Fortified towns and washing day blues

Cordes sur Ciel (Cordes on the sky)

Cycling canals has again featured in our days, we pass people walking their dogs and mostly all of them wish us ‘bonjour’. We started cycling the Midi canal at Agde on the Mediterrean cost – it seemed to be a neglected part of the canal with rutted clay tracks, however after an hour it improved. The canal is lined with plane trees – some had succumbed to the an incurable tree disease and had been removed, the others all have an individual numbered tag, so they are being monitored. The trees are just starting to change colour and there is an overall golden look to the leaves which reflects in the water. We moved camp and followed the canal further west to Castelnaudry which has an enormous canal basin, it is impressive with ancient houses cascading down to the canal edge. Dotted along the canal are houses for the people who operate the locks, all built to the same plan and using the same materials – gold coloured stone and pale green wooden trim.

Canal du Midi

 I had seen pictures of the stunning old part of Carcassone but was still moved when I looked up from the satnav’s screen to see the stunning La Cite. Surrounded by ramparts topped with conical witches hat roofs – it all looked too fairytale like. Inside was a different matter, shops selling stuff to tourists, places to stay and restaurants. It has been a fortress for nearly 2000 years, the battlements are in a zigzag fashion with two rings of walls, the site overlooks the slow moving, peaceful River Aude. As there wasn’t much too see we sat at a cafe where I had a Pastis and we shared a caramel glace (bowl of icecream). Carcassone itself (the lower town) was well preserved and an interesting place to visit.

Carcassone

Stuart cycling near canal

Hilltop towns with steep cobbled streets and usually an old castle are a feature in the Aveyron Valley. Chausson is left somewhere at the base of a town, and because the season has waned we don’t have any parking problems. The weather is warm in the late afternoon, around 26 celcius but without humidity and wandering around these really old hamlets and fortified towns is a total pleasure. We stayed a couple of nights at Cordes sur Ciel which is a picture as you approach the town – medieval houses stacked up the steep hill, surrounded by fields and trees at the bottom.

My favourite towns so far are Najac and St Antonin Noble Val. Each town we chose to stop at has very old narrow cobbled streets with houses dating back to the middle ages, beautifully kept with very clean streets and attractive public areas.

Cafe scene

We spent a couple of nights by the canal in Montauban, the Capitainere looks after both boats and motorhomes. I found a great stock of English books to exchange mine with, Stuart had his fill of wifi, and they had a washing machine. It was late in the day when I discovered the washing machine, paid my E5 for the key and put a load on. No problem, I used the incredibly slow condenser drier to dry the clothes. Then there was a delay while SOMEONE ELSE used the machine. I got my hands on it again very late and loaded the sheets in. Something went wrong and the machine wouldn’t spin, I managed to get it to release my linen and tried with a half load. The machine sat resolute, making a funny noise. The upshot is that the sheets got about 15 mins of wash and at 11pm I roped Stuart into helping me wring them by hand. He lashed up a washing line under our awing, the next motorhome was parked reasonably closely and they must have wondered what was going on with all the muttering and sheet-wringing. Into bed at 11.45.

The next morning the pure cotton sheets hadn’t dried much so the ever-resourceful Stuart zig-zagged some line above the dining area (actually the underneath of the raised bed) using rings attached to the ceiling. We slung the sheets across the lines then drove off – the windows in the cab wound down and the heater blasting. The sheets were flapping in the back while I supervised the towel and pillowcases on the dash. They were dry-as, quick-as.

For the first time I put my washing machine into action. It is a super sturdy clip-lock box with extra seals – idea from Ourbumble.com. In the box I put some warm water, detergent and my woollen Icebreaker clothes. As we drove along they were gently agitated. We stopped at an aire with fresh water, time for a rise and the laundry hung in the shower to drip dry. Good, but sheets are probably beyond its capability without a spinner.

We spent a night at the aire at Peyrusse Le Roc, we didn’t know what to expect as it was well out of the way, but a good price. There had been brown signs indicating an historical site and we pulled up to see single towers, one perched on a huge mass of rock pointing its finger up to the sky. The remains of another fortified village.

We explored the area the next morning – the present hamlet was totally deserted and so we picked our way through the abandoned medieval village ruins. There are some signs in French giving a clue as to what we were looking at. All a bit surreal really.

Rocamadour

Rocamadour, we ended up staying for 2 nights, meeting a couple from England – Lesley and Paul. They had chosen the same vehicle as us and we swapped notes. They demonstrated their Roman blinds with magnets for adjusting the height. I swore we had missed out until I looked closer – viola! we had the same, so I can throw away my big ribbon that holds the blind up so Stuart can see what is coming on his left hand side.

The main attraction at Rocamadour is the chateau and chapels that cling to a vertical cliff in a spectacular fashion. The valley below seems a long way down. To top it off there were hot air balloons taking flight over the chateau, their burners making a noise like waves breaking on a beach.

As the sun rose, it lit up the balloons as they drifted across the valley and around the chateau, except for one – there is always one – which headed in the opposite direction, probably to the disappointment of the passengers.

Jane at Carcassone, photo credit Stuart

Trucking on is the name of the game and so we will be.