Cherbourg To Aix-En-Provence

	Cherbourg to Aix-En-Provence A Two week Tour
Copyright 2002

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Cherbourg to Aix En Provence: A two week tour through Brittany, the Loire, the Dordogne and Languedoc

Itinerary:

Cherbourg, Bayeux, Domfort
The Loire: Angers, Rochemenier, Samaur, Abbaye de Fontevraud, Chateau d'Usse, Langeais, Villandry, Loche, la Roche-Posay, St-Savin. Chauvigny, Poitiers, Parthenay
La Rochelle, Cognac,
The Dordogne: Aubeterre-Sur-Dronne, Riberac, Bourdeilles, Brantome, Villars, St-Jeane-de-Cole, Thiviers, Sorges, Chateau de Hautefort, Montignac, Les Eyzies, Lascaux caves, Grotte Font-de-Gaume, St Christophe de Roche, Sarlat, Beynac St-Cazenac, Domme,Gourdon, Martel, Chateaux de Castelnau, Rocamour, Cabrerets, Grotte de Peche-Merle, Espagnac Ste Eulale, Figeac, Villefranche-de-Rouerque
Languedoc: Cordes-sur-Ciel, Albi, Toulouse. Castelnaudary, Carcasonne, Lastours, Minerve, Parc Naturel Regional Du Haut Languedoc, Olarques, Lamalou Les Bains
Montpellier,the Rhone delta, Arles, Aix-En-Provence

Day 1 - 12th March:

Cherbourg to Bayeux

Route & Sights:

N13 to Bayeux via Valognes

Food & Accomodation

Hotel Lion D'Or, dinner at Le Petit Bistrot, Bayeux

Second time through Poole and our bags were searched again. Kate asked why. They remembered us from January and said that we had a lot of luggage (2 full pack backs and 2 small rucksacks). Having gone through customs we then had our passports examined by a character in a tweed jacket who asked us "What is the purpose of your trip?".
After our last rental car, we went up market this time and had booked a Ford Focus. An enjoyable drive to Bayeux where we arrived at 4.30. We booked into the Lion D'Or hotel, and headed around the corner to the tapestry building. The tapestry was every bit as impressive as expected and the exhibition was well laid out and informative, telling the story from the Norman pont of view. The place was nearly empty, with perhaps 8 people viewing the tapestry. On to the cathedral for a look at the frescoes in the crypt. We had an early dinner in a small local looking restaurant opposite the cathedral - the first of many good meals. Back at the hotel and asleep by 10 pm..

Day 2 - 13th March:	Bayeux to Angers
Route & Sights:	Bayeux to the Caen ringroad, then south on the D962 to Domfort and on to Mayenne. East on the N12 to Ernee, then on back roads (the D137 and D123) to Vitre. On to Craon via the D88 and D127, then Segre (D863) and finally to Angers on the N162.
Food & Accomodation	Hotel Du Mai, dinner at Peche Gourmand

An expensive breakfast. Most of the other guests appeared to be elderly and middle aged Americans, possibly a party of D-Day veterans and their relatives. Drove to Domfort, a medieval town with a striking 1920's church, Byzantine looking with an unusual steeple, then on to Vitre for lunch. When we arrived at about 12.30, it appeared very quiet, but found a creperie for a good 3 course Menu de Jour (Tuna Salad, nut & pear savoury crepe, caramalised apple sweet crepe). Headed to Angers for our second night and booked into a good old-fashioned hotel in a back street. Known as "Black Angers" due to the colour of the buildings, only the Castle walls are now still black and imposing. The last bit of sight seeing was the cathedral, unusual in having no aisles and a domed ceiling. The restaurants here were a bit busier and we only got into our third choice - a 'modern' (1980's) look, but once again good food. Another good night's sleep.

