The next morning, we were up and off to explore the old medieval walled city. As you approach the old city, it looks like a fairy tale. The walled city sits on a hill above the river. The wall is punctuated by pointy topped turrets. Although there were a ton of tourists and the city is rather touristy (all the shops and restaurants are only for tourists), we enjoyed our self guided tour that took the entire day. We hiked along the wall, visited the castle, and wandered the streets. The fortress was started during the roman times and subsequently added on to and reinforced throughout time. A number of the towers on the wall are from the original roman construction.
The next day, we moved on without a plan. We visited the castles of Lastours. These were a group of four castles built in the 11th century and were occupied by supporters of the Cathars (a variant of Christianity that opposed the Roman Catholic church and accused it of corruption of the faith). Pope Innocent III (appears to not be so Innocent) decided to deal with the group by instigating the Albigensian Crusade. For 20 years from 1209 until about 1230, the crusade marched on and the Cathars were exterminated. The opening assault of the crusade was the massacre of the town of Beziers and 20,000 people within the town walls seeking shelter. Then things got nasty. The castles of Lastours held out for two years until they surrendered in 1211. The same defenders regained their castles in 1223 and held out until 1229 when they were finally defeated. The hike to the castle makes it clear why they could hold out for so long. They are located on the ridges of some very high hills in the steep valley. The nice thing about visiting these castles is that you can climb all over them and do pretty much anything you want. After the castle, we drove on to a very small town St. Afrique and stayed in the municipal camp ground.
Monday we were driving along and saw a sign for Roquefort and thought, we like the cheese, maybe we should see where it comes from. We took a quick turn and stopped to visit the town. We took two different tours in the town of the caves they use for the cheese. The town is located along a cliff that has massive caves with fissures that go deep in the ground and bring air up from the depths. This is where the caves that the cheese is aged. To be called Roquefort cheese, it must come from the area within a 200 meter line along the cliff. The story goes that the cheese making procedure came from a shepherd that left his sheep cheese and bread in a cave and found it a while later. The cheese had a blue mold on it, but had a wonderful taste. Thus began the process of making Roquefort cheese. They make the cheese out of sheep milk from the surrounding area and then place it in these caves with mold from loaves of bread that have been left in the same caves. In anywhere from three months to one year, the cheese is ready. We buy some for a snack and are amazed at the flavor. I have eaten "Roquefort" cheese at home, but it certainly wasn't real Roquefort. There is a massive difference.
After visiting the cheese makers, we drove on to a Medieval city called La Couvertuirade. It is another walled medieval town and is just amazing. The houses are the same houses from 700 - 800 years ago. We walked through the village and headed out of the walls to get pictures looking back. It is a very small village and from a military standpoint, it wasn't overly defensible. Primarily the walls were to protect the villagers from groups other than armies. Especially during the various periods of disease (The Black Plague, etc.). It was a great day and we found a place to sleep in Nant.
All through this period we are driving on narrow roads, through windy canyons. Sometimes the roads got so narrow that one car barely fit on them.
Tuesday we drove up to a town located on the top of a cliff nearby. The town in called Cantobre and is perched on a rocky point over the river. Again this is another medieval town. Very small. About 10 - 15 buildings and a church. We wander around and then move on to Abime De Bramabiau. This is a limestone cavern with a river running through it. Another beautiful place. We decided to stay in the town of Millau. On the way to the camp ground, we stopped at La Graufeesenque, the ruins of part of the Roman town that was the beginning of habitation in this area. This town was known for Roman pottery. Pieces of pottery from this town have been found throughout the Roman Empire. The ruins were of the area that contained the pottery kilns. After a long day, we settled down into our campsite and made dinner (BBQ Rabbit). While we were making dinner, a van drove through the camp ground selling veggies and 5 liter boxes of wine. Of course we had to buy a box of wine.
Wednesday was more castles in the gorges. We spent the day driving up the Gorges du Tarn. The river and surrounding area is beautiful. Reminds us a lot of home (other than the castles and the medieval villages sprinkled every where). Another tour of a castle on the hill, then we camp on the river. Tim and I go swimming in the river for a bit before dinner.
The next morning we drove north towards Paris and finally arrived on Friday the 13th. Although we are in the land of Friday the 13th, nothing ominous happens and we drive straight to our condo in Paris. We have completed our driving in Europe without much in the way of incidents and are now ready for our final adventure.
~Jeff~
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