Lastours, Cathar Castle

We wanted to take in another Cathar castle in the area, and one of the best, Lastours, was nearby. We drove up to the village, hiked up to the entrance area/museum, and then, considering the steepness of the admission fee, that of the hike up to the castle, and the 97 degree temperatures, decided to down a pastry, take a few pix and press on, across the mountains, to our next major stop, the cathedral at Albi, the town that gave its name to the Albigensian heresy and the Albigensian "crusade" (read: genocide?). We had already seen Peyrepertuse and Queribus in 2010. The Cathars, aka Albigensians, were a Medieval Christian off-shoot movement, mostly in southwestern France. Their tenets sound benign enough today, but they ran afoul of Church and King, mainly because of their notion that material things were bad/spiritual things good (the Church, with its massive holdings of land and wealth really liked material things in the Middle Ages and later), and particularly their notion that a priesthood was unnecessary for human/divine relations. This latter really troubled the Church, and, with the assistance of the King(s), the Cathars were pretty much wiped out. Scores of thousands brutally murdered. Ad majorem Dei gloriam. The castles are about all that remain.

Land of the Cathars

Lastours

Up closer

From Lastours village

Carcadelphian Out-takes

Statue of Mme. Carcas, who fooled the
besieging army by throwing a fatted calf,
the city's last, over the wall; seems like every
walled city has such a tale, sometimes
calves, sometime croissants, sometime bottles
of 1947 Mouton-Rothschild; note boobular
asymmetry

Evidently the old city had a lice problem

Thus

Maybe they should have thrown lice over the wall (nyuk-
nyuk-nyuk)

But Carcadillo stills brings out the better angels of our nature

Including not a little family violence

And sibling rivalry

Carcassonne By Night

Carcassonne

We got to Carcassonne in mid-afternoon and found the aire, actually one of the city's big parking lots outside the old walls. Just look for the sign that says 2000 parking spaces. Probably 30 other campers already there. We'd been to Carcassonne probably twice before, first I think in 1979, and then later in 1989. It has changed greatly in those years. Judging from the crowds and children, it must rival Euro Disney as a family attraction. We waited until later afternoon and the departure of most of the tour buses and then went in--a short walk from the aire--hoping especially to enjoy the place at night and in a quieter mode.

Yet another World Heritage site

We particularly enjoyed the little church; the Cathar church
was Romanesque; when the king took over, he ordered the
church changed to Gothic--a show of power--but the
reconstruction never got beyond the chancel; thus it's an
example of both styles

Nice gargoyle

Interior

Very nice old windows

Ditto

Loved the sign outside: "The Basilica St.
Nazarre is a church always assigned to the
Roman Catholic cult"

Us at Carcassonne

Statue of the guy responsible for saving and
rebuilding Carcassonne--in accordance with
19th century notions of what a Medieval
walled city should look like

Sete Again

After Orange we made for the Pont du Gard, the famous Roman aquaduct, which we had seen before. We got there without more than the usual navigational incident. But upon entering we found that the parking lot charge, just for sedans, was 18 euros. Who knows what it would have been for a medium-sized RV. Then the charge for looking at the thing was more. So we decided, not reluctantly, to pass. We've visited scores, perhaps hundreds, of World Heritage Sites, and, until Pont du Gard, never, ever, felt gouged. This place is a disgrace. Shame on Pont du Gard! Remove it from the List!

Later, I'll post a photo of Vicki at the Pont du Gard in 1986.

There she is; way back in the days when you could walkall over it, and free, too

We headed on, in some frustration, both with P du G and with the traffic, to a stretch of beach we have enjoyed before, west of Sete. We wanted some quiet, and I wanted to stick my foot in the Mediterranean one more time.

We first visited Sete and the great beach west of it in 1989; then again in 2010. In 1989, the beach was miles long, completely undeveloped. In 2010, there was evidence of development, some road improvement, some concrete borders, etc. In 2012, it is developed: an extension of the city's beaches, parking lots every mile or so, restaurants, bars, lifeguards, the works. But still uncrowded and still miles-long beautiful sand beach. Just before the very end, where Beach Resort World resumes, there is a parking lot open to campers and RVs, with the usual aire-minimal amenities. It was packed, but we found a spot, perhaps the last one that night. I should mention that Sete is a very interesting-looking town, a port/fishing town, founded originally by Louis14, who needed a Mediterranean port. It is now a tourist town, but still maintaining its gritty old city feel, with great-looking seafood spots. We must spend more time there, sometime.

Parked on the Mediterranean, again

But not alone this time

The beach, now developed

Ditto

Trois Digues

Water sports

Ditto

Disappointingly, the water was cold

We proceeded on, following mostly the Canal du Midi, which joins the Gironde at
Toulouse to link the Atlantic and the Mediterranean

It was a great economic and engineering project in 18th century France; now mostly
recreation and tourism

Orange: The Arch

Orange's triumphal arch is 3rd largest in the Roman world, and that would mean largest outside of Rome itself. It sits in the center of the town's northern round-about portal, framed by large plane trees. The arch celebrates the victories and conquests of the 2nd Legion, in transalpine Gaul, Egypt, and other places. Veterans were given land here.

Orange: Roman Theatre

We thought we had seen most of the Roman towns of Provence, but then found Orange, a beautiful little city that boasts the largest and most intact Roman theatre as well as the 3rd largest triumphal arch in the Roman world. We had to visit and easily found a free aire, one of two very close to the town center. Orange, FWIW, was home of the house of Orange, who became the royalty of the Netherlands, and beyond, for that matter.

Here Vicki demonstrates proper form in ordering the local
specialty, Orange Jus

The stage building of Orange's ancient theatre; 110m long;
turn a football field on its side and you have roughly the
dimensions of this building; Aspendos in Turkey bills itself
as the largest extant Roman theatre; I believe its stage
building may be a bit smaller than Orange's

Rather than buy the interior tour--we have seen dozens
of Roman theatres--we elected to do the free hike up the
beautiful city park to view the theatre from the top down;
en route, here is a view, the distant shadow, of Mt.
Ventoux, apparently a volcano of France's central massif

View from the top; although the stage building may be
larger, Aspendos' proscenium and particularly its extant
seating area, are far larger; not to mention the adjoining
complex...

But the statue of Augustus is remarkably original

In the park, the tree planted by Queen
Juliana of the Netherlands, in 1952

Back in town, the best figurine shop ever, so
far; this the nativity scene, comparable to
anything we saw in Spain

Detail: harvesting lavender

Just one wall of the selection