Day 3- 14th March:	Angers to Samaur
Route & Sights:	Followed the north bank of the Loire on the D952 to Gennes, then along the south bank (D571) to Samaur. Excursion to Rochemenier from Samaur via Doue Fontaine.
Food & Accomodation	Cristal Hotel, lunch and dinner at La Quichenotte

The breakfast coffee was off and undrinkable - not a good start. As the castle did not open until 10, we had time to stop at a bakery for a good strong coffee.
The castle was the home of the Plantagenets - the Dukes of Anjou (as we headed south we also travelled through a lot more English history). The tapestry of the Apocalypse is absolutely astounding; it's over 100 metres long and 5-6 metres in width. Again there were very few other people there. We walked back to the hotel via an exhibition of sculptures held in a ruined abbey with a new glass roof.
Drove out of Angers (a larger city than I had thought) and up the North bank of the Loire valley. The road was along the top of a large embankment, obviously the river used to flood badly.
The valley was not as I had imagined. To the North it was flat as far as I could see, but with low hills on the South bank. Crossed the river at Genes and stopped in Saumur for lunch (omelette and crepe). Beautiful weather, so we strolled up to the chateau, then walked across the bridge to find some accommodation. Kate noticed a meandering drunk and I saw a dead rat on the footpath. Decided that these were not good omens, so headed back to the main town.
The hotel we wanted to try was closed until 4, so we drove to the underground village of Rochemenier through green but bland countryside. The village, overlooked by an attractive, decaying church was well worth the visit. Returned to Saumur and got a good room with a river view. Our first 2 choices for evening meal were shut, so we returned to our lunchtime restaurant and made do with Veal and chips plus another huge crepe. The hotel was noisier: English voices late in the night - "I'm locked out!" - "That's your f******g problem".

Day 4- 15th March:	Samaur to Loche
Route & Sights:	Followed the south bank of the Loire East on the D947 to Montsoreau then detoured south to the Abbaye de Fontevraud. Continued East on the D7, seeing Chateau d'Usse and Langeais. South on the D57 / D120 to Azay-le Rideau and on to Sache(D84). East on the D17 to the N143 and finally south to Loche.
Food & Accomodation	Hotel George Sands, dinner at the hotel

	Glorious weather again. Had an early breakfast in the bar in the company of a belching local who constantly giggled over his newspaper, watched warily by the waitress. We were on the road by 9 and made our first stop at the Abbaye de Fontevraud, burial place of Henry II and Richard the Lionheart. The austere abbaye is being restored with the cleaned stonework nearly pure white. Returned to follow the Loire and soon got lost following diversions around flooded out sections of road. Stopped for a coffee and tart tartin in the garden of a café across the road from the Chateau d'Usse, then on across the Loire at Langeais for another Chateau investigation. Lunch in the open air in Azay-le Rideau and yet another chateau glimpsed. We spent most of the afternoon in the Renaissance gardens of the Chateau at Villandry, as the sun was now actually hot. The interior of the chateau was not so impressive. Our final drive of the day took us along the river Indre to Loche, where we booked into the old Hotel George Sands. Our room was excellent, over looking the fast flowing river with the wonderful sound of the rushing water. As we carried our bags in a couple were noisily deciding whether to go in. The man, large and shambolic, wandered in behind his wife. Before dinner, we walked up to the citadel and encountered the wife whistling to her husband to keep up. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant by the river. Our man was sitting outside in the darkness consuming cocktails until his wife came down. A boisterous discussion ensued on whether she too would sit outside. She won and they both came in, only to be ushered to a separate room, much to our disappointment. The other 3 diners also seemed disappointed at the loss of our entertainment.

Day 5- 16th March:	Loche to Poitiers
Route & Sights:	South West on the D31 to Ligueil, then south east on the D50 before turning onto back roads to le Grand-Presigny, Barrou, Lesigny (D60). South on the D5 to la Roche-Posay and Angles-l'Anglin, then the D2 to St-Savin. Due west on the N151 to Chauvigny and Poitiers.
Food & Accomodation	Grand Hotel de L'Europe, lunch: Hostellerie Sain in La Roche-Posay, dinner at La Cappucino

Another superb night's sleep including a vivid dream involving a mixture of snooker and theology.
Loche is the most impressive of the Loire fortified towns, and we spent most of the morning in the Royal Lodge and Old Castle within the citadel where kings Henry, Richard and John again cropped up. We left, hungry as we could not find an open Café in the late morning, and drove south. La Roche-Posay looked like a nice place so stopped for lunch. It turned out to be a spa town and we landed up having a good 4 course meal.
We then took the back roads south to the 11th Century Abbey at St Savin. Before looking round the interior of the abbey we decided to get our bearings by strolling around the town. As we crossed the old bridge, a car headed straight for us, nearly knocking us town as we couldn't decide which way to dive out of its path. This caused much hilarity for the occupants of the car.
The abbey still retains it's 12th century painted ceiling and once again, we were the only people there, which was fortunate as Kate produced "une vente terrible a la derriere". I didn't make any comment at the time as I assumed that the odour was due to some strange outgassing from the abbey building itself. Onwards, west to the five castles of Chauvigny, followed for much of the way by a police van. While walking between the castles, I noticed the smell again. Initially I thought of catalytic converters, then it clicked and Kate admitted responsibility.
On to Poitiers where I got totally lost coming into the city, then again in the one way system in the old town. Finally decided to park the car and find our hotel on foot. Once booked, I returned with the car to find the courtyard full of English teenagers. A quick dinner of pizza, tiramisu, red wine and grappa and a reasonable nights sleep, occasionally disturbed by the kids shouting between the rooms.

Day 6- 17th March:	Poitiers to La Rochelle
Route & Sights:	West on the N149 to Parthenay, then south on the D743 to Niort. Around the ring road and onto the N11. Used the back roads (D3 and D116) before rejoining the N11 into La Rochelle.
Food & Accomodation	Hotel La Tour De Nesle, dinner at A Cote De Chez Fred

Breakfast next to three well perfumed French businessmen, one with a white scarf wrapped round his neck.
Before heading out to investigate Poitiers, I went out to the garage to pick up a map from our car and witnessed a Belgian woman manage to back her car into the door of the nearly empty garage. As we left the hotel, Kate inadvertently took a swing at a passing pedestrian while putting on her coat.
Our first stop was the Palais de Justice, a fantastic medieval hall hidden behind a 19th century façade, complete with pacing Advocat in his finery. Continued on passed the university. There were many students about, mainly female, being watched by a scruffy young drunk leaning against a wall and making comments. We stopped for our first coffee outside the Notre Dame church, then walked on to the cathedral. Next to the cathedral is a 4th century Roman church, the oldest in France. Unfortunately it was closed, but beautiful to look at.
Crossed the river, strolled along the other bank, then back to the Parc de Blossac and the St Hilaire church. When we entered the church, we saw a small group sat in the centre with a priest facing us. They didn't say anything, so we carried on into the church, then changed our mind at tried to leave, but got stuck in the door.
Bought a couple of pastries from a patisserie containing trays of beautifully sculpted chocolate scenes, including one of a family of rabbits opening presents.
Left Poitiers with no problems and headed west to Parthenay which used to be a staging post on the pilgrimage to Santiago. We parked outside the town centre and spent some time trying to find the medieval part of town, which, when we finally arrived, reminded us of a small Dinan - a street of medieval houses winding down to a fortified bridge across the river. Had lunch of spaghetti Bolognese in a "medieval" restaurant.
On to Coulon in the "Green Venice". The main road to Niort was truck filled, but once we got onto the back roads, the driving became far more pleasant. As expected, the area is flat. A very short stop, before continuing to La Rochelle. Didn't get quite as lost as in Poitiers, but managed to park at the opposite end of the town to most of the hotels - in fact we had earlier stopped in the right area, but hadn't realized.

We booked into a harbour front hotel with great views, and very quiet (good double glazing). We stopped for a drink on the quay before a quick explore of the town. Although pleasant, we decided it was not worth the 2 days we had initially decided on. Dinner at one of the recommended seafood restaurants close to the hotel. We passed some interesting looking bars on the way but they were all shut when we returned at about 9.30. The restaurant was not as good as anticipated. I didn't enjoy my main course and the desert was not particularly fresh. The place was full though; it was obviously popular with the locals.

