Our stay in a storybook village in the Aveyron – Belcastel, France. Trip Report to the Aveyron, Lot and Tarn. September 2007
Oct 11th, 2007, 02:30 PM
#41
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Monday September 24
Our big surprise yesterday was finding out that the football game we wanted to watch that evening, had already taken place. The Barcelona vs. Seville match had been moved to the previous day. Good thing we didn’t buy tickets to the match. Barcelona won by the way!
We planned on taking a tour of Camp Nou Monday morning. There was a 10 a.m. tour which we were able to buy tickets for, but we had decided to just show up and buy tickets at the stadium. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at 9:45 to see a thousand people lined up for a “tour”. This wasn’t what we expected at all. There were hundreds of Spanish families here, with their children dressed in the team jerseys!
We were to meet at Access 9 and these families were at Access 12. Must be some other tour we guessed. At access 9 several people were lined up, but the guards wouldn’t let us in. They tried to explain to us that the tour was free today, at access 12.
It turns out that this was the 50th anniversary of Camp Nou and the whole sports complex was open for anyone to walk through, free of charge. We joined the line, which moved quickly, since it was only a walk through, and not an actual tour. We saw all the different buildings, the museum, and Camp Nou itself. It was enjoyable and at the end we joined the others, shopping of course in the team shop.
Up to Montjuic we traveled to see the Joan Miro museum. Many of the museums were free today, the last day of La Merce. Walking through the park here was beautiful, overlooking the city, with wonderful views. We continued onto the Catalan Art Museum to see the magnificent frescos. Wow, these are impressive. The museum also displayed a special exhibit of The Modern Poster, 100 posters actually from 1903 – 1921. Tournee du Chat Noir, among the selection. These were true works of art.
The Giants parade on Placa de Saint Jaume was in progress, which we enjoyed watching for a bit, then walked to the harbor where an art show was set up. It was a very festive day with parades and celebrations. Walking by the Picasso museum on the way, we noticed a huge line. It was also free today, and where the crowds showed up. Thankfully we visited it on our last visit.
Cerveseria Catalana is often recommended on this board so after a rest we decided to eat there this evening. It walking distance from Casa Mila. After waiting for 30 minutes for a table, we were very surprised noticing this was a sister restaurant to Ciutat Comtal. The exact menu, placemats and all. We actually liked the inside dining area here more, and the outdoor dining area at Ciutat Comtal more than the one at this location. Of course the tapas were excellent at both. My husband had beer at this beer place this evening, and I had glasses of wine, which are a much better value than a bottle. They were so inexpensive!
Leaving just in time to take the metro to Placa d’Espanya where the huge fireworks display was set to go off. The metro was packed and very slow. We arrived a bit late, but the fireworks were very impressive, set to music. The crowd was polite, while having fun.
The fireworks were a fantastic end to our wonderful trip to Southern France and Barcelona. Checking out the next morning, we accidently forgot 3 sweaters in the closet. Thankfully lincasanova is kindly bringing them from Spain to the U.S. this weekend where we’ll get to meet one of the very kind poster’s on this board!
We hurried back to Placa d’Espanya to catch the airport bus. It was a very long 20-30 minute walk with our luggage. There were so many stairs in the metro we didn’t want to lug our luggage down the steps, so decided to walk instead. The bus is on a different corner than the drop off point, so if you decide to take this bus, cross the road from the dropoff stop and walk to the opposite corner.
Barcelona’s airport is simple to use, and the Barcelona to Atlanta flight was fine. Delta employees are trying to be pleasant after years of tension. My husband bought a bottle of wine in the terminal, after security, they opened it in the shop, then we transferred it to water bottles. This way we could enjoy good wine with our poor meal, as we flew back to the U.S.
A few photos of Barcelona
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbtG7Jk2bNGXJ
Our big surprise yesterday was finding out that the football game we wanted to watch that evening, had already taken place. The Barcelona vs. Seville match had been moved to the previous day. Good thing we didn’t buy tickets to the match. Barcelona won by the way!
We planned on taking a tour of Camp Nou Monday morning. There was a 10 a.m. tour which we were able to buy tickets for, but we had decided to just show up and buy tickets at the stadium. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at 9:45 to see a thousand people lined up for a “tour”. This wasn’t what we expected at all. There were hundreds of Spanish families here, with their children dressed in the team jerseys!
We were to meet at Access 9 and these families were at Access 12. Must be some other tour we guessed. At access 9 several people were lined up, but the guards wouldn’t let us in. They tried to explain to us that the tour was free today, at access 12.
It turns out that this was the 50th anniversary of Camp Nou and the whole sports complex was open for anyone to walk through, free of charge. We joined the line, which moved quickly, since it was only a walk through, and not an actual tour. We saw all the different buildings, the museum, and Camp Nou itself. It was enjoyable and at the end we joined the others, shopping of course in the team shop.
