Before the Heat and the Crowds: Minerve’s Dove of Light

Setting off in the cool 25 degree morning air, we made tracks for the cliffside stronghold of Minerve. It's stunning - a place where history and architecture cling to the limestone gorges. Over 30,000 years of human occupation!

While the village's 93 residents can drive across the spectacular 1903 viaduct, the rest of us park on the heights above and walk in. It’s a spectacular approach, fab for photos.

 

We walk down from the upper parking lot and cross into Minerve, past the stark, towering remnants of the Candela (the Candle) a remnant of the13th century medieval castle. As we stoll along the ramparts we  find out about the Cathars. It's hard to imagine living through the brutal seven-week siege in 1210. The replicas of the trebuchets which catapulted massive stones are just across the gorge.  Terrifying.

Imagine having to choose - to surrender and face a torturous death or to accept Catholicism and face hell for eternity!!! Surender they did! They burnt over 400 people  at the stake.... horrendous!

Today though it is tranquil and beautiful.  The streets are deserted and we can explore to our hearts content. The museum is open and we explore stone and bronze artifacts.  At 10.00 the cafe opens. A trickle of people start to arrive.  The temperature rises.

We settle down next to the 11th-century Église Saint-Étienne and spend half an hour in the shade sketching.  

I notice a flower planter, with inscriptions.  I later find out that it's an ancient, deeply weathered sarcophagus or baptismal vat carved with a naive Romanesque relief that details the biblical story of Genesis and the Original Sin.

Reading the relief from left to right,..

The Gates of Eden : The heavy, bricked wall with a defined arched doorway represents the locked entrance to the Garden of Eden or the heavenly city.

Life in Paradise: Moving inward, figures are shown under stylized trees, representing the initial innocence of Adam and Eve.

The Temptation: In the middle, you can see the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil with the serpent distinctively coiled around its trunk, tempting Adam and Eve.

The Expulsion & Labor: To the right of the tree, the figures are shown facing the consequences of their actions clothed or covering themselves, with the final figure on the far right holding a tool, most likely representing Adam being condemned to labor and till the earth after being cast out.

Next ti the trough is the Cathar Monument, erected in 1982. It's also known as the Colombe de lumière (Dove of Light) because of the way the sun shines directly though the bird.

By now the temperature has risen to high 30's and its not going to stop there! The trickle of people has now become a constant stream.  Time for us to leave for the cool of Erin's place.

Back in Trausse there is great activity as the village prepares for Bar a Vin a fundraiser for the local school. We'll check it out tomorrow night!

Too Hot to Hike, But Never Too Hot for a Brocante!

 A few kilometres from where we are living is Notre Dame du Cros, famous for its little chapel but also for its magnificent cliffs and walking trails.  Today even though we love the chapel and its fabulous acoustics we plan to do a short 2 hr walk.... but in the end the heat and threat of wild fires defeat us.

Loved seeing the familiar walking sjgns that we've followed over the years (and at times lost sight of) on our self guided walks across Italy and France. It brought back so many great memories of Alpine walks. The butterflies were truly amazing - often camouflaged by the dry grasses and dry-stone capitelles.

Spent some time watching the climbers abseil down the cliffs before we retreated to our car and air conditioning..  On out way back we discovered Brocante!!!! You know how I love second hand shops, well Brocante are something else.  Everything from total rubbish to great intriguing finds.This one was closed but all proceeds go to care for the feral cats. 

Now to find a Vide Grenier (Literally empty attic! but is the equivelant of garage sale) Maybe on Sunday!

Tranquil Waters, Anxious Horizons

It's cooler today only 30 degrees so we choose a gentle cruise down the canal du midi.  Our boat, the Sant Ferreol is old but dignified. We sail gently down the canal. Its 'tranquil' in fact everywhere is quiet here.  We pass a few tourist hire boats but for most of the time it is us and the guide who patiently describes everything in French and then in English. 

Going through the locks reminds us of hiring the narrowboats in Wales.  Mum was in her nineties then and Caleb dropped in to meet up with us on his gap year in Europe.  Great memories.  Mum and I strolling along the tow path while Roger and Caleb negotiated the locks.  These ones though are all controlled electronically and it is a smooth trip through.

We meet up with an English couple 'Double J' as we dub them.  They have loved living here in France for 20 years, but like the expats in Trausse there is an air of unrest. War and climate change are looming and everyone is wondering what they should do. The expats who have boys in their twenties are especially worried about conscription. For expat Aussies, Australia feels like a refuge.

Towards the end of our trip, our attention is drawn to the familiar smell of a bushfire and ahead of us we see grey clouds of smoke.  By the time we dock, great towering flumes of heavy grey smoke tell us that this is a serious one. 

Not sure about our plans to walk tomorrow. Will have to wait and see.

Olives, Accents, and Afternoon Shade: A Day at the Olonzac Market

Our quest today is to visit the Olonzac market which is considered to be one of the best weekly markets in the Minervois region. The narrow local streets are taken over by stalls selling goat cheeses, olives, galette, fresh sun-ripened stone fruits, rotisserie chickens, horse meat, fish, bread, cakes…..oh and so much more and of course everyone wants to chat about how things are made, what herb goes with what meat. It takes an age to shop. I love it. 

We leave with arms full of fruit, veg and galettes but no horse meat!

On the way out we visit a second hand clothing shop… of course we do! The owner is from south London… still got the accent even when he is speaking French.  I always wonder how people get to live where they do. In his case a marriage breakup persuaded him to reluctantly take up a job offer in France. That was 20 years ago. He’s never been tempted to go back although Thailand is calling. Who knows where he will end up!

