On the way down to Meze we decided to visit Saint Cirq Lapopie. This Medieval village is perched on a cliff 330 feet above the river and was the main town of one of four viscountcies that made up Quercy. The Lapopie fortress was made up of a number of towers and castles overlooking the village. We stayed in a chateau here and the view from our room was fabulous- see top photo! Breakfast on the courtyard of the Chateau was to die for, and once again Carol's French made her the centre of attention -"An Australian who speaks French??" One night only and then it was off to Meze.
We had decided to visit Meze because Carol had stayed there when she was touring the world back in the 1970's. And we actually saw the flat she rented there (picture top left). It is a delightful little fishing town and we stayed in a great hotel (2 Star) with a corner room and a balcony.Had a great feast of sardines on our first night there with a pichet of wine all of which was very reasonably priced.
We spent a day driving around the large lagoon to Sete a true Mediterranean harbour with canals running through the city.Had a good cheap lunch there beside a canal and goggled at the canal traffic. Lovely old streets in the old town part and interesting wandering through them. We drove back along the coastline - miles and miles of sandy beach with hardly a parking spot to be had. While it was quite warm there was no temptation to strip off and go for a swim!
Back in Meze we bought a bottle of Rose and some cheese and biscuits and sat on our balcony with not a care in the world. Lovely spot.
The next day we drove a few miles alonog the lagoon to another small village, where we foudn the Maritime museum closed for the usual French lunch hour 12 -2.30. So that idea was abandoned and instead we indulged ourselves in a lovely open air restaraunt and gorged ourselves on seafood -plus a bottle of wine of course. Then we walked along the jetty and saw a ferry pull in. We enquired about it's routes and were told that they were picking up a party of school kids to take them out to the oyster beds and tell them about oyster farming. "Can we go along as well?" Oui monsieur, mais certainement"
It was most interesting because the ankle biters were well behaved and had question and answer sessions with the prize of being allowed to steer the ferry. Great fuun and very educational. The oyster tables are enormous and provide a considerable percentage of French oysters. I only eat Sydney rock oysters.
.The last day was spent visiting the Noilly Prat factory. This is the only place where the product is made in the world, and the extensive production has developed into a fully automated plant - so much so that the 100 employees who once worked to produce this unique product are now reduced to just 10 key people. Enjoyed a tasting of the products as part of the guided tour!
En route to Nimes we came across a medieval walled village called Aigues Mortes. This was absolutely stunning. The photo above gives some idea of the extent of the fortification and it was once an access to the Mediterranean and an important port for French defence against invaders. The village is quaint (and thoroughly tourist orientated) But a visit to the Round Tower and the terrific views from the top were well worth while. The name apparently translates as Dead Sea as the Med is no longer within navigable reach after silting up and erosion took place. And so it was on to Nimes.
This we found on Ascension Day - a public holiday. So the traffic was reasonably quiet and, joy of joy,there were nice clear signs for all the various hotels. Again our two star hotel The Kyriad, was excellent. Nimes is famoua for it's Roman history, and has the best preserved amphitheatre in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment