This week has been
busy, very windy and very hot. Quite a tiring time in fact. On Monday Andre and
Leigh left in the early hours of the morning to catch a train from Narbonne to
Nice where they were going to watch the Team Time Trials which form part of the
Tour de France. The rest of us got up somewhat later and walked into town for a
fresh baguette for our lunch. After lunch we went off to visit the ruins of another
Cathar Castle, that of Peyrepetuse. Perched on the top of a hill as they always
are, we were able to drive about three-quarters of the way up to the parking
area after which there was a constant uphill walk, first to the ticket office
and then to the actual entrance to the castle. I am really cross because I seem
to have ‘lost’ one of my photographs which showed the path that we had to
follow but perhaps it serves me right! I was so chuffed with myself for having
managed it that it was definitely a case of ‘pride going before a fall’. The
path was probably about 500 meters long but uphill all the way and very rough
with large rocks in places, smaller stones and gravel in others and enormous
steps which for me were almost knee high. It was also an extremely hot day,
although part of the path was certainly in the shade. Once in the castle, we
were again amazed at how well preserved it was, being almost 1000 years old.
Obviously wooden roofs and floors have gone but the stonework is still good and
it is wonderful to see how well shaped the stones were that were used to build
the structure. The views from up there were spectacular. A bonus was a falconry
display which we had not been aware of. I don’t think I have ever been so close
to huge birds of prey. In fact one flew so close to us that it’s wing brushed
my hair and Courtneys, making her squeak with alarm. After getting back to the
house, the girls pleaded with us to go
for a swim so we took them down to the ‘swimming hole’ in the river where they
could cool off. Not content with that amount of exercise, we walked up to the
church on the hill above us and watched the hundreds of swallows swirling
around in the sky.
The next day I was so stiff that I could barely walk and
getting around the split level house was a real mission. We drove to Tuchan,
the nearest town which is a little bigger than Paziols to arrange a birthday lunch
for the younger of the two grandchildren who was to turn twelve on Thursday.
There wasn’t much choice but we found a little place which she approved of,
made our booking and then drove on to Campagne-sur-Aude about sixty kilometres away.
A spectacular road of mountain passes. Our destination was a specific winery
which makes champagne, although not being in the Champagne area, they may not
use that name, but call their product Blanquette or Cremade. We ended up buying
six bottles of delicious Cremade for approximately R60 each. Not bad for French
champagne – even if they don’t call it by that name!
By Wednesday the grandparents were completely pooped so we
suggested a fairly quiet day which seemed to meet with approval. I had found a
cake mix in a bag which required no extra ingredients, to bake for Cassy’s
birthday and, although it was quite small it turned out well and was tasty.
Obviously not worn out enough, we walked down to the village and then took a
different route back up again which brought us out above the house and the
church. There we saw a sign pointing to a ‘Table d’Orientation’ or toposcope.
So on we went and found a beautiful picture of the surrounding area all done in
ceramic tiles. As ever, well worth the effort of getting there. Andre and Leigh
arrived back as we were having a late-ish supper, full of their adventures in
Nice and all they had seen.
No one slept terribly well that night as the wind howled
violently and whistled around the corners rattling all the doors and windows. Then
of course, the birthday girl had us all wake at seven in the morning so that
she could open her presents. Sadly, Andre and Leigh had had some bad news on
Wednesday which they did not tell us until Thursday morning. Their house in CapeTown had been broken into and some items stolen, so most of the morning
was taken up with calls to friends, police, insurance and so on. I am sure they
were extremely concerned, but they didn’t let it spoil the celebrations of the
day and we all enjoyed a fairly leisurely lunch at the restaurant of Cassy’s
choice. We had considered going to the third Cathar castle that day but it was
just so hot that we decided to go to Tautavel instead which is where the
remains of the oldest man (Homo Erectus) were found and estimated to be about
450,000 years old. It was good choice as the museum was full of inter-active
electronic exhibits and the girls had fun there. When we got back, Andre took
the girls off for a swim while Leigh and I decorated the cake and set the table
with all sorts of goodies ready for their return.
Then it was time to leave Paziols so we were up early to
give ourselves time to get as much of the bedding through the washing machine
as possible Another very hot day promised and was later proved to be correct.
We chose a slightly southerly route home to cover new territory but parted
company after a while as the family went off to Carcassonne and we came on
home. It was a most unpleasant trip as our little car has a very adequate
heater but no cooling apart from the air coming in. However, when the air
coming in is at 30 degrees it doesn’t cool off at all. The road seemed very
long and we finally got home at about 4pm followed by the family who came in at
7.30 pm. Everyone was exhausted.
On Saturday after the family had been into Eauze to do a bit
of last minute shopping, we took a picnic lunch to Aignan lake where it was
marginally cooler. A canopy trail has been set up in the trees around the lake
and the girls and Leigh had a whale of a time going around this high level
obstacle course. Participants are shackled on to the various high cables etc
and wear a harness which will prevent them from falling but there was still
much squeaking and squealing from all parts of the forest. At one stage the
instructor came around to see how they were getting on and was amazed to see
them on a particular course. ‘But zis is zee ‘ardest one’ he said with great admiration.
The afternoon finished with a zip-line ride across the lake which was a
highlight for everyone.
To end the week, we returned to the lake for another picnic,
this time with cousin Nicky. It wasn’t too crowded with people and with the
temperature hovering around 32 degrees, the setting by the water was the perfect
place to be. The girls were really tired after their activities of the previous
day and were content to just loll about and rest. On the way home they were trying
very hard to persuade their parents to move to France! What a vey good idea!
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