We had hoped to check out the second part of the market that had woven baskets, textiles, clothing, and local crafts, but the heat got to us and so we abandoned that idea as well as exploring village of Pepieux. Next time!

Back home in the village, we notice that the shutters are open on the house opposite. Strange .  We know the owner is away and we've been watering her plants. A cheerful head pops through the window. Time for another chat I think. It turns out she is a real estate agent and eagerly shows us around. Traditional kitchen and lounge, 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms over 3 levels with your typical precarious spiral staircase.  MMM.  How much we ask. €135,000!  Say that again! Very tempting, well apart from the dratted spiral staircase.  

So we settle in for an afternoon in the shade - chilling is just what we need!

 

Searching for veggies - winding up in a winery

Erin and Milton leave at the crack of dawn to go to Ireland.We hear later that they had a horrendously long journey with Ryan Air but managed to rescue the situation with a visit to the Guinness factory!!!!

We do our morning walk in the coolest part of the day although it still rises quickly to 30 degrees.  We are accompanied most mornings by this little fellow who is anxious for a crumb or two that we don’t have while the barn cat proudly displays his latest triumph."

We are taking it slow and learning the ropes. Even though Milton has already taken us there, finding the supermarket is still an adventure navigating through a maze of tiny streets. We start with Caunes our nearest town.  Like all the towns around it is awash with flowers and of course sculptures made from the local pink marble... think Versailles.

We see a sign for fresh fruit and veggies and find of course that we are in a winery!!! Shopping anywhere in France, whether it is the supermarket, épicerie. or in this case a small winery, involves having a chat!

Today we talk about the piles of vines we've seen by the edge of the road.  The land behind them cleared.  Why?... 'Arrachage' he replies. Now that is stretching my French.  It means pulling up vines and destroying them. 'Why?'  People are drinking less wine and climate change and so farmers are taking the €4,000 per hectare and destroying their vines. Change is afoot even in France.

Home to a lovely afternoon tea with Laurence, a Parisienne, who lived for more than two decades with her Australian husband and two boys in Oz, before moving to the village. She is facing the dilemma many of us migrants have - which home do we go back to? 

Another day full of fabulous food, people and a dose or two of French culture!

Chez Sue and Stuart

 After a day of exploring with Milton as the lead guide, we amassed a basket full of local cheeses, pâtés, terrines, wine and of course baguettes. Back home for a snooze before our next social outing.

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Summer is a time for social events and like every village in France, Trausse Minervois is full of gatherings ]music, food and wine. There's always something happening! Last night was a festival in La Place de la Tour, but we were all in a quieter mood and opted for a walk through the village and out towards the vines. 

Tonight though we are headed for the blue gate in a stone wall. I love that about Europe, there is always that wonder about what lies beyond that walled garden!  Susan and Stuart have just moved into an old house and they have started to renovate. We are to meet up with the gang and see what they have done.

Now renovation in these little villages is interesting.  If you need an extra room and the next door neighbours have one that they don't use and they are agreeable and the Marie agrees, you simply knock through a door into the wall and voilà everyone is happy!  

It makes for some interesting architecture!

So Susan and Stuart wanted to keep chickens, put in a double garage and have a garden.  A big ask in such a small village - pas de problème! A talk with the neighbour and the mayor - you upsize and your neighbours downsize.

Love the photo where Roger and Erin are checking out the neighbours place.

Tonight it's very much an expat group. An interesting bunch of Australians, English, American, and Canadians but even though our experiences are very different our world views are pretty similar.

Eventually after sharing stories and eating far too much delicious food we head home for dinner!!!

Chez Erin and Milton

It was such a joy to arrive in Trausse. At the first sight of the Marie and an avenue of Napoleon Plane trees we felt we were at home in the rural France we love so much.  

I love the fact that the reason we have these magnificent avenues of trees, lining the main roads, is because Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars, moved his Grande Armée across Europe at a blistering pace, forcing his infantry to march up to 30 kilometres a day in heavy wool uniforms and carrying full packs.

Of course, during the stifling hot summer months, soldiers were dropping from heat exhaustion and dehydration before they even reached the battlefield (a bit like us!). So Napoleon decreed that the main roads of France be lined with tall, leafy trees to create a continuous canopy of shade - and as his passion was London Plane trees two hundred years later we have the joy of these huge trees. 

But back to the blog.  Erin and Milton lead us through the winding streets, past the Tour and to the rampart walls.  There was their beautiful old house complete with flower baskets and geraniums.  Milton's bike parked outside ready for a quick ride to the épicerie for a baguette or wine.

I've always wanted to visit the village as Erin and Milton talk about it so much and here we are.  How did they find this tiny village in Southern France?  Well twenty-five years ago, an Australian expat purchased a historic home in the quiet, sun-drenched village of Trausse. Eager to celebrate his French home, he commissioned artist Erin to paint a portrait of the property.

But as we know, Erin isn't the type of artist to paint from the detached distance of a photograph., hso, to capture the true essence of the stone, the light, and the landscape, she had to see it, breathe it, and sketch it in person.

She was of course captivated by the charm of the village and when she's not travelling to teach, exhibit her work or visit family she's here in Trausse-Minervois.

 

Only a couple of days to catch up on news before they leave for Ireland! So we made the most of it - a fabulous evening, laughter, great food (duck a la Milton) wine (Langeudoc) and fabulous company!