Road Trip 3

Castelnau-de-Montmirail

Saturday looked like it was going to be another warm, sunny day. We decided to go to some bastides Albigeois. The royal bastides generally have the church in the center, with the market square in front of the church, and the bastides built under Raymond VII are built around a market square, with the church off to the side or even at part of the ramparts, as at Cordes-sur-Ciel. We visited Castelnau-de-Montmirail. The arcades on the square are interesting, especially in the brickwork. In fact, the whole town has this interesting construction. For lunch, we returned to Puycelsi, which we had visited last year. After lunch, we took the road along the Aveyron past Bruniquel, Saint-Antonin, Lexos, and Laguépie back to Najac.

The tree in bloom at the
Monument aux Morts in Varen

Sunday was Easter. We got up early in order to go to Saint Antonin. It being market day, we wanted to get there before nine in order to find a parking space and see the market before it disappeared in the crowd of people shoppers. It's quite a nice market. We went into a little bookshop and I was able to consult the owner on the choice for S's birthday. Later, at the bee product stall, I got a full explanation of the benefits of Propolis. It was also the plant sellers'day just outside the market area. We bought all we needed for our vegetable garden. On our way back to Najac, we stopped in Varen and walked through the medieval village, next to the church and deanery.

The hotel restaurant was full for Easter lunch, after which we went to E & G's. It was no longer sunny and warm. Our little vacation was coming to an end. We spent the afternoon in the warmth of the gîte's wood stove fire. (That translates as "vacation rental", but since it's not ready for rental to anyone, yet, I think "little house" suits it better, even if it's not quite ready to live in, yet.) Lively conversation, a couple of games of Yahtzee, and an excellent dinner of Toulouse sausage from the producer who sells at the market, cabbage from the last year's garden later, we said our goodbyes and took to the road, home, on Monday.