Day 7- 18th March:	La Rochelle to Riberac
Route & Sights:	South on the N137 by passing Rochefort to Saintes. N141 to Cognac, South on the D731 to Archiat (including a side trip on the D736 and D418) Continued on the D731 to Barbezieux-St-Hilaire and Chalais. East to Aubeterre-Sur-Dronne and Riberac on the D20.
Food & Accomodation	Lunch at Le Sellerie (La Rochelle), Accommodation and Dinner: Hotel de France, Riberac

Good breakfast on the quay. The weather was again excellent. After a leisurely stroll around the old town, I bought a picture, then stopped for a coffee while Kate continued shopping. When we returned to the car to dump the shopping, we noticed that someone had badly scraped the bumper; no note, so nothing we could do. Headed to a recently gentrified part of town near one of the harbour towers and stopped for lunch on a deck overlooking the harbour. Within minutes of our arrival, all the tables were full. Three middle aged women arrived, two very witch like with incredibly long, thin faces.
Decided to head on to Cognac after lunch, but found it to be a big disappointment - a sterile pedestrianised old town.
We continued into the Dordogne, sticking to the back roads. Our first stop was the seemingly deserted hill top village of Aubeterre sur Dronne. We followed the river Dronne through increasingly an attractive countryside of rolling hills, finally reaching Riberac at 5:30. It's a pleasant looking town, so we decided to stop and booked into the Hotel de France.
Another wonderful old hotel. The floor in our room dipped by at least 6 inches from one side to the other and, in the bathroom, the toilet was on a raised platform. We ate at the hotel and it was the best meal of the holiday so far. The food was fresh and the menu imaginative, topped of with a good bottle of wine. We shared the dining room with a single French couple, a group of English and Canadians, including a Michael Winner soundalike who was being extravagant with his cigars.
Bed after a balancing act on the toilet throne - the platform was so small that I had to grip the base with my toes. Awoken at some point in the night by the sounds of a search for "Loo Loo" a yapping dog that had escaped it's owner.

Day 8- 19th March:	Riberac to Trelissac
Route & Sights:	East from Riberac along the south bank of the Dronne, crossing to the north bank at St Meard-de-Drone (D104). North East on the D78 to Bourdeilles and Brantome. Continued to Villars on the D3, then the D98 to St-Jeane-de-Cole and Thiviers. South on the N21 to Sorges stopping just north of Trelissac
Food & Accomodation	Lunch at Le Sellerie (La Rochelle), Accommodation and Dinner: Resort L'Ecluse

Awoken by the alarm to find a market set up outside the hotel. A great breakfast with a good selection of home made jams. We panicked the hotel by wandering off with our key to the tourist office to get some walking maps. Having checked out, we attempted a walk but quickly got lost, so ambled around the market instead.
Onwards, following the river Dronne to Bourdeilles and Brantome, which was where we originally intended to stay last night. Although it's very pretty, I was pleased that we had stopped in Riberac - the hotel here looked a little formal for us. After an OK lunch in the town, headed on to the ruined abbey and chateau at Vallers which we had totally to ourselves. There are normally guided tours but the guide said she didn't speak much English, so she gave us some notes and waved us in.
On to St-Jean de-Cole, a picture book village with a wonderful old church, inside which was an "Automated Guide". We selected our language, dropped in a couple of francs and all the lights came on to the sound of a truly deafening commentary. Without exaggeration, it would have easily been heard outside the church, probably by most of the village. We didn't dare leave until it had finished, and were pleased that, once again, it was only us in there.

We started looking for accommodation in Thiviers, a nice enough town but with no obvious restaurants. On to Sorges which had a good hotel, but unfortunately right on the main road. Luckily, our Michelin guide came to the rescue, showing a country resort hotel on a river a few kilometres down the road. We soon found ourselves on a balcony, directly overlooking the river with a chateau on the opposite bank. We had the dining room to ourselves until just before we finished our (average) meal.

Day 9- 20th March:	Trelissac to Sarlat
Route & Sights:	East off the N21 onto the D5 to Tourtoirac, then north (D67) to Excideuil. East (D76), south on the D704 (with a short detour to the chateau at Hautefort) to le-Lardin St Lazaire, continuing south to Montignac. Then south (D506 / D65) to St Leon and Les Eyzies. Back tracked to the D6 and turned south east through Marquay to Sarlat.
Food & Accomodation	Hotel La Madelaine, dinner at Le Commerce

The bed turned out to be a nightmare. I had to hang on to the edge to avoid rolling into the centre. Awoke to the sound of the river. We had breakfast alone and there were no other cars in the car park - we had been the only guests that night.

