It seems that from a couple of comments on our Confolens post, we may have put some people off the town.

You can find a silver lining in every cloud if you look hard enough and Confolens has one every August.

At this very moment, Confolens is hosting its annual folk dance and music from world nations.

The poster from 2007 - I understand that the Festival is in its 5th decade.

Nations from all over the world participate.

More here - follow the link.

http://www.discover-poitou-charentes.com/what-to-do/confolens-festival.htm

Aahhh! Back in Paris

Our journey was coming to its conclusion. After flying out of Malpensa, Italy on Ryan Air, we would have two nights in Paris. We decided on the Bastille area for some reason. Not sure why but we did return close by the area in 2009 for one whole week in an apartment with a lovely leafy garden.
Our flight out of Malpensa was delayed by 30 minutes and then on arrival at the airport, our shuttle bus was late to the point that we were in stop/start peak hour traffic. It didn't matter! We were coming back to Paris and the magic of the city excited us as it would in our future trips since 2006. Coming and going, we've enjoyed Paris on eight occasions and it never ceases to seduce us.

Although tired, we did walk the streets in search of dinner and then an early night. I'd decided on an early morning run in search of the Paris Velodrome. I'd read of this particular Velodrome as being the venue for the finish of the Tour de France before the Champs-Elysees took on that role.


One of the few medieval buildings that Baron Hausmann didn't destroy.

On the map it seemed not a too daunting run but I didn't take into account my lack of athletic fitness. As I ran through the autumn streets of Paris, kicking the leaves aside to Vincennes I found myself zig-zagging my way and adding further kilometres to my journey. I finally reached my destination and imagined the great Eddy Merckx winning the TdF while I sat all alone on the grassy verge of the Velodrome. On subsequent visits, I had the opportunity to actually ride many laps here with my two friends Michel and Leigh. The run back home was horrendous. Blistered feet, being lost many times and again adding extra distance, I arrived back at the hotel almost two hours late. I was not well received, but we won't discuss that any further.


On first impression, Bastille was a frightening experience - there seemed to be no system to the traffic's movements. On later visits, I found that its a bit like a well conducted orchestra. I've even negotiated it on bike and now have a true understanding of how things work..

 

An unknown artist's painting of the Bastille.

One of the sites of Paris I just needed to see was the Crypte Du Paris - I'd read about it in our DK Eye Witness guide of France. Early history has always excited me. To be where humans established a city 2000 years ago it was too good to miss. The foundations of Paris is a must see experience and yet the many visitors to Paris that I've met have never been there.

From the Paris Pass website


Under the Parvis of Notre Dame where the tribe of the Parisii settled Ile de la Cite.

 The Crypte Archéologique de Notre-Dame is an atmospheric time capsule which explores the lives and artifacts of the tribes and civilizations that dwelt in Paris long ago. Here are located the telling remains of a house from Lutèce, the precursor to Paris. There are numerous Gallo-Roman artifacts, which provide a fascinating insight into the lives of the mighty Roman Empire and how they lived in Paris.
This fascinating attraction includes a splendidly recreated settlement of the Parisii, the Celtic tribe that first settled on the site of Paris 2000 years ago and from whom the city takes its name. It is a powerful reminder that the city of Paris has stood for thousands of years in the centre of a great cultural storm, and that countless people have fought and died to make Paris their home.

We also had our first visit to Place des Vosges, well mine really because Sue had been to Paris before and been there. What a relaxing leafy place to be on a sunny autumn afternoon in Paris. Today a square of peaceful tranquility, it's hard to imagine that pistol duels were held here and it eventually degenerated into slums before being renovated to it's former exclusive splendour.

Entering Place des Vosges

Although Victor Hugo lived at number 6, I knew that Jim Morrison of the Doors spent his last days here before being buried at Pierre Lachaise cemetery with Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt and other greats of entertainment, science and academia.



And once inside, the bustle of Paris subsides.