Up to Montjuic we traveled to see the Joan Miro museum. Many of the museums were free today, the last day of La Merce. Walking through the park here was beautiful, overlooking the city, with wonderful views. We continued onto the Catalan Art Museum to see the magnificent frescos. Wow, these are impressive. The museum also displayed a special exhibit of The Modern Poster, 100 posters actually from 1903 – 1921. Tournee du Chat Noir, among the selection. These were true works of art.
The Giants parade on Placa de Saint Jaume was in progress, which we enjoyed watching for a bit, then walked to the harbor where an art show was set up. It was a very festive day with parades and celebrations. Walking by the Picasso museum on the way, we noticed a huge line. It was also free today, and where the crowds showed up. Thankfully we visited it on our last visit.
Cerveseria Catalana is often recommended on this board so after a rest we decided to eat there this evening. It walking distance from Casa Mila. After waiting for 30 minutes for a table, we were very surprised noticing this was a sister restaurant to Ciutat Comtal. The exact menu, placemats and all. We actually liked the inside dining area here more, and the outdoor dining area at Ciutat Comtal more than the one at this location. Of course the tapas were excellent at both. My husband had beer at this beer place this evening, and I had glasses of wine, which are a much better value than a bottle. They were so inexpensive!
Leaving just in time to take the metro to Placa d’Espanya where the huge fireworks display was set to go off. The metro was packed and very slow. We arrived a bit late, but the fireworks were very impressive, set to music. The crowd was polite, while having fun.
The fireworks were a fantastic end to our wonderful trip to Southern France and Barcelona. Checking out the next morning, we accidently forgot 3 sweaters in the closet. Thankfully lincasanova is kindly bringing them from Spain to the U.S. this weekend where we’ll get to meet one of the very kind poster’s on this board!
We hurried back to Placa d’Espanya to catch the airport bus. It was a very long 20-30 minute walk with our luggage. There were so many stairs in the metro we didn’t want to lug our luggage down the steps, so decided to walk instead. The bus is on a different corner than the drop off point, so if you decide to take this bus, cross the road from the dropoff stop and walk to the opposite corner.
Barcelona’s airport is simple to use, and the Barcelona to Atlanta flight was fine. Delta employees are trying to be pleasant after years of tension. My husband bought a bottle of wine in the terminal, after security, they opened it in the shop, then we transferred it to water bottles. This way we could enjoy good wine with our poor meal, as we flew back to the U.S.
A few photos of Barcelona
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbtG7Jk2bNGXJ
Oct 11th, 2007, 07:26 PM
#42
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Se demoge (I'm sure I didn't spell that right).
Re: Maison sur Colline. We spent three weeks in France May 2005 -- sometimes spending almost $350/night for places and THAT was my DH favorite place to stay. I'm so sorry you had a bad experience. If the Owner was the older woman, she does not know a lot of English--I conversed with her in bits of French, Spanish and English. Her daughter, Delphine, who cooked our breakfast, is the one who speaks English. I just cannot imagine having a bad experience there. DH was ready to move in! We had the blue room. Yes, breakfast was absolutely wonderful, and no one else was up when we were eating. The owner was out on the back patio gardening, etc, with her cat. We all have off days--and maybe circumstances have changed. Maybe there was a family emergency, etc, at the time. Sorry you had a bad experience. I just read that someone felt the rooms in Chateau des Alpilles were "old". Yes, right, probably 200 years old! This was another of DH favorite places -- for probably 275/night. For reference, we're a banker and a teacher.
Re: Maison sur Colline. We spent three weeks in France May 2005 -- sometimes spending almost $350/night for places and THAT was my DH favorite place to stay. I'm so sorry you had a bad experience. If the Owner was the older woman, she does not know a lot of English--I conversed with her in bits of French, Spanish and English. Her daughter, Delphine, who cooked our breakfast, is the one who speaks English. I just cannot imagine having a bad experience there. DH was ready to move in! We had the blue room. Yes, breakfast was absolutely wonderful, and no one else was up when we were eating. The owner was out on the back patio gardening, etc, with her cat. We all have off days--and maybe circumstances have changed. Maybe there was a family emergency, etc, at the time. Sorry you had a bad experience. I just read that someone felt the rooms in Chateau des Alpilles were "old". Yes, right, probably 200 years old! This was another of DH favorite places -- for probably 275/night. For reference, we're a banker and a teacher.
Oct 12th, 2007, 07:15 AM
#43
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We were very surprised at their attitude that day. It must have been Delphine who answered the door when we arrived. She spoke perfect English, but was very abrupt. We were so careful to arrive before 6 p.m. since she insisted we not arrive later in our e-mail conversations before we arrived. She simply gave us our keys, repeated harshly 3 times to keep the front door locked, stated that breakfast wasn't served before 8:30 and walked away. We didn't even have a chance to ask any questions or try to be friendly. Maybe she was in a huge hurry, we don't know.
I'm glad your experience was much better.
We saw her mother the next morning, but didn't know who she was since she made no attempt to greet us. She was sitting in a room on the other side of the kitchen. Maybe she wasn't feeling well that day, but she must have put the breakfast out, since Delphine didn't appear until just before we needed to leave.
We speak enough French to get by,and always greet our hosts nicely. One of the wonderful things about B&B's is getting to know the owner a bit.