Decided to make a slight detour to the chateau at Hautefort, but as we drove Kate noticed that it would only be open from midday. We continued anyway, and when we arrived in the town, took a footpath around the old town to the castle entrance. Once there, we discovered that it was only open on Sundays.
Headed on towards the prehistoric caves around Les Eyzies, stopping for lunch at Montignac in a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the fast flowing La Vezere river. Montignac seemed a restful old town and restored us for the cave exploring. We decided to skip the replica Lascaux caves, and instead try for a tour of the Grotte Font-de-Gaume. The guide advised early booking as there are only 200 places available per day, however having arrived at 2 pm, we got on the 3 pm tour. We first at a look around the museum which covered the 30 years of digging through 14 layers, 3 civilisations and 35,000 years of history. As we were the only people there, we we taken around by an English speaking guide. She pointed out the fire places from different periods, the rock falls between the ice ages (in cold periods, they burnt bones rather than wood). She timed her tour so we were back at the cave entrance dead on 3.
Eight of us were taken into the cave. The quality and clarity of the art was amazing, although some had been disfigured by graffiti, presumably from when the cave was discovered at the beginning of the 20th Century. Drove back up the Vezere river to the "Trogolyte City" of St Christophe de Roche. I didn't expect too much, but it turned out to be a five level town built into the cliff and running for several hundred metres, much of it destroyed in the 16th century though.

Continued via back roads to Sarlat an arrived just as the market was finishing, joining a slow moving queue of traffic through the town. I spotted a parking space in the centre of town and dived in. We'd parked right outside a listed hotel right in the old town centre. After checking in, we took our pre-dinner stroll. The old town is a gem with a large unspoilt medieval centre. The hotel seemed pretty good as well, completely renovated interior, with two lively white Scotties in reception.
We were getting a little tired of the four course evening menus, so attempted to find a simple pizzeria. Naturally, we failed and once again had our full, but cheap dinner: Soup, Omelette with truffle, Duck with goats cheese salad and dessert. Back at the hotel, I couldn't turn down the heating, so slept on top of the covers.

Day 10- 21st March:	Sarlat to Rocamour
Route & Sights:	South to Beynac St-Cazenac (D57) and onward (D46) to Domme, St-Martial and Pont Carrat, East on the D673 to Gourdon then North, meeting the Dordogne river at le Belcastel. On to Martel (D23) . Headed east along the north bank of the Dordogne (D703), crossing to the south bank and the D30 at Carennac. On to the Chateaux de Castelnau and de Montal (D19), then swinging back West on the D673 to Rocamour
Food & Accomodation	Hotel Panorama, dinner at Jardins Louve

There were other people at breakfast! Out for a quick walking tour of the town - perfect weather again.
Managed to leave the town on the right road first time, heading for Beynac St-Cazenac and the Chateau, sited impressively on top of cliffs above the village. There were two guides at the entrance, one of whom was English, originally from Lancashire. She had been in France for 25 years and her English was a little rusty, with her accent slipping between pure French and Lancastrian. She explained that the 89 year old owner of the castle had spent the last 37 years restoring the castle and reckoned that there were 30 more years to go. The castle has been wonderfully restored, with the interior lit by oil lamps and exterior wooden structures in place. It had been used as a location in a film about Joan of Arc, and some of the props had been left.

Stopped at La Roque-Gageac, a picture postcard Village below cliffs and running alongside a river with the intention of having an early lunch, but all the restaurants that were open advertised 4 course Menu lunches. Headed on to Domme, a pleasant hill top town with a vaguely English feel. We stopped at a table outside a restaurant, but the owner came out and said that we must eat inside, so given the good weather, we decide to try somewhere else. All other suitable choices were either full or demanded the full 4 coursers, so we returned to our first choice. The owner now appeared run off his feet, but we managed to get our salad and quiche fairly rapidly. Checked out the caves under the town, but found that we'd have to join a tour later in the afternoon, so continued in the sunshine to Gourdon.
Gourdon was nice enough, but didn't really warrant a long stop, so on to Martel, a very attractive town with an impressive covered market. It was also very closed, the only sign of life was some kids playing Boules. On to the small village of Carennac, a compact, totally silent village. Interesting portico on the abbey though. Everyone in this part of France seems to disappear on Sundays. As it was now about 5.30, we decided to head to Rocamour for the night.