Our time of returning home was drawing near and we decided on one last extravagant meal on our last night. It was another Kir Royale for Sue before we both ordered our favorite, Confit de Canard with a bottle of Bordeaux naturally!!!
After dinner we caught up with one of our Bayside Bandido cycling mates who was living in a broom closet in Paris. It was so nice to meet with Marcus who now lives in Thailand. He's a bit of a nomad really and runs bike tours there.
It was a lovely way to finish our France/Italy experience before flying out for home the following morning.
Oh how we looked forward to the 30 hour trip back.

Marcus, Sue and I enjoy a bottle of red on our last night.

I'll leave you with this last typical Parisian scene - well to me anyway.

Our Wednesday travel blog doesn't end here - we have returned to France a further three times since 2006 and explored many parts of this enchanting country and met many wonderful people who will remain in our memories for ever - share them with us each Wednesday.

Wednesdays in France

Salon de Provence and Menton

Goodbye Saint Chinian

We left Saint Chinian at 10.30 am to hit the motorway but it was a little sad leaving Saint Chinian. It had been our home for the past week and I would recommend the villa for anyone staying in this region.

Little did we know at the time that we would return in less than two years time and say hello to Andreas and Anthony.

Although the motorway has a speed limit of 130 kph, we were continually passed by faster cars. We were even passed by a Fiat Panda going flat chat at its maximum speed – how embarrassing.

We actually left a day earlier as we thought we would need an overnight stay between Saint Chinian and Menton, close to the Italian border. Somewhere in the middle was Salon de Provence. It was a wise decision of Sue's as it added experiences that we would surely have missed.

Salon de Provence
Salon de Provence was just an overnight stay but on arrival, we became aware that there was more interest to the city than we would be able to appreciate in a short stay. As I was becoming more comfortable driving a car from where the passenger usually sits, Salon de Provence was a comfortable size to drive in and around. It was also a lovely city to walk, not too large or crowded - very relaxing.

Salon de Provence, our overnight stop between Saint Chinian and Menton - home to Nostradamus

On arrival it was time for lunch so after locating the Hotel du Midi, we strolled down the street to find an interesting wood fired pizza restaurant. The waitress spoke English and took delight in practicing on us. So delightful was the restaurant’s menu and the waitress that we returned for dinner – I had grilled duck breast and mushrooms, Sue had Rouget fillets.
Our waitress found it astounding that we could come from so far away (Australia) and take six weeks to travel. I must admit that we are fortunate in Australia with our work benefits. After 10 years working with my employer, I had accumulated eight weeks fully paid long service leave. I had also accumulated several weeks of holiday leave from my annual four weeks owing. Some years, I would just take two weeks so the accumulated leave just kept adding up.
Salon de Provence shares some of its history with Nostradamus. There was a museum dedicated to him but time did not allow us to visit.
Early the next morning we were back on the motorway to Menton on the French/Italian border.

Menton

Menton Beach, France.

 Menton was a place we wanted to visit overnight on our way to Italy for no other reason than our home suburb in Melbourne took its name from this city on the French/Italian border.

Mentone beach Australia,

painted by Charles Condor in the 1880s. Condor was one of Australia's impressionists whom along with others painted along Port Phillip Bay in the Mentone area before forming the Heidelberg School of Impressionists. Maybe I'll post a future blog on this piece of history soon.

When our suburb (probably then a beach side holiday village in the 1880s) was being subdivided, the developers gave the streets, names such as the Corso, Venice, Antibes, Naples and Florence, which gave it a real European feel. Looking along the sandy bay beaches of Mentone, you can see why the developer was influenced by its French cousin Menton.

From the Diary,
“It’s impossible to get town maps beforehand so you find yourself going round and round - mad traffic – high blood pressure and Leon in melt-down.”

As we drove into Menton from the motorway, we were enthralled by the winding roads that descended to the coast of the Mediterranean. Finding our hotel was the usual hit and miss procedure of the last two weeks. This first trip we didn’t have a GPS. Sue had printed out pages and pages of Mappy maps which are fine for the simple stuff. To find where your hotel is requires more detail instructions. Most of the time, without realising it, we were usually no more than metres from our destination and sometimes just opposite.

