Blogs from Midi-Pyrénées, France, Europe - page 10

DONZAC What could be more blissful? This was our campsite last Sunday. A perfect place to reflect. A nice lake surrounded by a park with trimmed lawns, picnic tables and barbeques as well as illumination for motor homes. Alas we could not stay there as the town Fete was to be held that evening. The area was to be the launching pad for the fireworks display at midnight. The town did provide us with another park-like location with manicured lawns, illumination and flower gardens, but without the picnic tables and barbeques, and of course the lake was no longer in the picture. I returned the following morning to take these pictures. There might be more to be concerned about than fine from the Municipal Police for parking overnight in a restricted zone. We were warned. The ... read more

So, having woken up yesterday in possibly the worst of all ibis hotels, we were in no mood for a lie in so headed off to Lourdes for our own mini pilgrimage ( hoping for divine forgiveness for the great ant massacre of 2015!!!) Now, Lourdes. I'd been warned by the interweb that Lourdes was a tad on the chaotic touristy side but I was not prepared for this.....essentially it's a big version of Matlock with more churches and more touristsand, less chip shops and more tat. Lots more tat. Oh and religion everywhere. It's an utterly crazy place ( it did appear that all the visitors to the cathedral and it's surroundings thought they already had god on their side as we nearly removed a good half dozen who wandered aimlessly into the road) I ... read more

After a wonderful walk of the Fontvieille village we headed off to cross the Rhone River at Arles which at first we could not understand why people would wont to travel up and down this river in barges as it was so small but 1km down the road we found the correct Rhone River which soon clear that up for us. Our main stop today was a wonderful couple of hours walking around Carcassonne Medieval City this is a beautiful city with much history. Carcassonne City and Canal du Midi are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and welcomes several million visitors every year but still feels quaint and relaxing. This area was first settled 1000 years before the birth of Christ. The current location of the Medieval City was settled in 6 B.C, the ... read more

Today we experienced something we have never seen before and it is hard to accurately describe the emotions we felt during our visit to the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes where a simple peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, reported a vision of the Virgin Mary. Neither of us are Catholics but we were both deeply moved by what we saw and experienced during our three hour visit to the grotto and its environs. The day dawned clear and sunny again. It has been over 2 weeks since we last experienced any rain and we can hardly believe our good fortune as it makes sightseeing so much more enjoyable when one can keep dry. We did some administration during the morning.Washing, reading emails, paying bills by internet banking, all the things that one would do at ... read more

Our trip is nearing the end. Tomorrow we will drive to Toulouse and spend the night to be ready for an early morning flight back home. We have spent the past several days visiting more villages. Four days ago we visited Castelnau-M., a beautiful bastide town and had a great lunch at a cafe on the square. It is a very neat and tidy medieval village with all the shutters freshly painted. A lovely place. Three days ago we visited the beautiful town of Sarlat. We enjoyed a great lunch on the patio by the street in glorious sunshine, the weather was spectacular. We met a British couple sitting next to us who were looking for a gite to buy in the area (our version of a B&B without the second B). They own another gite ... read more