Carcassone and Toulouse

A day trip from Castres to Carcassone was part of the initial planning we did back in Australia largely because of the Canal du Midi and the history of the town. It also worked out well as it was on the way back to Narbonne which is where Nancy and Sasha live. We travelled over the range after having lunch (yes it was 13:00 and we were running late) in Mazamet. There was a magnificent view of the town and also on an adjoining hill the medieval town of Hautpoul as we left to travel over the “mini Pyrenees” We then moved onto Carcassonne and “Le City”. The city was purchased privately and has had substantial repairs. Some of the walls were rebuilt off the existing foundations and needed interpretation. The roofs are definitely “new”. Below is the moat to the inner castle. It is one of the few shots that is possible without including one of the many shops that are within the complex. However, they presumably help to offset the repair costs!

Tieve stood guard at the entry portcullis (a very serious task potentially having to shoot people with your water bottle).

Certainly it is more enjoyable to anticipate an ice cream.Within the City is a cathedral with spectacular stained glass windows. Lianne got told off for photographing them but I …..

In contrast to the medieval city across the valley are todays new structures.
Sasha took off with Tieve and we found both enjoying the merry go round. Someone is looking forward to grandchildren! Helen decided that Seren should not be overlooked and Tieve had a second go. (Really Helen wanted a ride herself.)

One of the goals of the trip was to see the Canal du Midi. We said goodbye to Nancy and Sasha and drove along some of the canal where it passed through the town.
One of the reasons for staying in the area was to go to Toulouse and visit the airbus factory. Here there are 2 Qantas planes ready for final fit out. Qantas, Emirates and Singapore are the only 3 Airlines currently running with the 380 however there is a Lufthansa plane in the factory. Some stats – the plane is 80m wide, 80m long and 80 foot tall. The engines represent 1/3 the cost of the plane. We travelled from Sydney to Singapore on one – great – very quite spacious and with all the gadgets we could cope with!

As we arrived a plane took off which both Helen and I commented reminded us of a Baluga whale. It is in fact a converted A300 (600ST for super transporter) and is in fact nicknamed the Baluga.

There are only 5 in existence and we got 2 in the same shot.

We then looked out the Canal du Midi – 260 kms long across the South of France from Toulouse to Beziers. Lovely lunch spot with passers by all wishing “bon appetite”. When we had finished a barge locked through. Quite a tight fit. Although a working boat it appeared to have some tourist passengers aboard. Our next site was at Draguignan in the SE of France. This was to be our base for the first 4 days of Le Tour. Prior to the start of the tour we had a day trip around the Gorge de Verdon – spectacular and very beautiful.

There were a series of rafters travelling through the gorge who also undertook a number of rescue activities en route.

View from the bridge at Castellane at the top of the gorge.

And also of the town as we drove out. The church on the top of the plug is just visible and would have taken some building. A bigger challenge would have been to limit the swearing as you made the climb each Sunday for mass.

Castres

After Paris we drove South to Castres where cousin Nancy and her husband Sasha joined us for a few days. Nancy introduced us to the French pattern of life – ensuring that we are at a restaurant by 12:00 as no shops are open until 15:00 and they stop serving at 14:00. Of course the next challenge is to find a restaurant for dinner – need a good one so best be there by 18:00.

So here we are at a restaurant close to the site as we had not planned sufficiently far in advance to go further afield.

In Castres there was a great little boat ride down to the city centre.

Where fortunately there was a restaurant close to the quay.

Castres is a beautiful little town although pretty hot.

So we headed to the shade.

Meanwhile Tieve headed to a fountain which was just her height – we have a series of shot of her getting progressively wetter. The shrieks of laughter over this 10 minute experience were something to behold.

The Palace of Versaille and Disneyland

A contrast of experiences.

Starting with the palace. It is so large we opted to only cover the gardens and that was a pretty full day. The palace was started in 1648 by Louis XIV followed shortly thereafter by the gardens. These are set in some 200 Ha and have a grand canal forming part of the central axis. We did manage to walk half way up the canal but it is a very long way.

All the gardens are bounded by huge hedges made from plane trees. There are several full time teams with cherry pickers trimming them.

The hedges are a wonderful background to the numerous sculptures. The largest is at the head of the canal where Neptune leaps out of the fountain on a chariot and horses. Throughout the day music played to help with developing a feel for the period.

As we turned each corner there was another surprise. These areas hosted special parties or shows.

Close to the palace is a huge knot garden. It was difficult to get it and the whole of the palace in one shot even with a wide angle lense.

The next day (and what a stark comparison) we went to Disneyland. This was supposedly for Tieve and Seren’s benefit but I am not so sure...

Tieve and Seren went on a few rides and enjoyed the parade but the highlight for Glen and Lianne (and OK me as well) was Space Mountain. Here we were catapulted into space and experienced a range of G forces in alternating complete black followed by streaming lights. At the start of the queue those with a weak heart were advised not to go on the ride and as I survived I concluded that my heart was OK.

This is Lianne prior to the ride….

I did not get a shot after the event!

Paris

The drive to Millet de Foret which is about one hour South of Paris had one highlight. Our SatNav advised there were substantial delays ahead and I decided to take a quicker route. We ended up in the middle of a market with traffic all around us hooting and carrying on – all good fun but progress was not too rapid as it took almost 20 minutes to negotiate one roundabout. Still no one wanted to argue with a rig of our size!

The caravan site was wonderfully wooded – here Tieve is relaxing and appears perplexed as to what all the fuss was about in erecting a simple awning and annexes.

We spent a day in Paris. After driving to the centre we parked near Pont Neuf and walked to Notre Dame.

We then had a little lunch. It was quite cool but that was soon to change.

We then did a double decker bus trip to see the sights. Seren sat at the front but was more interested in the people on the bus than the architecture.

We travelled around the Place de la Concorde which also gave us a preview to the Eiffel Tower where we hopped off.

Glen and Lianne decided they would walk up while Helen and I looked after the girls. The start of such an event is an ice cream.

followed by a little snooze….

However, despite a late return, after a good rest it does not matter how late it is in the evening Tieve is up for helping Gran in the kitchen.

Kent and Crossing the Channel (3rd time)

From Eton we travelled to Hythe in Kent and had a wonderful site by the sea (although we did not venture that far…). We did catch up with some long time friends Les and Carol who have a daughter Jo (a similar age to Lianne) and two grandchildren. They live in Peasmarsh just up the lane (and a couple of fields) from Paul McCartney. Les is a great gardener and sitting out in the garden on a summers afternoon prior to a pub meal was perfect.

The beer and meal weren’t too bad either.

The following day we set off for France. Tieve and I being a bit more adventurous did a tour of the boat and were rewarded by seeing France first.

Meanwhile the rest of the crew were below decks stocking up on coffee for the journey to Paris. Some even took in a massage.