Our stay in a storybook village in the Aveyron – Belcastel, France. Trip Report to the Aveyron, Lot and Tarn. September 2007
Sep 30th, 2007, 10:22 AM
#23
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I have a shortie, but I'll probably be enhancing it over the winter. e-mail me at [email protected] if you want what I have now.
Stu Dudley
Stu Dudley
Sep 30th, 2007, 10:50 AM
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Images2, thanks for such a complete report.
You made me homesick when you mentioned that you live in Lexington. I grew up in Louisville and had relatives in Shebyville. I also lived in Cincinnati 7 years (Clifton) and loved it there.
I once got a check for a gite deposit in euros from a bank here (Alabama). There was an extra charge for it, but it worked.
You made me homesick when you mentioned that you live in Lexington. I grew up in Louisville and had relatives in Shebyville. I also lived in Cincinnati 7 years (Clifton) and loved it there.
I once got a check for a gite deposit in euros from a bank here (Alabama). There was an extra charge for it, but it worked.
Sep 30th, 2007, 11:10 AM
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Thursday, September 20
Rested up, we drove to Rignac for some breakfast. We usually love chausson aux pommes and pain au chocolat. It’s really puzzling though that these items have been much better in Spain on our last 2 trips than those in small towns in France. A great bakery in Pamplona was the best we had in the spring. We ate our 2nd rate pastries and hoped for better at the Villefranche de Rouergue market!
Wow, thanks Stu for the recommendation about this market. It was our favorite of the trip!! You’ll find lots of photos of the market below. I even found some fabric which I haven’t seen at any other French market, which matches my Williams Sonoma rooster dishes perfectly. I had to buy some of that! There were some mushrooms there, now that I look at the photos, but not as good of a varity as I had expected.
Buying more than we had planned and even shopping in Stu’s wifes’ favorite household decorating shop (it is really wonderful) we just wandered the town a bit. Back on the road we drove to Najac. There are so many cornfield’s in this part of France. I hadn’t realized that the French even knew what corn on the cob is, but they do, and grow lots of it in this area of the country. I think it’s only meant for animals though!
I really, really wanted to love Najac. After reading some book about a couple who wanted to move to France, and almost bought a home in Najac, I thought it would be a quaint town. Maybe it was the season, or maybe we had already seen several very nice towns, but Najac was a huge disappointment to me. There weren’t even locals out and about. Disappointed not finding somewhere attractive for lunch, we relied on the Michelin Green guide which recommended a farm visit to Jacky Carles “Ferme Carles” 5.6miles N. of Najac. We found it after a bit, but were sadly greeted by a huge tour bus of people inside. They were buying up the store, and they had the long tables all set for their group. It was obvious that this farm was geared to tour buses, and not to the casual walk in customer.
Albi would have a café, we were sure of that. We had stopped in Albi once in the past, but that visit was quick. We were on our way to Bordeaux, stopping just to see the Toulouse-Lautrec museum.
Upon finding a café just along the side of St. Cecile Cathedral we ordered our first cassoulet. It wasn’t a favorite of ours, but is filling! Albi is such a nice, quiet mid sized town. We enjoyed taking our time visiting the Cathedreal, finding Hotel de Bosc, the Toulouse Lautrec family home, the old bridge and the gardens. We din’t go back into the museum, since we’d already seen it. It is excellent though.
Finding the post office, we mailed our cash deposit to the homeowners of our reserved gite for next September, praying it would arrive safely. Funny thing at the post office. We could mail the letter inside, but had to take the postcards we were mailing to the outside slots. The postman inside said he couldn’t take the postcards, that it was required to mail them in the outside slots. Why is this the case? Anyone know???
Driving back to Belcastel we decided to just eat dinner again on our terrace. We were going to miss this small village so much.
Villefranche de Rouergue market
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Najac and Albi
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Rested up, we drove to Rignac for some breakfast. We usually love chausson aux pommes and pain au chocolat. It’s really puzzling though that these items have been much better in Spain on our last 2 trips than those in small towns in France. A great bakery in Pamplona was the best we had in the spring. We ate our 2nd rate pastries and hoped for better at the Villefranche de Rouergue market!
