MARSEILLE: 30-V-09

Marseille is a bustling city, with close links to the Middle East and North Africa. This is where you’ll find the famous Marseille soap, the origin to France’s anthem “La Marseillaise”, the Chateau d’If (Castle of Yew) commonly known as Alexandre Dumas’ location for “The Count of Monte Cristo”, and bouillabaisse (fish stew). (Bouillabaisse means: it boils and I lower.)





We visited this city twice and were able to take both routes of the tourist trains. One brought us to “Vieille Charité”, a former almshouse for the native poor, and through the Panier district where prostitutes and the mafia used to hang out.





The other train passed along some elegant mansions and up to the “Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde”, its popular name being “Bonne Mère”. We enjoyed the sentinels at the narrow entrance to the Vieux Port - the Forts of Saint-Jean and Saint-Nicolas - leading to the docks district, the fish market, the fancy yachts moored at the marina.



The famous Canebière street is long and steep, and “It goes all around the World…” at least this is what used to be sung by the old seamen. I had a personal interest in the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, SSVP being the society that I volunteered with for a number of years.



Despite its great assets, I thought it was a big port city, difficult to navigate because of its hilly terrain. It’s a city with a great history but unfortunately, too many of those links have burnt down or been destroyed.

LE CONSERVATOIRE DE LA FOURCHE: 29-V-09

There is a pitchfork museum in the quaint little town of Sauve. The art of making these pitchforks dates back 700 years, and with a brief hiatus in the early 1980s, the tradition has continued till today.

These pitchforks were once used to separate the silk cocoons from their branches, but today these pitchforks are used to toss duck and geese feathers and fluff up the eiderdown.

The branches are from the tree "micocoulier" and it takes about 8 years to cut and trim the tree to grow 3 branches in a specific shape.

The "forcaire" is the maker of the pitchfork, and the "reblacaire" is the cutter/carver of the fork. Note the same root word "forc" and in English "fork", with the same pronunciation.

SAINTE-EULALIE DE CERNON: 27-V-09

A courtyard fountain and a baptismal font - very, very old!

This is the most well preserved commandery in France (XII-XVIIth century). There are remnants from both the Templars and the Hospitallers. Here we found written documents of the oaths taken by the Templars, the clothes they wore, the weapons they fought with, the symbols that they proudly carried to prove their allegiance. There was even wall graffiti that was carved into the stone walls in 1761.

We learned how the short beds didn't mean that they were all short people, but that they slept sitting up, with their sword at the ready. Personally, I think they found the stone ground just too cold and uncomfortable!

We even hammed it up - just a wee bit!

LA COUVERTOIRADE: 27-V-09

This is Templar country! Exceptionally well preserved, the village of La Couvertoirade possesses all the elements of medieval town planning. The towers of its surounding walls rise out of the chaotic natural rocks. Inside, a maze of streets and alleys invite our imagination to pretend what it would have been like to roam these streets in the 15th century.

Tucked in little alcoves and hidden behind fortress doors, trades people can still be found plying their trades. I bought a necklace from a jeweller who crafted the Templar symbols onto the metal.

A Templar castle rubs shoulders with the cemetery adjoining the recently-restored church. Inside the church, the symbols for the Alpha and the Omega are prominently displayed.

Steep staircases hewn out of the living rock lead to an enormous public cistern fed with the rainwater from the church roof. The name Couvertoirade comes from the "cover" to the cistern.

CIRQUE DE NAVACELLES: 25-V-09

The high limestone plateaus and wooded slopes of upper Languedoc are a world away from the coast. From the Montagne Noire, a mountainous region between Béziers and Castres, up into the Cévennes is a landscape of remote sheep farms, eroded rock formations, and deep river gorges. Much of this area has been designated the Parc Régional du Haut Languedoc, the 2nd largest of the French national parks after Ecrins. We simply called it breathtaking!

At the Cirque de Navacelles, the River Vis has joined up with itself, carving out an entire island. On it sits the peaceful village of Navacelles, visible from the road higher up.

SOMMIÈRES: 23-V-09

The presence of the Vidourle River and, probably, of a route to the inland plateaux were the factors which attracted man to the Sommières area in early times. Archeological discoveries suggest man has been present in the area for several million years.

The Roman Bridge was built between the years 19 and 31 AD. The bridge has 7 of its original 17 arches visible over the river. An arch in its original state can be seen near the market place.

We loved this little town and came back to it often. Market day was especially frenetic but we enjoyed sitting at a cafe right next to the bridge and watching the people and the day go by.

OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

Our Quissac home was nestled between the cemetery and the Catholic church, in the “old part” of Quissac, circa 17th century. There was everything we needed, from supermarkets to hardware stores. The river that runs through the town is called “Le Vidourle”, and it travels all the way to the Mediterranean. We visited it often to feed the ducks our day-old baguettes, meet some acquaintances and chat.

One elderly gentleman related to us the devastation that took place when the Vidourle repeatedly decided to overflow its banks and flood parts of the town. Cars were swept away, houses damaged, and even a woman drowned. Karl stands next to the marker for the flooding depths.

Karl doing some landscaping in the courtyard.

We had a virtual menagerie: a white cat with black spots came to visit daily, a beautiful lizzard (our Lizzy) lived under the rock seat, snails in abundance which we called "cargoes" (short for escargot), some falcons in the attic of a nearby house, clearly seen from our deck, and of course all the pigeons in the "pigeonniers" at almost every house.

Karl taking a photo of Lizzy!

This beautiful copper rooster welcomed us home every time we drove into the neighbourhood. Such an icon of France!

What kind of gifts do you think a French woman receives? Perfume, chocolate, flowers... well, I get meat. I became fast friends with the José Ruiz Butchers and received lasagna one day, then ground steak on our last day in Quissac. These men were so friendly, so genuine, I just loved going to shop there. They were definitely the best butchers in town!