The first thing we did on finding our hotel was to order a bottle of Rose and two glasses and admire the coast line from our third floor balcony. Then it was time for a walk to discover Menton.

The highlight was stumbling upon the Anna Chromy exhibition in the gardens of the Musee des Beaux-Arts.
I’d not been aware of her work previously but was amazed with her talent and extraordinary visual concepts.
If you would like to look at more of her work follow this link http://www.annachromy.com/

Menton being just around the corner to Monte Carlo and the centre of the rich and famous, we found Menton not as friendly as the smaller cities and villages. Unlike our waitress in Salon de Provence, the few people we encountered in the tourist precincts were not anxious to exchange pleasantries. I guess it can be a chore putting up with endless non-French speaking tourists like ourselves.

Another hidden treasure of Menton - At the end of a leafy driveway I spied a Citroen DS.

We decided on buying some bits and pieces and a bottle of wine instead of going out for dinner. This we enjoyed on our balcony overlooking the Mediterranean on a full moon balmy night. Our entertainment was watching the passing promenade of cars and people along the esplanade.

The sun begins to set on our day at Menton - tomorrow we arrive in Italy.

As the sun sets, we raise our glasses and say goodnight to Menton,

and France for the next 2 weeks.

From Menton, our next overnight stop to Rome would be Viareggio, another seaside city set in the region of Tuscany.

A Long Day in the Languedoc

Wednesdays come around quickly and its off to another day's memories in the Languedoc. The photos on this post are of ruins we saw on our drive back to Saint Chinian. They absorbed my imagination as much as Carcassonne, but with no tourist in sight - that is except for us. I wish I knew the history behind these ruins.

The day started with overcast skies and a little drizzle – it only added to the texture of the village. We walked across to the Marche only to bump into our new found friends, Rob and Wendy. After purchasing the needed requirements we returned via the Marie to see if the library was open to access the Internet. No such luck, closed for one more day.

We decided to take a mid-morning drive into the mountains, the other side of Saint Chinian to Saint Pons. The road was wide and smooth, obviously built not too many years ago although one could imagine how nail-biting it would have been several decades ago. Along the way, there was a car pulled over to the side of the road. A local had decided it was time for lunch and was enjoying a baguette and a bottle of wine while his dog sat patiently waiting for any leftovers. His wife sat in the car.

We arrived in Saint Pons and walked across the car park to the Marche and casually started shopping when one of the staff ushered us to the door. We didn’t realise it was their two hour lunch break – nothing comes between the rural French and their lunch.

We returned to our villa to enjoy a baguette with a tasty pork terrine with cheese washed down with a beer.

After our lunch we were ready to explore more of the local area and took a drive to the west of Saint Chinian. The villages of Villespassans, Assignans and Cazedarnes deserved more time to discover on foot but you feel like you may be intruding on the resident’s privacy. These are villages without any commercial outlets but most have their churches and Marie. Most have lovely winding back lanes and seen from above have a snail shell layout. The back laneways are difficult to navigate, even a small car like the C3.

We reached a charming larger village called Cessenon-sur-Orb. Its central area had a few shops, bars and cafes opposite its picturesque church. We’d been without the Internet since Paris and we were keen to share our journey with friends and family. Sue had discovered that the best information on Internet cafes came from the local teenagers and so as a group of young boys and girls walked towards us, she asked them if there was Internet access in the village. Yes there was and the kids directed us back down the road to where we proceeded to send news home.

On the return to Saint Chinian from the corner of my eye, on the hill tops I thought I saw what looked like ruins. We turned up a small dirt road that meandered into the hills and there at the highest point was what centuries ago would have been a small community. The stone ruins took the shape of a small church, a castle and several other smaller buildings amongst the overgrowth of shrubs and blackberries. The buildings seem to have only small slits as windows. I assumed that it dated from medieval times and the it was built in this location for a commanding view of the valley below.

