To the Canal and farther

On Friday, I took the train from Montpellier to Agde to pick up the rental car I will be keeping for  15 days.  That was four stops and 36 miles for a $9 ticket.  Using the GPS in the car, I headed off to Carcassonne.

My idea for Carcassonne was to bicycle along the Canal du Midi.   It is formed by the Garonne River coming from the Atlantic up to Carcassonne where it joins a canal going back down through locks to the Mediterannean that completed in 1680.   It was a short route (150 miles) to transport goods, avoiding going around Spain.   Now it is preserved for recreation where people walk and bicycle along it and boats, mostly live-aboard barges. travel along it.

I rented the above bike and biked the 6 miles to Trebes.

I have seen red poppies everywhere since I came to France.  I saw these along that bike ride.

This is one of the locks, filled, about ready to be released.

I stopped, along with others, to see if these big boats would be able to get through that little

hole under the bridge.   They did!!!

I learned later that the barge dwellers are mostly from Great Britain.  It's really inexpensive and pleasant way of life, once they buy a barge.  They can take it slowly along the network of canals in Europe as it suits them.   There is no charge for "parking" a barge.  You just find something to tie onto or put out your own stakes and you stay there as long as you like for free.

The other main attraction in Carcassonne is the old walled city, largest in France.    Built over time, it has examples of architecture from many periods.  In Carcassone itself, there are remnants from humans living here since 3500 BC.



Naturally, I had to go in and walk around the inner walls.   This is what I saw.

From Carcassone I headed toward Albi where I am to go on a bicycle ride along the Tarn River over 7 days.    But I was distracted from the route when I saw a sign to a village Lautrec just a few kilometers off the road.  Lautrec turned out to be the village from which painter Toulouse-Lautrec's family came.  It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France; I could see why.

In Albi, the first and biggest thing one sees is this church, apparently the largest brick-built building in the world.

So plain on the outside, it is truly colorful and ornate on the inside.

At dinner last night, I had to have the escargot, just for memories sake.   We used to serve them to first class passengers when I was a stewardess with TWA "way-back-when" so I got pretty used to having them myself.

I am staying in a Airbnb bedroom in Albi for a day before moving over the first hotel on my bicycle tour.  This is the view out my window down toward the owner's outdoor space in town.

I will leave my computer in the car and not post again until after the tours so,  later . . . . . .