Wow, thanks Stu for the recommendation about this market. It was our favorite of the trip!! You’ll find lots of photos of the market below. I even found some fabric which I haven’t seen at any other French market, which matches my Williams Sonoma rooster dishes perfectly. I had to buy some of that! There were some mushrooms there, now that I look at the photos, but not as good of a varity as I had expected.
Buying more than we had planned and even shopping in Stu’s wifes’ favorite household decorating shop (it is really wonderful) we just wandered the town a bit. Back on the road we drove to Najac. There are so many cornfield’s in this part of France. I hadn’t realized that the French even knew what corn on the cob is, but they do, and grow lots of it in this area of the country. I think it’s only meant for animals though!
I really, really wanted to love Najac. After reading some book about a couple who wanted to move to France, and almost bought a home in Najac, I thought it would be a quaint town. Maybe it was the season, or maybe we had already seen several very nice towns, but Najac was a huge disappointment to me. There weren’t even locals out and about. Disappointed not finding somewhere attractive for lunch, we relied on the Michelin Green guide which recommended a farm visit to Jacky Carles “Ferme Carles” 5.6miles N. of Najac. We found it after a bit, but were sadly greeted by a huge tour bus of people inside. They were buying up the store, and they had the long tables all set for their group. It was obvious that this farm was geared to tour buses, and not to the casual walk in customer.
Albi would have a café, we were sure of that. We had stopped in Albi once in the past, but that visit was quick. We were on our way to Bordeaux, stopping just to see the Toulouse-Lautrec museum.
Upon finding a café just along the side of St. Cecile Cathedral we ordered our first cassoulet. It wasn’t a favorite of ours, but is filling! Albi is such a nice, quiet mid sized town. We enjoyed taking our time visiting the Cathedreal, finding Hotel de Bosc, the Toulouse Lautrec family home, the old bridge and the gardens. We din’t go back into the museum, since we’d already seen it. It is excellent though.
Finding the post office, we mailed our cash deposit to the homeowners of our reserved gite for next September, praying it would arrive safely. Funny thing at the post office. We could mail the letter inside, but had to take the postcards we were mailing to the outside slots. The postman inside said he couldn’t take the postcards, that it was required to mail them in the outside slots. Why is this the case? Anyone know???
Driving back to Belcastel we decided to just eat dinner again on our terrace. We were going to miss this small village so much.
Villefranche de Rouergue market
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Najac and Albi
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Sep 30th, 2007, 11:17 AM
#26
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Hi Efoss,
Well, we don't actually live in Lexington, but in Cincinnati. We do like Lexington though
Cincinnati has the highest airfares in the U.S. so we check all the cities around us to try and get better airfares. Delta is dominate here, we're a hub, which used to be wonderful, but not now.
We'd never been to Keeneland Horse Park, so we were thrilled to see it when we arrived to early at the Lexington airport. The yearlings were beautiful.
Thanks Stu for the correction on the spelling. Now that we've reserved our Sept. gite, the next challenge is airfare. The rental begins August 30, so it's summer airfares. We'll be trying to get tickets with FF miles this week.
Well, we don't actually live in Lexington, but in Cincinnati. We do like Lexington though
Cincinnati has the highest airfares in the U.S. so we check all the cities around us to try and get better airfares. Delta is dominate here, we're a hub, which used to be wonderful, but not now.
We'd never been to Keeneland Horse Park, so we were thrilled to see it when we arrived to early at the Lexington airport. The yearlings were beautiful.
Thanks Stu for the correction on the spelling. Now that we've reserved our Sept. gite, the next challenge is airfare. The rental begins August 30, so it's summer airfares. We'll be trying to get tickets with FF miles this week.
Sep 30th, 2007, 11:47 AM
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My wife will be happy to know that her favorite store is still there !!!
I thought the views from the fortress in Najac were nice, but like you, I didn't think the town was anything special. We did have a nice outdoor lunch there - I'm surprised that you didn't find a cafe for lunch.
Mt father is from Maysville, Ky - know where that is??
Stu Dudley
I thought the views from the fortress in Najac were nice, but like you, I didn't think the town was anything special. We did have a nice outdoor lunch there - I'm surprised that you didn't find a cafe for lunch.