That night as we relaxed in our lounge room we heard English being spoken from the building across the street. Peering through our window we saw two middle aged ladies having a glass of wine on the balcony. We were invited to join them.

Lyn and Karen were from Canada and we exchanged viewings of each our villas. From the outside some of the villas look nothing but once entering the front door, some amazing decoration appears. Their villa was quite modern inside where ours retained much of the old world charm.

A long day was concluded with Wendy and Rob joining us for coffee.

Carcassonne - a very big day

We followed our new found Australian friends, Rob and Wendy on the road to Carcassonne, the medieval city perched above the Aude river. The road took us back out of Saint Chinian to Puisserguier and then Capestang where we passed over a hump back stone bridge crossing the Midi Canal. Below were both boats and barges moored while their occupants were probably lunching in the village.

Just a couple of Melbournites enjoying the South of France at Carcassonne.

On arriving at Carcassonne, the ramparts and towers of La Cite came into sight. An amazing image as it transforms you back into 12th century when it was at its zenith. On entering La Cite across the drawbridge and we passed the two walled ramparts. From this point one needs to erase the sight of the tourists and the tacky gift shops to fall back into medieval times to fully appreciate what befalls you.

We walked towards the entrance of La Cite, amazed at the sight before us.

Having now erased the many tourists from the scenes in front of me, I could now imagine the life of the locals, knights in armour and the many religious crusades that befell La Cite.

You walk across the drawbridge and see the empty moat that once protected La Cite.

To this day, restoration and maintenance continues - love the gargoyles.

In the background is the cathedral dedicated to St Nazaire and St Caise. Just behind the Cathedral is an open air consert area where only recently Bob Dylan performed.

Follow this link

http://franceprofonde.blogspot.com/2010/07/while-my-conscience-explodes-bob-dylan.html

I half expected Harry Potter to swoop by on that thingy he rides.

The two walls that once protected Carcassonne from the many enemies of the past.

On our return we crossed the Aude river and then the Midi Canal and stopped for a late lunch at the small town of Trebes. It’s amazing how wonderful the quality of the food was at a simple roadside café. We enjoyed a three course meal with wine cheese and coffee for 27 euro.
Sue explains;

It consisted of beignets aubergine with a cheesy choux pastry fried with a green salad. For the mains we had stuffed yellow capsicums with veal and rice in a tomato sauce. The waitress brought us lots of bread to soak up the sauce. Then came the plate of fromage consisting of chevre, Roquefort and Camembert. If that wasn’t enough, we were offered a choice of chocolate mousse or Crème brulee.

As we enjoyed our meal with Rob and Wendy, we started chatting with a French American couple with their small child. With the sun shining through the plane trees flanking the Midi Canal you could see the dappled light and shade from our café window. It was a superb moment.

Both Rob and Wendy have proven to be engaging company and very easy to get along with and we occasionally still catch up back home.

Another highlight for me (Leon of course) was the sight of a 1950s black Citroen Traction Avant parked on the side of the road in the village of Cruzy. No more than a little walk further on was an old garage with several locals enjoying their wine. Inside the garage were a few other unrestored classic cars and I enquired of who owned the Traction

Simon - what do you think of this superb example of a Traction Avant?

Avant in my non-existent French. I mentioned that I was from Australie and I to owned this model Citroen. “May I take a photo of your automobile?” The elderly gentleman smiled with approval. “Merci” I responded and I lined up the C3 with the Traction Avant for my photo shoot. I wish I could have spent more time with them over a glass of wine.

The chateau in Cruzy with the gate house

As we drove out of Cruzy on the road back to Saint Chinian a large and what looked deserted chateau loomed into view. We stopped at the driveway entrance to see a small gate house all covered in foliage and cobwebs.

I sometimes think that the hidden treasures that you stumble across bring as much, and sometimes more pleasure than those on the tourism pilgrimage. As much as Carcassonne amazed us, so did this deserted Chateau and gate house - and we were alone.

