Monday, April 14
Monday meant it was time to move on. We aimed the car northwest. We wanted to visit the little wine-producing area of Faugeres. Quite tiny, and nothing open. Quel surprise!
From there, we were focused on getting to Saint Chinian, a well-thought-of appellation. They have a slogan that refers to the 20 villages of growers, and it sounded big enough we thought there might be some hope that the local coop would be open for tasting.
The unexpected treat was that this was some of the prettiest countryside we've driven through. We once again took tiny back roads that wound through the hills. We started seeing villages whose names we recognized from bottles of wine we've had over the years. There were big, sweeping hills of vineyards, and there were vineyards tucked into little pockets of flat land in between steep hillsides. There were "hanging" vineyards high above us. We even saw a small vineyard being "weeded" by a herd of cows. Haven't seen that before. It was a beautiful day, and we had the road essentially to ourselves. What a treat indeed.
We had a leisurely lunch in a cafe in the town of Saint Chinian (of course, with a demi pichet of Saint Chinian wine). Afterwards, we drove to a viewpoint high above the town and enjoyed the pretty views of the town and the surrounding countryside. Then we located and visited the local coop. We hit pay dirt this time! It was open and tasting was being offered. We tasted a white, a pair of roses, and two reds. The lady pouring was very friendly and, between her English and our French, we were able to learn about the wines and the grapes included in each.
Having finally checked off the wine tasting box, we headed the car toward Carcassonne, our home for the next two nights. The scenery soon became less interesting, though we did get some nice sightings of the Canal du Midi. Traffic started picking up since we were arriving during rush hour. In spite of the winding streets and all the traffic (where did all of these people come from??), we found our way to our hotel.
After shaking off the road dust, we headed up the hill to La Cite, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's always a bit of a rush when you find yourself face to face with a site/monument you've seen pictures of for many years, if not your whole life. Carcassonne is one of those kinds of places. The Romans built the first walls in the 300's, but the 1100's were its high point. The town inside the walls is mostly medieval in style, with timbered buildings. It has 52 towers and is covered with arrow slits. Rick Steves calls Carcassonne "Europe's ultimate walled fortress city." You have to keep reminding yourself that this is the real deal.
We arrived in late afternoon light. Every direction you looked, there was a golden glow. Spectacular time of day to see it. We stayed inside La Cite until well after dark, then walked a portion of the ramparts with the wonderful night lighting that France does so well with its monuments.
I'll admit it's a bit daunting to see this hunk of history with its narrow, cobblestoned streets filled not just with beaucoup tourists but also with shops selling every manner of toy swords and knight figures and pizza and incredible quantities of ice cream and candies. There are also hotels, a school, dozens of restaurants and more shops than one could count. I expected a monument--museum–like--not the hurry-gurdy atmosphere. Still, if one focuses real hard on the old stones and conical towers and ramparts, you get the essence of what it was.
To be clear that I'm not suggesting I am historically pure, I will confess that we own the European board game of Carcassonne. We haven't played it in some time, but I can't wait to pull it out and see if it doesn't feel just a tad different now that we've seen the real thing.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment