En avant en France
("Onward to France")
After three marvellous days in Barcelona, we took the drive to France. As we drove through Catalunya we saw the Pyrénées hulking in the distance. This famed mountain range between France and Spain was impressive to say the least. As we began to drive higher Randy noticed a pass between two large mountains and said that he bet that this was the French boarder - since it seemed to be a natural boarder. It was in fact true- and we crossed the boarder with gendarmes waving at us and saying "Bonjour". The European Union has certainly become the United States of Europe. Hardly any boarder control and no passport control between EU countries and of course a common currency now. It was our first vacation since the introduction of the Euro. It was actually nice not to have to translate dollars into pesatas and francs, but we also felt a little sad seeing these old currencies gone with history. But here are some pictures of the Pyrénées and the boarder.
A view of the Pyrénées from the highway near the French - Spanish Boarder
The French - Spanish Boarder
Once we passed into France on the other side of the Pyrénées, there were changes. Not only the langauge spoken and the road signs, but the landscape and the weather. The weather was less humid and less hot and the landscape suddenly turned into rolling hills of vineyards. We were in the Languedoc-Roussillon.
A few hours later and we were in Castelnau d'Aude the village of about 300 people that would serve as our home base for the next week. We had rented a house in this town belonging to Christine Kent, a colleague and friend of Randy's, and we were enchanted by the town and the house. We arrived into Castelnau d'Aude on a Sunday, and if you have been to France you know that NOTHING is open on Sunday- RIEN! But we were fortunate to find that a local restaurant in neighboring town La Redorte was open. La Rivassell is a charming little bistro in La Redorte along the Canal du Midi. We saw Cassoulet on their menu (one of our favorite dishes and one which was "invented" in this region) so of course- that was what we had- along with Foie Gras and a special Cuvee Limitee red wine. It was at La Rivassell- that we met our first doggie pal- Sammy. Sammy belonged to the owners of the restaurant and hung out there and was the unoffitical greeter. The town of La Redorte would become a central place for us. There was a patisserie, a market and other stores there. Castelnau d'Aude had only one tiny store the Echoppe which was open sporidically and rarely- although the shopkeeper was a delightful woman.
Below are some pictures of Castelnau d' Aude, our "home" in the Languedoc Roussillon region as well as La Redorte.
A View from Castelnau d'Aude of the local vineyards
Two views of Castelnau d'Aude with its hallmark angelus bell tower presiding over the town. The town's angelus, along with the roosters served as our alarm clock.
The charming village house we rented in Castelnau d'Aude
To the left is a memorial for "Les Fils de Castelnau d'Aude" (The Sons of Castelnau d'Aude) who were killed in World War I. The toll from this war must have been amazing. Each little town has one of these memorials- and they all have at least 15 or 20 names on them- which for villages with only a few hundred people in 2003 must have been an amazing percentage of young men in 1918. Can you imagine what it must be like to have this kind of dessimation and then only 20 years later have WW II looming? We couldn't imagine- and it awed us about the toll of WW I. A war fought mainly on the fields of France.
The Mairie (City Hall) of La Redorte)
Above are three views from around Castelnau d'Aude.
To the left is a picture of another doggie pal- Oliver. Oliver liked to hang out with us each morning.
And to the right is a view of a nearby field where we saw a huge pheasant.
Click on the picture of the field (to the right) and join us for a wine tasting with local wine artisans Anne Marie and Roland Coustal and to tour some wonderful sites in the region.