Mt father is from Maysville, Ky - know where that is??
Stu Dudley
Sep 30th, 2007, 12:35 PM
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Stu,
I bought something in that shop and they wrapped it so nicely! You'll notice 1 photo from inside the shop!
I believe Nick and Rosemany Clooney are from Maysville, on the banks of the Ohio, just 50 miles from Cincinnati! I can't remember if we've been.
We actually were born and raised in Southern California, but left after we were married, since we didn't want to raise our children there. It was a shock moving from California to Cincinnati in the beginning, but we've never regretted the move. Housing is much more affordable also!
I bought something in that shop and they wrapped it so nicely! You'll notice 1 photo from inside the shop!
I believe Nick and Rosemany Clooney are from Maysville, on the banks of the Ohio, just 50 miles from Cincinnati! I can't remember if we've been.
We actually were born and raised in Southern California, but left after we were married, since we didn't want to raise our children there. It was a shock moving from California to Cincinnati in the beginning, but we've never regretted the move. Housing is much more affordable also!
Sep 30th, 2007, 12:38 PM
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Friday September 21
Navigating through Rodez again, but this time by memory, we drove north up D988 to the Trou de Bozouls. It’s a canyon hollowed out of the Causse de Comtal by the river Dourdou. At the edge, a church and a convent are perched. It’s interesting enough to have another huge tour bus arrive, just as we were leaving.
Missing St.Come d’Olt a few days ago we decided to stop now. First we drove through Espalion, and being market day, we couldn’t find parking. It didn’t look to interesting, so we continued on. St.Come d’Olt was very appealing! The church has a twisted steeple and a “pilgrim” on the Camino de Santiago was just arriving. We tried talking to her in French, but it didn’t go well, we understood nothing of the conversation with her! Oh well, I did like the shell design in the stones in front of the church. The whole town was nice and it was very interesting exploring it.
Laguiole was our goal today, so we drove north. We have some of the Laguiole silverware from Sur la Table, but it’s cheap compared to much of the “good stuff” sold here. It was fun browsing the shops, but I really wanted to go to the Laguiole cheese factory since we never had time to stop at the caves in Roquefort. Again, they really weren’t set up for individuals to tour, but as luck would have it, a large French tourist bus was late in arriving, and if we’d wait a bit, we could join their tour! They were a fun group, full of laughs, so it worked out very well. The cheese was delicious also! They use it in the l’aligot from this area, which is potatoes and cheese mixed together. We bought some at the markets in this area and loved it!
The Forge de Laguiole boutique is out of town, the factory store for the very expensive knifes and silverware, so we found it just as they were closing for lunch. It was 1:15, and the shop would open up again around 2:30. We couldn’t wait, so drove on to find Michel Bras contemporary 3*restaurant. It was set overlooking the valley, and was lovely, but we didn’t have a reservation, since they’re very hard to get.
Conques was the last town I wanted to see in this area. On the way, we stopped in Estaing, which was cute, but we didn’t care for the spots open for lunch so didn’t spend to much time looking around. Arriving in Conques, a parking attendant was collecting 3€ so we’d have the priviledge of parking on the roadway! It was close to the hill which lead right into town, so parking was easy, and it was an easy walk up to some restaurants. We picked one serving crepes, under a grape arbor, and overlooking the hills and gorge. It was beautiful, and the food was good!
After lunch of crepes and wine, we went to the abbey church and admired the tympanum above the west door. We explored the abbey, village and shops for a couple of hours. Conques really is one of the great sites of this area. On our way south, leaving the town, we found Ira’s Moulin de Cambelong. It looked lovely, but we decided not to have dinner here, as the drive back to Belcastel would be to far on the twisty roads.
It was hard to believe that this was our last day in the area. We needed to clean the gite, and the France vs. Ireland rugby game was on tonight. France had to win, or would be eliminated. We considered dining at Restaurant 1909 in Belcastel tonight. The menu looked good, but as we walked by, only one couple was inside. The rugby game was so important, I think everyone stayed home to watch it. Again, we decided to have dinner on our terrace! Cleaning the gite wasn’t to much work. We enjoyed the evening, and packed up for our 8 a.m. departure. In gites you usually need to leave by 10 a.m. but we had several things to see on our way south, so needed an early departure.
