A few weeks ago I wrote about our trip along a portion of the Canal du Midi. One of the highlights, and the reason for this particular segment of the trip, was a stop to the city of Carcassonne. Carcassonne is divided into the "new" town and "Le Cite Medievale", the historical UNESCO site. After an evening's stroll along the pedestrian-only newer part of town we prepared ourselves for the visit the next morning.
Originally we thought we'd walk up to the fortified "Cite", but after considering traffic, weather (warm temperatures) and the long steep incline, we opted for the city bus for 2 euros round trip. The bus meandered through several streets and began its climb, curving around narrow lanes as we held our breath passing cars, trucks and vans - on two-way streets! That part of the adventure over, we arrived to "Le Cite"....amazing with breathtaking views. We walked and walked, stared into storefronts full of delectable sweets, perused menus, admired hand made items and marveled at it all as we walked the cobbled streets. The ramparts protect the village within and then there is the castle. The village has plenty of shops, a hotel or two and no shortage of places to eat. We found a cute little place to eat with a hidden garden tucked behind a stone wall entrance and enjoyed the menu of the day. During the earlier part of the day, we opted to take a tour of the castle and took as many pictures as I could to share. The tour of the castle is not for everyone, it seemed as if the entire tour was up another set of steps - and not just little steps - steps with huge risers. Not sure how the people of the Middle Ages (who were shorter than today's average) could climb those stairs, in full armor and/or carrying weapons! But it was all worth it - the tour was well worth every step!
Should you ever find yourself in SW France, whether visiting by cruise ship, river boat or self-drive boating vacation, Carcassonne should be on your "must see" list. There is a tremendous amount of history there - not just of military fortifications, but of religious persecution. (Several years ago I read a really good book about the massacre at Beziers (near Carcassonne) and the Crusade against the Cathars - The Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. The story line is terrific and goes between 1209 and 2005!)
Well, enjoy the visit to Carcassonne via my video of photos!
On my long list of things to do, was a self drive boating holiday along the Canal du Midi in France.
We talked with our friends about doing this trip for years while we were both living in France. Fast forward a few years later and one moves to Florida and another to Spain and we finally meet up and make the commitment to book the trip! So glad we did!!
The Canal du Midi ambles from the Atlantic Ocean through SW France to the area just west of Marseille. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, the ride peaceful and the stops along the way fascinating. We travelled mid-September from Castelnaudary to Trebes on a 7 day journey. LeBoat was the boat hire company we used; there were plenty of itineraries to choose from as well as various boat sizes with different cabin configurations. (Hint: take one with a bow-thruster!) We had a 4 cabin, 3 bath boat for 2 couples; there was a last minute "upgrade" since the 3 cabin/3 bath boat we had reserved was not available. The "upgrade" worked out very nicely with plenty of space. LeBoat does a fine job at reception giving you plenty of information, guidance and a mechanic who goes over the boat's details as well as a quick spin about to get the feel of the boat. Now the adventure begins.....
There are locks on the Canal du Midi....the elevation from the Atlantic down to the Mediterranean Sea drops; not wanting to "surf"our way down, there are a series of locks along the canal. We needed two people to handle the lines on our boat, not counting the Captain or our navigator! Each of the 4 had a job and the navigator was responsible to tell the captain when the next lock was approaching. There really is no navigating as you are either traveling up or down the canal - but it was nice to have a navigator read the charts!
The first night we anchored out and had no power hookup...we ate by candlelight, under the stars, along a tree lined path and relaxed that we had made out way through our first lock - which was a triple lock!! It was like a set of stairs as the water level was lowered at the first lock, then we glided into the second lock, water level lowered again and then slipping into the third lock for another water level drop before finally reaching the canal for a slow cruise to anchorage.
The trip was far, far better than expected, the scenery breathtaking and the stops along the way were amazing. We had a great time with our friends; plenty of laughter, good fun and lots of French wine at the end of each day.
The second stop of our adventure was to Bram; according to our navigator it had water and electrical hookup. Yeah! What a delightful surprise! The docking was easy & affordable but the star of the stop was the waterfront restaurant "L'Ile aux Oiseaux" - the food was incredible! The stop was so nice we stayed 2 nights and found our way into town for the weekly market. It was a real treat, a nice reminder of the markets we frequented while living in France....and our French was okay....at least the vendors understood our orders for macarons, cheese and bread!
We departed in the early hours of the day to reach Carcassonne by mid afternoon. So much history in Carcassonne and we wanted to be sure to visit the old medieval city rested and ready to walk.
The municipal marina provided us with water, electric and location right in the middle of the "new" town. First evening we walked the "new" town, found a nice place to eat and walked a bit more before heading back to the boat for a bottle of wine topside. (This is a recurring event....)
I'll write about Carcassonne medieval city in another post.
We ended our trip in Trebes and once again LeBoat was fantastic at reception to finalize the return of the boat to them. We stayed on board for one night there and enjoyed a great evening meal of tapas at a delightful bistro "Les Vignes de Bacchus"; it was a wonderful way to finish what was a great, great trip along the Canal du Midi.
AuRevior, Adios....and enjoy the short but delightful video! PS - Aside from France, there are other countries where LeBoat (Leboat.com)offers boating holidays.