We stopped at modern Hotel Panorama, the only hotel that appeared to be open in the area. Rocamadour itself ran up from the base of a deep gorge, visible directly across the road from the hotel. The hotel restaurant was shut, se we walked down to the old town via a stairwell running from the Castle, through some large courtyarded buildings to the single street. Two restaurants out of about 10 were open, so we had a pizza with the other 8 or so tourists in the town that night. We thought that we'd have to walk back up to the hotel along the road, which was not too appealing, but we saw that the upper town was still floodlit, so we went back the way that we'd come down. We had the whole place to ourselves, wandering up through the buildings and the cliff. Judging by the size of the car parks at the top of the cliffs, the place would be packed in summer. The first rain in 9 days began falling as we reached the top of the cliff.

Day 11- 22nd March:	Rocamour to Cordes-sur-Ciel
Route & Sights:	South along the D32 to Labastide-Murat, then on to Cabrerets and the Grotte de Peche-Merle via the D13. East along the north bank of the river Cele (D41) to Espagnac Ste Eulale and Figeac (D13). South on the D922 to Villefranche-de-Rouerque, Laguepie and Cordes-sur-Ciel
Food & Accomodation	Hotel Le Vieux Cordes, dinner at Le Chevance

Awoken at seven by 3 sets of church bells ringing in the hour, each slightly apart, followed a few minutes later by continual tolling from one of the bells. Down at the bar by 8, along with all the other guests - a good breakfast with plenty of fresh coffee.
Drove down to the old town through cloud and rain. We walked back through the town along the same route as the previous night and stopped in the atmospheric, smoke blackened chapel of the Black Virgin, the small statue itself strangely modern looking. Prisoners' chains hung off the rock at the back of the chapel and two model sailing ships hung from the ceiling. Again, we had the palce to ourselves and were able to spend some time in quiet contemplation. One other tourist wandered in briefly.
Drove south along the valley of the Cele to the working river village of Cabrerets where we hoped to see the Grotte de Pech-Merle, supposedly larger and as good as those we saw at Les Eyzies. We weren't sure whether they were open but saw a tour bus there when we arrived. The place didn't look open, although there were several work men around. One of them saw us and came down from his ladder and very excitedly explained to us that the cave was open for tour groups. Kate was standing on some steps and he was so close to her as he chatted that she sub-consciously stepped back up the steps and by the end of the conversation, Kate had reached the top.

As no tours appeared imminent, we decided to head south along the river to the abbey ruins and village of Espagnac Ste-Eulale -saw a young deer in a meadow by the road on the way - then on to Figerac, a pleasant town with a large medieval centre. A pancake for lunch, then continued south to Villefranche de-Rouergue, a bastide town. The medieval central square is massively impressive with a huge church portico and covered arcades around the square as wide as a two lane road. A funeral procession was entering the church; the cars and people were dwarfed by the church pillars.
As usual, we briefly mislaid the exit from Villefranche de-Rouergue and arrived at our next stop, the hill top town of Cordes-sur-Ciel at about 4 pm. We parked in the new town below the hill and began the long trudge up to the old town, passing a large group of American school kids coming down.
As soon as we reached the walled medieval centre of the town, we decided to stop here. Found a nice old hotel, built around a courtyard. The hotel restaurant was closed, but we were assured that at least one restaurant would be open in the old town. We were also told that all staff would be leaving the hotel at 7.30 in the evening and were shown how to lock up. On our pre-dinner wander through the town we saw the other four or so tourists who were staying overnight. While Kate was shopping she found that the owners of the shop were French Australian who had lived in Adelaide at the same time as us and had returned to France four years earlier.
There were two restaurants open that night at as one had 3 stars in the Michelin guide, we decided to eat there along with all the other tourists and three noisy English resident in the area. They appeared to be in advertising and we all learnt a great deal about Coutts bank and how the budget airline Go had nearly been called Bus. The food was good, but not as good as our meal in the Hotel France at Riberac. The hotel appeared completely empty when we returned, so a very quiet night.