St.Come d’Olt, Laguiole, Estaing, Conques, Moulin de Cambelong
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Navigating through Rodez again, but this time by memory, we drove north up D988 to the Trou de Bozouls. It’s a canyon hollowed out of the Causse de Comtal by the river Dourdou. At the edge, a church and a convent are perched. It’s interesting enough to have another huge tour bus arrive, just as we were leaving.
Missing St.Come d’Olt a few days ago we decided to stop now. First we drove through Espalion, and being market day, we couldn’t find parking. It didn’t look to interesting, so we continued on. St.Come d’Olt was very appealing! The church has a twisted steeple and a “pilgrim” on the Camino de Santiago was just arriving. We tried talking to her in French, but it didn’t go well, we understood nothing of the conversation with her! Oh well, I did like the shell design in the stones in front of the church. The whole town was nice and it was very interesting exploring it.
Laguiole was our goal today, so we drove north. We have some of the Laguiole silverware from Sur la Table, but it’s cheap compared to much of the “good stuff” sold here. It was fun browsing the shops, but I really wanted to go to the Laguiole cheese factory since we never had time to stop at the caves in Roquefort. Again, they really weren’t set up for individuals to tour, but as luck would have it, a large French tourist bus was late in arriving, and if we’d wait a bit, we could join their tour! They were a fun group, full of laughs, so it worked out very well. The cheese was delicious also! They use it in the l’aligot from this area, which is potatoes and cheese mixed together. We bought some at the markets in this area and loved it!
The Forge de Laguiole boutique is out of town, the factory store for the very expensive knifes and silverware, so we found it just as they were closing for lunch. It was 1:15, and the shop would open up again around 2:30. We couldn’t wait, so drove on to find Michel Bras contemporary 3*restaurant. It was set overlooking the valley, and was lovely, but we didn’t have a reservation, since they’re very hard to get.
Conques was the last town I wanted to see in this area. On the way, we stopped in Estaing, which was cute, but we didn’t care for the spots open for lunch so didn’t spend to much time looking around. Arriving in Conques, a parking attendant was collecting 3€ so we’d have the priviledge of parking on the roadway! It was close to the hill which lead right into town, so parking was easy, and it was an easy walk up to some restaurants. We picked one serving crepes, under a grape arbor, and overlooking the hills and gorge. It was beautiful, and the food was good!
After lunch of crepes and wine, we went to the abbey church and admired the tympanum above the west door. We explored the abbey, village and shops for a couple of hours. Conques really is one of the great sites of this area. On our way south, leaving the town, we found Ira’s Moulin de Cambelong. It looked lovely, but we decided not to have dinner here, as the drive back to Belcastel would be to far on the twisty roads.
It was hard to believe that this was our last day in the area. We needed to clean the gite, and the France vs. Ireland rugby game was on tonight. France had to win, or would be eliminated. We considered dining at Restaurant 1909 in Belcastel tonight. The menu looked good, but as we walked by, only one couple was inside. The rugby game was so important, I think everyone stayed home to watch it. Again, we decided to have dinner on our terrace! Cleaning the gite wasn’t to much work. We enjoyed the evening, and packed up for our 8 a.m. departure. In gites you usually need to leave by 10 a.m. but we had several things to see on our way south, so needed an early departure.
St.Come d’Olt, Laguiole, Estaing, Conques, Moulin de Cambelong
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Sep 30th, 2007, 01:22 PM
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Images, your report is lovely and your photos are beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing!
Belcastel looks magical and is ideally located for seeing both the Gorges de l’Aveyron and Tarn. (I checked my trusty Michelin map.) I'd want to eat on that balcony too and drinks lots of vin rather than drive winding roads after dark.
Ste. Eulalie d'Olt was our first "Most Beautiful Village of France" en route to the Dordogne from Toulouse a year ago last June but we headed in the opposite direction afterwards. We also enjoyed visits to Peche Merle, St Cirq Lapopie and Figeac on a day trip from Sarlat and spent our first night in Albi. By the way, you even ended up at the same pique-nique spot with the cement tables along the Cele River as we did!
