And Then They Were Gone

Mon 03 Jul

A last minute change of plans was in order to fit in a trip to the Bezieres area to see the Ecluses de Fonserane and the Oppidum d'Ensurene.

For me, this is the third time back to Bezieres. A city replete in history as the capital of Rome's first province in Gaul, Provincia. A couple of hundred years later Hannibal thundered by with his elephants and not the least, in the 1600s, the birthplace of Paul Riquet, the genius behind the construction of the Canal Du Midi. From a previous blog it might be recalled that one of the original wonders of the Canal's construction is the water stairway of seven locks at Fonserane that allows for the longest drop in altitude along the Canal's length.

Time is against us this morning so the visit is very brief before we drive the 10 kms to the remains of the Roman hill-fort at Ensurene. To be able to look history squarely in the eye through the marvelous excavations is a treat for the boys. After an hour or so we drive the 60 odd kms back to Caunes to pick up Donna and then to Homps for lunch and a cruise on the Canal.

Donna and I have eaten in the sunny courtyard of La Peniche restaurant on several occasions and thoroughly enjoyed it. The hosts, Anne and Alain, did not let us down. Eleanor was our waitress with whom we felt right at home as she had spent some months in Sydney and Brisbane a few years ago. Her attention and charming smile set the day off. Jeff and Karen had their first taste of 'cremante' which is an enhanced 'Blanquette de Limoux' which has just got to be one of the best 'bubblies' around.

At 1630 and with the sun still shining we boarded a diesel-driven wooden boat for a two hour trip up and back on the Canal. The trip includes negotiating a lock both ways and the commentary, in both French and English, provides a good understanding of the Canal's construction, maintenance, and usage. The serenity of gliding smoothly and almost noiselessly along is enervating and it is easy to appreciate the appeal of a floating holiday for a week or two.

Tue 04 Jul

We give ourselves plenty of time to get to Carcassonne this morning to return the Hertz car only to find that the train to Paris is running late and we have seriously overachieved. This did however, give us the opportunity to explore the Canal port at Carcassonne and to watch boats go through the lock adjacent to the rail station.

Anthony and I noticed a 'boxing kangaroo' flag on one of the berthed boats and struck up a conversation with the owner. He visited from Australia every year and spent all his time navigating the Canal on the boat which he owned. Both his hands were heavily bandaged as a result of rope burns suffered when he lost control of his boat going through a lock. The caricature on his boat was a kangaroo wearing a red 'beanie' hence the boat's name 'Rouge Chapeau'.

With about 10 minutes to go we assembled the bags on the station and in what seemed only an instant the Corail train arrived, they boarded, and were gone. I am pretty sure they enjoyed their stay and I think they saw and experienced more than they had anticipated they would. They were good shoppers and stocked up with goodies and memorabilia from the region. In particular the lovely rose coloured marble sculpture of a bunch of grapes by the renowned Caunes sculptor, Thierrey Aneau, should hold pride of place back in Gladstone.

It was a delight to have this close-knit family staying with us and we will miss them.

Back home again, we get ourselves in order and plan tomorrow's trip to Spain.