was a tailgunner during the Second World War and was shot down while delivering supplies to the resistance. We agreed to make this 4 hour trip from Mazamet and made plans to stay overnight. I think in the back of our minds we think of Marseilles as a seedy port town and shades of the movie, "The French Connection" come to mind. What a lovely surprise to find a bustling lively city full of tourists. Marseilles is the second largest City in France, after Paris and has a population of 835,000 in the City itself and 1.6 million including the nearby urban area. It is said to be the oldest City in France and one of the most visited; several cruise boats in the harbour. I think this City has been a total surprise for us.

Notre Dame de a Gard, Marseilles and the port in the foreground

Driving in, we could see Notre Dame de la Garde, a church which towers on a hill above the City. On the top of the church steeple is a Madonna and Child which is 30 feet high and is covered in real gold leaf. Quite a striking site. The City is undergoing new road works, but we finally found our hotel, right on the port in the Canabiere area and checked in. We walked a bit around the port then to the west side of the port to Fort St.Jean and Fort St. Nicholas. It is said that the forts were built by Louis the XIV and that he had the forts built with the guns facing the City to keep the rebellious Marsellais under his thumb! These forts have been re-born and now house the National Museum of European Civilization and a Museum of Arts which was holding a film festival this week, so we didn't visit. The buildings in this port area are being refurbished and a few are quite modern, but they certainly complement the old. Walked across to the Cathedral de la Nouvelle Major. This cathedral is a basilica, but I can't find out why it is called major. There are only four major basilicas in the world, all of which are located in Rome. The cathedral is undergoing a cleaning of its exterior and unfortunately is closed on Mondays. As our time is very short here, we decided to do a bus tour, which lasted one and a half hours and took us to all the major sites of the City. The beach was packed, it was 375 degrees here....very hot but fortunately a breeze as we are by the ocean. By the way, I'm not complaining, just stating a fact!

A great dinner out at a seafood restaurant called La Daurade. We were entertained by a trio of musicians who made the evening enjoyable.

The next morning we headed off to find the Mazargues War Cemetery in Marseilles to find where Brenda's uncle, Francis Coady was buried. He was only 19 years of age, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force when he was shot down. When we found the cemetery the main gates were locked. This is a Commonwealth cemetery and is attached to a City of Marseilles cemetery, but separated by a high wall. We walked around the back to enter the local cemetery, but could not find any entry into the war cemetery, we even checked to see if we could climb the wall, but simply too high. We had noticed a grave stone maker's/ caretaker stall as we entered the gravesite, so we went back to look for help. A note indicated that he was out in the graveyard....this place is huge, how do we find him? Walked back into the cemetery to try to find him. We see a lady in a van in the cemetery, I ask her if she knows how to get into the war cemetery. Desole (sorry), she can't help us, but she tells us to check with the florist whose shop is just outside the cemetery. Go into the florist and we find two older sisters who own the shop. I ask them if they can help us....French of course.....conversation...

Claire: Mesdames , I hope you can help us. We are trying to get into the war cemetery, but all the gates are locked.

Mesdames : What, the doors are supposed to be open. Have you tried the caretaker?

C: yes, but the sign says he is in the graveyard, but we can't find him.

M: let us call the people who are in charge of the cemetery, why is the door locked ( door between the local and war cemetery). They try several phone numbers but can't find anyone to help. By the way, both sisters on two separate phones trying to reach someone.

M: let us try to call the caretaker...they get on the phone....talk to him. He is on a day off and having lunch with friends. If you want, he can come but can't get here till 2 p.m. (It is now around 11:30 a.m and 37 degrees outside). We contemplate.

C: We might try climbing over the wall, we saw a shorter wall on the west side.

M: We have a small step ladder, could you make it over the wall?

C: That would be helpful.

M: The other sister volunteers. I think you might need another ladder...once you get over the other side!

The three of us head off in the car with the small step ladders, as we need to get to the west wall. We put up one of the small step ladders and Brenda figures we can drop the other step ladder on the other side...quite a drop. We agree that Robin and I will stay on the other side. Brenda hikes herself over, hangs on to the stone wall, and finds the rung of the step ladder with her toes and climbs down...success. She takes out her map of the cemetery, which she got from the Canadian War Commissions, orients herself and finds her uncles grave. What a special moment as Robin and I watch from the ladder.

The Commonwealth War Cemetery in Marseilles

All of a sudden, we see the door that separates the two cemeteries open and a man walks through. He is looking around. We wave from the ladder and point to Brenda. He goes over ad he offers to take a picture of Brenda by her uncle's grave. He comes over to see Robin and I. I speak to him and we agree that he will take the step ladders back to florist and Brenda will go with him. We will meet them back at the florist.

We all congregate at the florist shop. The two sisters are so happy that we have been successful in our quest. The caretaker has taken the time away from a holiday and from eating a meal with friends to come and help us. They want us to write a letter to the head of the Marseilles cemeteries. They don't think it is right that relatives should come across the world to visit their loved ones and not get into the cemetery, after all they are the ones who have died to save France. What a wonderful yet unexpected adventure to find three French people who have been so helpful in our quest. I can't describe the feeling we had to come across these helpful souls.

Picture a little blurry, but Brenda with the two sister florist and the caretaker

We drive back to Mazamet, which took about 5 hours and are grateful for the safe drive, a whirlwind visit of Marseilles and the wondrous experience at the cemetery.