Stu planned a two day scenic driving itinerary for us from Toulouse to Sarlat. We are so lucky to have Stu and his expertise on this board. Thanks again to you too, Stu!
Belcastel looks magical and is ideally located for seeing both the Gorges de l’Aveyron and Tarn. (I checked my trusty Michelin map.) I'd want to eat on that balcony too and drinks lots of vin rather than drive winding roads after dark.
Ste. Eulalie d'Olt was our first "Most Beautiful Village of France" en route to the Dordogne from Toulouse a year ago last June but we headed in the opposite direction afterwards. We also enjoyed visits to Peche Merle, St Cirq Lapopie and Figeac on a day trip from Sarlat and spent our first night in Albi. By the way, you even ended up at the same pique-nique spot with the cement tables along the Cele River as we did!
Stu planned a two day scenic driving itinerary for us from Toulouse to Sarlat. We are so lucky to have Stu and his expertise on this board. Thanks again to you too, Stu!
Sep 30th, 2007, 02:27 PM
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Thanks for your lovely report! Very timely for me...I was just going over lists of accommodations in the same area.
We are planning a trip for the first part of February and are thinking of heading to this area of France. Do you have any idea regarding winter weather in this area...snow?
Your gite looks wonderful...I'm hoping that it rents in the winter.
The restaurants that you were considering for dinners...were they 30 minutes away? An hour? We can manage curves and dark...but not an hour or two of curves and dark! lol
Thanks so much for your great report!!
We are planning a trip for the first part of February and are thinking of heading to this area of France. Do you have any idea regarding winter weather in this area...snow?
Your gite looks wonderful...I'm hoping that it rents in the winter.
The restaurants that you were considering for dinners...were they 30 minutes away? An hour? We can manage curves and dark...but not an hour or two of curves and dark! lol
Thanks so much for your great report!!
Sep 30th, 2007, 04:36 PM
#32
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Thanks moolyn! It is a wonderful area, isn't it. Not touristy at all.
Bailey, Yes, the gite does rent in the winter. The town owns 2 gites. Make sure you get the one that's a bit more money, with the terrace. The other faces the other direction and the patio wasn't as nice at all. Also ours had easier parking situation. The gite we rented actually had 2 terraces, but the back one, although nice, didn't hold as much appeal to us. It did have a BBQ on it though.
As far as winter goes....I wouldn't want to drive those roads with any snow or ice at all. They're not just a little twisty, they are constantly twisting, and going up and down the hills. No road is straight. I can't imagine them in slippery conditions, but people do live there so I guess it can be done.
I highly recommend Vieux Pont in Belcastel. It's really wonderful. Even the group on egullet likes it alot.
I'll go upstairs to my other computer to give you the information on the other restaurants I have. We thought we could take the drive after dinner, but once there we changed our minds. Maybe we were just lazy, but it was really dark at night and the French drivers kept driving over the middle line, so each curve was an adventure as to how far over an oncoming car would be in our lane.
There is a TI in town, and the woman running it speaks English. She may be able to answer questions for you also, about the winter.
Bailey, Yes, the gite does rent in the winter. The town owns 2 gites. Make sure you get the one that's a bit more money, with the terrace. The other faces the other direction and the patio wasn't as nice at all. Also ours had easier parking situation. The gite we rented actually had 2 terraces, but the back one, although nice, didn't hold as much appeal to us. It did have a BBQ on it though.
As far as winter goes....I wouldn't want to drive those roads with any snow or ice at all. They're not just a little twisty, they are constantly twisting, and going up and down the hills. No road is straight. I can't imagine them in slippery conditions, but people do live there so I guess it can be done.
I highly recommend Vieux Pont in Belcastel. It's really wonderful. Even the group on egullet likes it alot.
I'll go upstairs to my other computer to give you the information on the other restaurants I have. We thought we could take the drive after dinner, but once there we changed our minds. Maybe we were just lazy, but it was really dark at night and the French drivers kept driving over the middle line, so each curve was an adventure as to how far over an oncoming car would be in our lane.
There is a TI in town, and the woman running it speaks English. She may be able to answer questions for you also, about the winter.
