More from Languedoc-Roussillon

We have been busy as we continue to explore Languedoc-Roussillon.  The people we’ve met here are fond of the place they have chosen to live and they describe it as “the REAL South of France.” Most people outside of France think first of Provence when they conjure up the South of France. Languedoc is less fashionable but more authentic than Provence, according to the locals, as well as Rick Steves.  Once we’ve had a chance to do our own comparison, we’ll decide if we agree.  But I will say that we’ve been so impressed with the friendliness and hospitality of those we have met.

Our explorations in the last week or so included a 2 hour drive northwest to Albi, located on the river Tarn.  It is a lively city where most of the structures are built of brick, rather than the stone we have seen so often.  The cathedral, which looks rather like a fortress, is the largest brick church in the world(!) and has a remarkable interior that is best appreciated through the use of an audioguide. Next door, in what was once the bishop’s residence, is the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec that contains the world’s largest collection of works by the artist – from his early paintings of horses to the more familiar posters of Parisian chorus girls. It took us a few hours to see it all.

Between the museum and cathedral is a lovely formal garden and a beautiful view over the river.

Our host, Harry, has taken us on several drives through the countryside to places we appreciate so much more because he is with us. He is an excellent driver on these narrow twisty roads.  Rick, too, has become quite skilled at negotiating the roads (despite occasional gasps and squeals from his terrified wife in the passenger seat).
One of our recent forays into the countryside with Harry took us to Rennes-le-Chateau where, some say, there is treasure – and maybe even the Holy Grail – hidden.  This place consists of a church and residence where a legendary priest named Bérenger Saunièr lived.  He and the legend figured in Dan Brown’s book, The DaVinci Code.

The drive to Rennes was beautiful, with some spectacular views (those windy roads get you to some high places!).

On our way back from Rennes, we stopped in Termes, another of these small, beautiful villages that seem to be everywhere.  In this one, there was water flowing through channels on the roadside, apparently from a mountain spring.

One interesting note related to all this driving up and down mountains…  My tendency to get carsick (and need to premeditate with Dramamine) seems to be gone!! I’ve even been riding in the back seat (when Harry was driving) and haven’t had a problem.  Now, that would be a great condition to ‘grow out of,’ wouldn’t it?

On November 11, Veteran’s Day, it seemed that every village we drove through was gathered at the local war memorial to honor the citizens of that village who had ‘mort pour France.’ In one village, they were flying not only the French flag, but the British and American flags, too.

On many monuments, the names of the fallen soldiers are carved, and there is often a Sabatier among them…

We experienced the first problem with our car this week – a flat tire! Fortunately we discovered it just as we were leaving our Chambre d’Hôte (Bed & Breakfast) for a day’s excursion.  Rick and Harry changed the tire in the driveway while I called the Peugeot emergency assistance number.  They instructed us to take the car (and the bad tire) to the closest Peugeot dealer, which happened to be about 10 miles away.  There we were given an estimate to replace the unrepairable tire and Peugeot paid the whole tab!

As you would expect, we are drinking and enjoying the local wines.  Two are worth noting. Blanquette de Limoux is a sparkling wine made around the city of Limoux.  The story we were told was that Dom Perignon was  a monk an abbey near there and noted the methods they were using to produce this wine.  And, the locals say, he stole the idea and carried it with him when he moved to Champagne.  The wine is very good…with more fruit than many sparkling wines, but not quite a Champagne, in our opinion.

The other wine is a red blend – Messaline Rouge – that we enjoyed for its taste AND for its racy label!  Apparently, the winemaker was forbidden from exporting it to the US unless he agreed to make a different label (aren’t we such prudes…)

I’ll end here with two beautiful pictures – of the recent full moon and a sunset the next day. Ahhhhhhh…..