Journal Entry: Puylaurens & Puivert

I woke up a little after 6a this morning. I did not want to get out of bed. I had to make myself. “I can sleep at home.”

Breakfast was decent. I had a croissant with cream cheese on it, some cheddar cheese and a fruit cup. All this wheat is making my knees hurt I think, but it is difficult to avoid. It’s all they eat here. It’s also messed up my digestion. But I won’t go into that! 

After breakfast, I drove to Puylaurens. I was early. I got there about 9a and they don’t open until 10a. So, I wandered around the village. There is a river that runs through it, well actually it’s probably a large creek. The village name is Lapradelle-Puilaurens, or in Occitan Lapradèla-Puèglaurenç. 

 

Puylaurens from the Village

At 10a I went up to the fortress. Admission was €4. The hike was not that bad. It was a little dangerous in places if you weren’t careful. [The French have no problem letting you fall off the mountain if you’re going to be stupid.]

 

Beautiful Country

Flowers Find a Way

Puylaurens Courtyard

I spent about an hour there. There was one barrel, hmm, not barrel vaulted, a different kind of vault. I forget what they call it, but it has four ribs that come to a point in the middle. 

I'm not an architect - Groin Vault?

After that I drove to Puivert. It was very interesting. It cost €5 to go in, and the donjon was pretty much still intact. It had apparently been occupied since the middle ages until the revolution by the same family. It was not altered supposedly, so [it] is one of the most authentic and intact medieval castles in all of Europe. I need to read up on it when I get home. They had horses grazing there too. 

 

Puivert Castle

Chapel in Puivert

After that I came back to Carcassonne about 8p. I took the tour of the castle (donjon) and ramparts. Unfortunately I missed the guided tour of the western ramparts beause the last one I saw leaving was in French and I mistakenly thought there would be one in English. Next time! It cost €8.50, and was worth it. I spent about 2 hours there. They had a museum with stone work from the walls, or other buildings nearby. 

I ate dinner at Le Trouvere. Their burger was mediocre, I was disappointed because they used to be so good. It was on plain white commercial bun, which hadn’t even been toasted. Meh. And their service sucked tonight. I might eat somewhere else tomorrow. I want more Cassoulet!

I got an icecream cone, gelato, (not as good as in Italy) and walked around the lists a few times. I was going to wait until it got dark but I was very tired so I came on back here.

I took a shower. I washed my clothes in the shower, including my pants. I hope they dry. They were incredibly difficult to wring out, even though they seem so light weight. 

Tomorrow I am going to Montségur and Foix I think. I don’t know if I’ll climb Montségur. I’ll have to see how my knees feel. It’s on the way to Foix though so I’ll at least stop in the village.

Journal Entry: Peyrepertuse and Queribus

8:36pm

Exhausted. But happy. It was an amazing day. First we went to Rennes-le-Chateau but the church didn't open until 10am. So we went to find food for lunch back in the prior village, Couiza. There was a patisserie there and we went in and bought food. Katy speaks French, and so she helped us order.

Then we went on an adventure to get gas. We stopped at three places and none of the machines would take my card. Either card. Even the American Express which has a chip in it. Finally we found a manned gas station in Limoux (having driven all the way back from Couiza) that did not have a card reader at the pump and that took cash, by a real person. Katy was a lifesaver. She asked them if they took cash and they did. We got diesel in the car finally, it cost almost €18. Not bad for all the running around we had done.

By this time we headed back to Rennes-le-Chateau, and the parking area that had been deserted when we first arrived was nearly full. I expected the church to be crowded but it wasn't. There was also a museum and the Tour Magdala that cost money to get into. We didn't care to see them, just the church. It was pretty and really weird. V. asked, "Why is Joseph holding a baby?" I can see why people think it's odd.


We only spent a little time there before heading to Peyrepertuse. Jan, the lady who runs the hostel, had told us to stop at the Galamus Gorge. I really wanted to see the castles, and since we got off a bit late because of the “gazole” fiasco.

Peyrepertuse was absolutely amazing. A lot of the walls are still left, and some rooms too. I really need to go and look up historical information on it. It was a long climb to the top, not as long or steep as Montségur, but I was already tired from the climb yesterday.



Quèribus was good too, but smaller than Peyrepertuse. There was a really cool ceiling in it. The climb up to Quèribus was much easier than the other two.



Then we went to see the Gorges, and they were really cool. We were very glad that Jan told us to go there. (That's Jan at the hostel, not Jan my mother-in-law).

There was an abbey, cut into the cliff, dedicated to San Antonio. (Saint Anthony/Antoine). I bought a post card for Jan (mother-in-law) since she's interested in places dedicated to him, and she's not even religious, so that's kinda funny.



The dorm really is like a dungeon, and quite damp. We had to hang our towels outside on the line because they weren't drying in the dorm. I really like the hostel otherwise, the common room is nice, the location is great, but the dorm is damp and cold.

Jan (of the hostel) said that she knows some people in the village that have an apartment they rent out, so if Andy and I ever come here, we should contact her about that. He hates sharing a bathroom and Sidsmum's doesn't have any accommodation with a private bath.

Now I go to take a shower and hit the hay. We leave for Paris tomorrow a little after noon.

The above picture reads:
"On this bare rock that pierces the Sabine
Where the eagle in his flight only dared to come
Dangling from a cord with a pickaxe
Man, like the birds, has found a way."

I sure hope I find a way back there, because it is a very beautiful place and I think I left a piece of my heart there...