.... the little pellet did fall off! As we didn't make the effort to go into the town of St. Pons yesterday, we drove in this morning to have a look around and have lunch before moving on to pastures new. The Cathedral is another very ornate one, but with the added interest of the local marble - note the pillars - and a very impressive organ, the only one of its kind in France (can't find where I read what it was).
This notice was just inside the door - we didn't see it till we were on our way out, otherwise we'd have wondered about finding a coiner ....
... but a visitor before us must have sussed it out and had put in 2E because we could hear the organ being played - quite impressive.
The marble is everywhere in the town - the pavements are all tiled with it and several benches, each a different colour.
We also found the Source of the River Jaur, very gently flowing from a cave in a small park.
After a very satisfying lunch (4 courses + wine for 13.50E) it was time to move on to just outside Mazamet to a France Passion "Maison du Bois et du Jouet" where we planned to spend the afternoon and the night. We were shown to a perfect spot to park and were not charged to visit the shop and fascinating museum - dolls houses from all over the world and shop window displays of wooden toys. Behind the shop there's a large room with umpteen games to play - we had a go at several including the giant Connect 4, the bagatelle, one of those maze things that you have to move the board to encourage the ball to go where you want it to go (neither of us very successful!) and one where you roll wooden balls in a frame hoping that they fall into high-scoring holes. Great fun.
One of the reasons for coming here was to be able to visit Hautpoul, a tiny village built high up on the hillside for workers in the textile industry, where there's also a ruined castle from the 13th Century. The walk up from the "Maison du Bois" was the usual zig-zag path through woods. The views were well worth the effort.
We returned to the van for a late light meal and by then were left totally alone in the peace and quiet.
Saturday 19th August
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| Last view of Hautpoul as we left "Maison du Bois"... |
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| ... and negotiated the bridge - will it or won't it? |
After a restful lunch, we got on the bikes to explore, heading first for another one of those Voie Vertes we seem to gravitate to, then on lanes back to Lautrec where we parked the bikes and climbed up to the old town.
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| ... remember this advert? (shows your age!) |
The walls of the church were covered with paintings, both with works of art and decoration. This was another one with painting that looked like it was relief stonework.
Usually when you reach the church, you've reached the highest point of the village, but Lautrec is different in that it has a windmill much higher, and a cross much higher still. Of course, we climbed up there too!
We couldn't quite see our van, but we could see the plan d'eau (little lake) nearby.
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Quite a few other vans had turned up by evening, including a Belgian family who came next to us. They had 3 delightful little boys, aged approximately 3, 2 and 1, who kept us entertained till bedtime. When they were having their meal, it was funny to hear Dad doing all the coaxing with the middle child, including 'the aeroplane' trick!
Sunday 20th August
We left Lautrec first thing and moved on to Cordes-sur-Ciel, claimed to be one of the most beautiful villages in France.
When we arrived, John recognised the road and thinks we have been here before. I don't remember it, but we shall have a good explore tomorrow anyway. We certainly didn't stay at the campsite then, which we've found is another very laid-back gem. Arriving at 10.30 was a bonus as we have had all day to relax and enjoy our surroundings and take a rest from climbing hills. I couldn't resist sampling the pool, though!
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