The chateau must have been grand in its day but today it had boarded up windows and what would have been a magnificent garden and circular driveway, was now full of weeds. The stable house had a couple of commercial vehicles parked in front so obviously the building was still used. Across the road was another complex of buildings but more recent and the surrounding terrain was vine covered. The Languedoc region is well known for its wine.

That night we enjoyed the local Rose with a light salad. Sue fell asleep on the couch with fond thoughts of the day’s experiences.

Relaxing in Saint Chinian

Where is Saint Chinian?

Saint Chinian is between Beziers and St Pons, on the way to Castres and Albi. We've travelled the surrounding roads on two trips to Saint Chinian and realise there's much more to see.

We took this photo from our Juliet balcony - looking down towards the market square.

We had a leisurely get-up morning before breakfast and then walked to the local market. We could hear the church bell ringing as it most probably has for several centuries on a Sunday morning. Sue was excited about actually shopping for the first time at a French village market and a little daunted by the fact that she may have difficulty with the language but also in knowing what some of the produce actually was. Something she would become much more used to in our future trips to France.

The market stall holders were friendly, happy and talkative. They made an effort to help us and even offered samples of their produce to try. I don’t imagine that Saint Chinian has a lot of tourists and that was kind of the attraction. We were mixing with the real French in our minds. It made us feel part of the village rather than strangers.

One stall holder whom had a good grasp of Franglais was enjoying a bottle of wine with his mates and offering kisses to the passing women. We chatted with for awhile before moving on to our next experience.
I was keen to get back in the car for some further experience and get over my previous disasters. We decided to drive back into Beziers to look for an internet café and send some news back home. The only internet access in Saint Chinian was the local library which was not open, being Sunday.

Beziers old pont spanning the Orb River

As we drove through Beziers we spied an internet café on the other side of the road but my instincts told me that a U-turn was not advisable, or in fact possible. So we drove on for a kilometre or two before reaching a roundabout and returning. This is a procedure that I’ve employed many times now. If you miss a turn or a parking spot, whatever, just wait for the next roundabout and return - no panic, no drama, no stress.
The medieval 14th century Cathedrale St Nazaire of Beziers sits on the highest point of the city and from below there is a wonderful scene of the old bridge (pont vieux) with the banks of the river rising with the cathedral perched at the top of the rocky outcrop.

On returning to Saint Chinian I was feeling more at ease with my driving and enjoying the Citroen C3. It seemed to be the perfect car for the small villages and it performed quite well on the open roads as well. The lease plan offered by Citroen Australia called “Drive Europe” works well and is competitive with hire car fees if you decide on a car for more than 17 days. The Citroen comes straight from the showroom, brand new and in your name with full comprehensive insurance and no extras to pay. Being Citroen owners we also received a 10% discount and on our future trips, we were given an additional 3 days as a loyalty bonus.

My very first lease car (not my last) was fantastic, once I became used to all the controls being on the opposite side - After 4000 kms and 5 weeks of driving, I fell in love with the C3.

Cloister at the Saint Chinian Church

Back on the balcony I enjoyed my favourite French beer, a Pelforth Brune. Sue on the other hand took a liking for Pelforth Blonde, although back home she hardly ever drinks beer.

Sitting on the balcony of the villa in the late afternoon sun became a pleasant ritual at the end of each day.

The weather however does changes during the days with some mornings starting with an overcast sky, but by noon the sun shines down into the valley, changing the colours of the terrain. Sometimes after a humid afternoon the grey skies return bringing on further colour changes. Our villa also changes colour with the various rushes of light.

Pastel colours of orange, purple and greens blend with the natural elements of stone, wood and rendering of the walls. Each hour of the day brings new experiences of our time in Saint Chinian.

Sue decides its time to relax and enjoy the ambience of our villa. Can't say I blame her.

A couple of Arty Farty fotos from the inside of the villa

http://www.le-guide.com/stchinian.html Tourism website on the area
http://www.le-guide.com/acanthus/index.html Our Villa website
acanthus@southfrance.com Anthony and Andreas email