We are used to old furnishings but not to the type of attitude we experienced on this stay.
The other problem is that the bathroom facilities are not private at all in the Beige room. Fine for the 2 of us, but if you had a child or 3rd person in the room, (there was a bed for a 3rd person) it would be a very uncomfortable arrangement.
I'm very happy to find good recommendations on this board for B&B's though. Don't feel bad that this one didn't work out on that day. Usually B&B's in France are wonderful and I'm thrilled to find recommendations for them here!
I'm glad your experience was much better.
We saw her mother the next morning, but didn't know who she was since she made no attempt to greet us. She was sitting in a room on the other side of the kitchen. Maybe she wasn't feeling well that day, but she must have put the breakfast out, since Delphine didn't appear until just before we needed to leave.
We speak enough French to get by,and always greet our hosts nicely. One of the wonderful things about B&B's is getting to know the owner a bit.
We are used to old furnishings but not to the type of attitude we experienced on this stay.
The other problem is that the bathroom facilities are not private at all in the Beige room. Fine for the 2 of us, but if you had a child or 3rd person in the room, (there was a bed for a 3rd person) it would be a very uncomfortable arrangement.
I'm very happy to find good recommendations on this board for B&B's though. Don't feel bad that this one didn't work out on that day. Usually B&B's in France are wonderful and I'm thrilled to find recommendations for them here!
Oct 16th, 2007, 11:58 PM
#44
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Enjoying your trip report, Images2! Thanks for taking the time
We just got back ourselves and also visited many of the same towns! Collioure, very colorful and romantic (though I would hate to see the crowds in July/August), La Couvertoide, Beziers, Figeac, Pezenas, etc. Your report brings back such wonderful memories!!!
We just got back ourselves and also visited many of the same towns! Collioure, very colorful and romantic (though I would hate to see the crowds in July/August), La Couvertoide, Beziers, Figeac, Pezenas, etc. Your report brings back such wonderful memories!!!
Jan 22nd, 2011, 04:01 AM
#46
Lovely trip report - we were considering a drive to see the Viaduct and will now definitely do so. We are in Paris now and might also be interested in the Gite for early February - do you have the email address for the owners? Tried to book online but no luck. Is the parking easy for the gite?
Merci!
Merci!
Jan 22nd, 2011, 05:30 AM
#47
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Here is the link for this gite: http://www.gites-de-france.com/locat...-r1-liste.html
Have a wonderful trip and stay warm!
Have a wonderful trip and stay warm!
Jan 22nd, 2011, 05:43 AM
#48
Thanks - I have booked for 3 nights via the Gite website - it has been confirmed (and I've paid) - awaiting instructions for key pick up/arrival/etc. Thanks so much for posting this - we're very excited. What was the parking arrangement?
Feb 22nd, 2011, 11:52 AM
#49
We had a wonderful time in Belcastel in early February....probably not for everybody as I think we were the only people in the town...which made it even more magical...
Link to our blog....(not quite complete - more Belcastel updates to come shortly)
http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/p...lcastel-i.html
Link to our blog....(not quite complete - more Belcastel updates to come shortly)
http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/p...lcastel-i.html
Feb 22nd, 2011, 12:19 PM
#50
Thank you so much, images, You brought back memories of the trips in that wonderful part of France. My favorite stay was in the beautiful sleepy village of Plaisance and on a farm in Montaillou, a hotel in Mont-Lous, We visied most places you mention and stopped at a vineyard in Riversaltes that sold our house wine. We lunched in Couvertoirade and loved St Guilhem-le-desert. we have been in the Aveyron in three different trips
Feb 23rd, 2011, 07:58 PM
#51
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Belcastel in February! I love your gorgeous pictures. I can't imagine driving those roads in these conditions. Thanks for posting them!
Cigalechanta, You're so fortunate to have been to the Aveyron 3 times. Isn't it magical! I don't think we've been to Plaisance, but would love to add it to our list! Thank you. In January we stayed in Riversaltes a few nights at l'orangerie, http://www.maison-hotes-lorangerie.com/ It was a wonderful B&B. Not a town most would think of staying in, but the location was wonderful to many sites. I hope you can return sometime.
What is your house wine?
Cigalechanta, You're so fortunate to have been to the Aveyron 3 times. Isn't it magical! I don't think we've been to Plaisance, but would love to add it to our list! Thank you. In January we stayed in Riversaltes a few nights at l'orangerie, http://www.maison-hotes-lorangerie.com/ It was a wonderful B&B. Not a town most would think of staying in, but the location was wonderful to many sites. I hope you can return sometime.
What is your house wine?
Nov 17th, 2012, 12:49 PM
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I was surprised to see this wonderful TR back up at the top of the page. Yesterday, I booked our flights for next September to France. All accomodations are booked, also. I have wanted to visit the Aveyron from the first time I had read this TR. We will spend several days near the Gorge du Tarn, several days in and around Belcastel, followed by a return to Sarlat. Between this TR and Stu's itineraries, and advice from St.Cirq, I think I have mapped out a great trip.