Day 12- 23rd March:	Cordes-sur-Ciel to Carcasson
Route & Sights:	South along the D600 to Albi, then on the A68 autoroute South to Toulouse. Autoroute A61 South East to Castelnaudary, and finally the N113 to Carcasonne
Food & Accomodation	Hotel Du Donjon, dinner at Auberge de Dame Carcasonne

Met the one other guest at breakfast. In clearing weather we headed on to the Italian looking down of Albi and parked close to the brick cathedral. The cathedral contained a series of huge beautiful paintings of the last judgement on the pillars by the alter. We stopped at a friendly patisserie for a coffee and cake. In addition to the usual goodies was a fantastic set of chocolate creations, presumably for Easter.

On to Toulouse via the autoroute (first time on the holiday) where we intended to spend the night. Made it straight into the centre on our first attempt, but then missed the car parks, so had to go round a second time. We walked to the first hotel on our list and to our amazement it was full (another first for the holiday). The two guys at reception were very helpful and tried to other hotels for us but they too were full. We stopped looking looking for a room and started looking for lunch. Found a rather posh pavement restaurant, the Lafayette, and ate an enormous salad surrounded by business lunchers in the warm sunshine. We did a quick pedestrian tour of the city centre, including a wonderfully unadulterated Romanesque brick church with a pure plain interior, the main baroque square and, finally a stretch of the river.
We decided to head on to Castelnaudary, described in the Rough Guide as worth an hour or two. When we arrived, however, it seemed rather non-descript with no real centre.
On again, to Carcasonne where we parked below the spectacular walled city. We found a room at the Hotel Du Donjon inside the old town, had a quick walk, then back down to pick up the car. A good dinner, but lousy wine, at the Auberge de Dame Carcasonne. A final stroll along the flood lit walls before retiring.

Day 13- 24th March:	Carcasson to Lamalou les Bains
Route & Sights:	North on the D201 to Conques-sur-Orbiel and Lastours. East on the D111 / D115 to Caunes Minervois, then on to Pepieux (D52) and Minerve (D182). North into the Parc Naturel Regional Du Haut Languedoc on the D147, and onto Olarques and Lamalou Les Bains(D908).
Food & Accomodation	Hotel Du Donjon, lunch at Chantovent, Minerve

Difficulty in getting up after a heavy nights sleep. The weather was again excellent, though with a strong cold wind. On our day time circuit of the walls, we suddenly caught a glimpse of the snow capped Pyrannees to the South.
We criss crossed all the streets in the old town, before looking at a tour of the castle. Unfortunately, several parties of Italian school children had beaten us to it, so we took this as a hint to move on to the chateaux at Lastours. We stopped at Conques-sur-Orbiel on the way to pick up some provisions, but couldn't find a bakery, so landed up buying some kit kats and snickers bars. We also briefly gained ownership of a collarless black Labrador that appeared to have been abandoned. We managed to leave him with someone in the village.

Arriving at Lastours, we could see the castles on the hill top overlooking the village, but found out that the only way to them was via a museum that didn't open until the summer. Head on to Minerve, a timeless village perched on an outcrop of rock between two gorges. An interesting place to wander around, but it was nearing the end of lunch time, and none of the cafes were open. Kate had resorted to her snickers bar when we came across what was the best restaurant of the holiday, the Chantovent. A starter of profiterole shells with goats cheese, followed by a great fish dish and finally a "pastry cigar apple". We had only just made it. Another couple who arrived five minutes later were turned away.
A river ran through a large cave in the wall opposite the village in one of the canyons, but we couldn't reach it as the river was running high.

On through the Mediterranean country and small villages of the Parc Naturel Regionel du Haut Lanquedoc to Olarque with its impressive 13th century bridge. By now the weather was turning wet again and we were tiring, so we stopped in the spa town of Lamalou les Bains. The place smelt strangely of cabbages. Most of the people staying in the town appeared to have a disability or have been injured. We later found out that the French army had a convalescent centre there. Dinner at a pizzeria.

Day 14- 24th March:	Lamalou les Bains to Aix-en-Provence
Route & Sights:	East on the N109 to Montpellier, then across the Rhone delta (D62, D58 and D570) to Arles. Continued East on the N113, then the autoroute A8 to Aix-En-Provence
Food & Accomodation	Hotel St Christophe, dinner at Les Deux Garcons

We had passed through Provence in 1997, and as the weather was now settled into continuous rain, we drove straight through to Aix-En-Provence, with brief stopovers in Montpelier and Arles.