Sep 30th, 2007, 04:51 PM
#33
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Le Senechal in Sauveterre de Rouergue Tele: 05 65 71 29 00 1* Michelin
This is 30 minutes south on yellow road D997.
Rodez - Gouts et Couleurs 1* Michelin www.goutsetcouleurs.com I e-mailed the chef back and forth, he seemed like a nice guy! Stu likes this restaurant. 30 minutes to the east, but use viamichelin.com for directions. Even the traffic circles are confusing.
Le Moulin de Cambelong just south of Conques 1* Michelin I'm pretty sure. Ira and others on the board have dined here. 45 minutes to 1 hour to the north.
Hotel Restaurant Vieux Pont in Belcastel. 1* Michelin. 1 minute walk from the gite! Highly recommended. They did change their menu after a few days, so you could dine here more than once.
With the good weather we had, the times viamichelin gave us were very exact. I was so surprised that they were consistantly correct.
Good luck with your plans.
This is 30 minutes south on yellow road D997.
Rodez - Gouts et Couleurs 1* Michelin www.goutsetcouleurs.com I e-mailed the chef back and forth, he seemed like a nice guy! Stu likes this restaurant. 30 minutes to the east, but use viamichelin.com for directions. Even the traffic circles are confusing.
Le Moulin de Cambelong just south of Conques 1* Michelin I'm pretty sure. Ira and others on the board have dined here. 45 minutes to 1 hour to the north.
Hotel Restaurant Vieux Pont in Belcastel. 1* Michelin. 1 minute walk from the gite! Highly recommended. They did change their menu after a few days, so you could dine here more than once.
With the good weather we had, the times viamichelin gave us were very exact. I was so surprised that they were consistantly correct.
Good luck with your plans.
Sep 30th, 2007, 04:51 PM
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Thank you so much for the great info. I had also wondered about parking. Is there anything that I should know about the name of the gite...other than 'les Buis' ...I want to make sure we rent the same apartment that you did.
Thanks for the names of restaurants...I appreciate all of your time and effort!!
We would love to go in the fall...but due to husband's work schedule we can't get away til after the Super Bowl. Our lives revolve around the football calendar.
Thanks!!!
Thanks for the names of restaurants...I appreciate all of your time and effort!!
We would love to go in the fall...but due to husband's work schedule we can't get away til after the Super Bowl. Our lives revolve around the football calendar.
Thanks!!!
Sep 30th, 2007, 05:32 PM
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Yep - Rosemary Cloony is from Maysville.
I was rised in San Gabriel, in Southern Calif.
I think that region (not LA - the Aveyron) would be pretty cold in Feb. The proprietors of our Gite raise Aubrec cattle, and there is a big ritual when they move the herd from the winter to the summer pastures in April - which leads me to belive it's cold in winter. In the Laguiole area there are several ski lifts - I think they mostly do cross country skiing there.
Stu Dudley
I was rised in San Gabriel, in Southern Calif.
I think that region (not LA - the Aveyron) would be pretty cold in Feb. The proprietors of our Gite raise Aubrec cattle, and there is a big ritual when they move the herd from the winter to the summer pastures in April - which leads me to belive it's cold in winter. In the Laguiole area there are several ski lifts - I think they mostly do cross country skiing there.
Stu Dudley
Sep 30th, 2007, 06:00 PM
#36
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Gîte n°AYG3017 - à BELCASTEL (l'Aveyron)
3 chambres • 6 personnes • 84 m²
Tarifs par semaine : 300 à 730 €
You'll need to be comfortable with stairs. Parking might be visible in one of my photos. If not, I'll look at them again tomorrow and send another. You park on the main road. There's good space right below the gite. Then you walk up a cobblestone pathway to the stairs that access the gite. Once inside the 2 double bedrooms, with queen size beds, the bathroom with granite sink area and shower, plus a seperate room for the toliet are on that 1st level.
2nd level, up some stairs, but nicely tiled is the living area with TV, dining area and kitchen with access to both terraces. Up more stairs for the 3rd level with the bedroom with 2 twin beds, another sitting room with 2nd TV, large closet, bathroom with toliet and sink, and another room with sink and shower. All was very nicely furnished. There is also a washing machine. We never used the third level since there were only 2 of us!
The small store just across the bridge won't be open in the winter, so you'll need to buy everything at the weekly markets or in Rignac which is only 10 minutes away.
It would be best to fly into Toulouse I think. It's an easy drive up to Albi, then take the RED roads to Belcastel, the best being to Rodez then west to Belcastel.
3 chambres • 6 personnes • 84 m²
Tarifs par semaine : 300 à 730 €
You'll need to be comfortable with stairs. Parking might be visible in one of my photos. If not, I'll look at them again tomorrow and send another. You park on the main road. There's good space right below the gite. Then you walk up a cobblestone pathway to the stairs that access the gite. Once inside the 2 double bedrooms, with queen size beds, the bathroom with granite sink area and shower, plus a seperate room for the toliet are on that 1st level.
2nd level, up some stairs, but nicely tiled is the living area with TV, dining area and kitchen with access to both terraces. Up more stairs for the 3rd level with the bedroom with 2 twin beds, another sitting room with 2nd TV, large closet, bathroom with toliet and sink, and another room with sink and shower. All was very nicely furnished. There is also a washing machine. We never used the third level since there were only 2 of us!
The small store just across the bridge won't be open in the winter, so you'll need to buy everything at the weekly markets or in Rignac which is only 10 minutes away.
It would be best to fly into Toulouse I think. It's an easy drive up to Albi, then take the RED roads to Belcastel, the best being to Rodez then west to Belcastel.
Oct 1st, 2007, 09:14 AM
#38
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Your very welcome! We did fly in and out of Barcelona and it was easy. It worked out great because I wanted to see Collioure, Mirepoix, Pezenas, the Millau viaduct etc. so we did those sites on the way up and back. Barcelona was great also!
We stayed at a B&B in France on the way to the gite and at another on the way back down to Barcelona. It would be a longer drive if you go directly from Barcelona, but it's still doable.
We stayed at a B&B in France on the way to the gite and at another on the way back down to Barcelona. It would be a longer drive if you go directly from Barcelona, but it's still doable.
Oct 11th, 2007, 11:10 AM
#39
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Saturday September 22
Leaving our gite and Belcastel this morning was sad. I’m not sure if we’ll return here, France has so many interesting areas we still wish to visit.
Driving straight to Mirepoix we arrived just before lunch. Mirepoix is so colorful and very relaxing. Shops were starting to close for lunch, so I ran in and bought more French Michelin local maps just in time, then we picked a spot under the arcades for lunch. There are many nice cafes to dine at here, filled mostly with locals on this day.
After a good lunch we walked around this bastide town, taking lots of photos. This would be a nice town to spend the night in.
An 11th century chapel built into a cliff in Vals, is just 10 or 15 minutes drive from Mirepoix. No tour buses here! It was so dark inside, taking a few minutes for our eyes to adjust. It was ok, but not “stunning” as I had read. There is a very old cemetery adjacent to the church.
Driving further south we reached Montsegur. Fog and clouds rolled in before we arrived and Montsegur chateau was hidden behind them. The walk up to the summit is very, very steep, we were told and would take about an hour. We had a reservation for a B&B just outside of Carcassone, and the owner was insistive that we arrive before 6 p.m. so we decided there was no time for the climb. The clouds thinned just a bit so we could catch a vague glimpse. The town of Montsegur where we stopped next was drab and dull. It’s not worth any time at this time of year.
This area is beautiful to drive in, but very isolated. On a beautiful day it would be worth the stop, and climb to the ruins of Montsegur. I was happy to see the area, even though the climb didn’t work out.
Maison sur la Colline was the B&B we reserved for this evening. 80€ room. It’s a short drive down a lane passing vineyards, just outside of the main gate of Carcassone. Very pretty location, very bizarre owner. She was rude when we arrived, said little, just that breakfast wasn’t before 8:30 the next morning. She left, after insisting we keep the outer door locked at all times. She repeated this 3 times. We saw nothing more of her until we left. We weren’t even told where breakfast would be. We saw no other guests, but there were other cars outside. We DO NOT recommend this B&B. We’ve stayed at many throughout France, and have never been treated so rudely. The room was bizarre also, not as the picture looked, and bathroom area wasn’t private from the bedroom, so if you have 3 people staying in this room (beige room) you may have a large privacy problem.
It started to pour rain. We decided to just go into Carcassone for dinner, a 5 minute drive. So many of the restaurants are set up outdoor, under umbrellas, and trees. It was raining so very hard, they had to close up. The shops also closed for the day. The wine bar Le Bar a Vins looked so nice, but it was pouring so hard, there was nowhere to sit and stay dry. We ended up dining indoors at a really poor restaurant.
We had happy memories of a visit to Carcassone years before, walking the walls, with a bottle of wine. Stopping for a drink here and there. To bad there were no good memories of this evening. Thankfully it was the only bad experience of our trip.
Finding the breakfast room, which was huge, a large breakfast was available. We can’t fault that. We were the only guests at 8:30 and weren’t greeted. We had some breakfast, then paid in cash, exact bills. She couldn’t even give us 5€ in change. I had to dig for exactly the correct amount. How weird. We were happy to leave and drive onto Lagrasse and Collioure.
Mirepoix, Val, Montsegur, Carcassone
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Oct 11th, 2007, 12:41 PM
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Sunday September 23
Last February we considered staying in Lagrasse for a week but changed the trip to September. I was curious to check out the village and area. It was very quiet on this Sunday morning, but there was a very good bakery! We bought some bread straight out of the oven! The water under the bridge was almost dried up, as in sections further north in France. This could be a nice town, if there was any activity going on, but we were happy we didn’t stay here for the week. The abbey was closed on Sunday morning.
Driving past many more vineyards, the trip to Collioure went quickly. Parking was a challenge though. Sunday morning market was drawing a large crowd. There was no parking anywhere, so we waited in the line for the large pay lot right by the center of the town. The line went quickly and this is an excellent place to park, and isn’t to expensive. We walked down to the harbor area, where the market was set up. There was a great selection of food and also a clothing/flea market. My husband loves oysters so we stopped for a sample here. Esplette pepper was also offered in the market, and after buying some in the spring, in the town of Esplette, we restocked!
The cafes lining the harbor, the views, the shops, relaxing benches, what a wonderful town Collioure is! We loved it and hope to return for a longer stay.
N114 leaves Collioure and follows the coastline into Spain. We had read that this road was quite challenging to drive, but we found it easy. The road was in wonderful condition and the views fabulous. There are places to pull over and sit and enjoy the ocean. The drive didn’t take to long, and once in Spain, we drove back to the highway and to the Barcelona airport so we could return our rental car. We considered stopping at Girona, I’d love to see it, but time was again short.
Returning the car at the Hertz airport was easy, as was taking the airport bus (3.30€ 1 way) from the terminals to downtown Barcelona. We should have hopped off at Placa d’Espanya, but I wasn’t sure about it so we continued onto Placa de Catalunya. The area was so crowded since La Merce festival was being celebrated! We made our way through the crowds, not wanting to take our luggage down into the metro, we just walked to our hotel, the Hotel Hesperia Del Port on av. da del Paral.lel, 40. I booked this hotel on Venere for 205€ total for 2 nights. [email protected]
We were very pleased with the hotel. It’s less than a 10 minute walk from the port, and a 20 minute walk from Placa d’Espanya. An excellent bakery is only 2 doors down, where we bought breakfast each morning. The room is airconditioned and there is a room safe, comfortable bed, good bathroom, cable TV but no remote. We’d consider staying here again.
Visiting Barcelona was enjoyable during La Merce. We spent several days in this wonderful town a few years ago, so had already visited the major sites. On this trip we just wandered around and enjoyed the festivities. It was quite warm.
Ciudad Condal was recommened to us by a co-worker of my husbands so we stopped and had tapas and montaditos for dinner at their outdoor area. This is a very popular place at a corner on Rambla the Catalunya. They also have an indoor area. You can go inside and point to the tapas you want them to bring to you outdoors. They were all excellent, we ordered several and a bottle of wine. So enjoyable!!
Lagrasse, Collioure and coastal road to Spain
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