In planning the new itinerary for the resumption of our tour, Rachael and I discussed the level of lodging to select here in Gruissan: we could economize, or we could upgrade for $15/night and get a room on the second floor overlooking the canal. Tough call, but we decided that it's the sort of special setting that merits a splurge. When I awoke at about midnight and saw the moon rising above the marina, and again two hours later, I was glad for our decision to upgrade. Penny wise, pound foolish - what's the good in flying to Europe and then pinching pennies at the wrong spot?
Around midnight. It's shrunken a bit since it was totally full over the Foix chateau four days ago. At perhaps 2/3 now?
Around 2 AM. Black. Stars are out in force, though not visible here. I'm standing out on the balcony, camera steadied by the railing, unclad, chilly but not cold. Good thing there's no wind, and no one else about.
On our way in last night we biked through the heart of Narbonne, the historical city that is the administrative center for this region, the Narbonnaise. It felt very attractive, to our surprise - we weren't all that impressed with it when we biked through here 20 years ago. We didn't have time to look around, but we agreed that we should come back. Accordingly, we tore up the loop we had planned for today and drew up a new one that included Narbonne.
Rachael proposed the appealing idea of getting up early and biking to Narbonne for breakfast. So, that's our plan. We get out the door promptly at eight, and after a chilly nine mile ride we are sitting down to quiches, coffee and tea in a warm cafe in the heart of the Monument district.
In Narbonne, thawing out after a surprisingly chilly ride up from Gruissan. Great spot, just across the street from the Canal de la Robine. We have their last three small quiches, a Viennoiserie (sure looks like a croissant, but a bit different), and two large cups of coffee. The owners are warm, kind, tolerant of our language struggles, give us a brief French lesson.
Our planned route is a roughly box-shaped forty miler: west to Narbonne; south to Fontdroide Abbey; east to the coast, south to Gruissan.
Our actual route though is a fifty-five miler, because Ride With GPS has routed us over a steep ridge, following what looks like they must be just tracks through vineyards. We discovered this at Fontefroide about two, hastily reviewed the track, found the alternate, and moved out. The ride now completely filled the day, and we did not return to our hotel until about 7.
I've fallen in love with a new city - Narbonne. I could never really love places like Nice, Paris, or Rome. They're too crazy, too big, too jammed with tourists. Narbonne though - it's something else. It's about perfect. We're definitely coming back here for a longer stay some year - soon. I'm going to have more to say about it, but after we get home. For now, there are these photos to give you a taste of it.
The Canal de la Robine splits Narbonne's center in half. When we first came here I thought it was the Canal du Midi, but that's already bent eastward toward Agde. This is a spur, a shortcut to the sea that came a century later, when it was joined by the Junction Canal.
I didn't see this fellow at first, when I walked up to look over the railing and along the canal. Slowly it registered that someone was softly singing nearby. Fifteen feet behind me.
Admiring the Canal de la Robine. We spent a half hour of our short time here just absorbing the canal. It's wonderful, and defines the city now for me. I was surprised to learn it (the canal itself, not the city as a whole) is a world heritage site.
The Canal de la Robine, and some odd biker. This tour is the first time Rachael has shown any interest in photography. She's enjoying it, I'm enjoying it. Something new to share.
The gothic Narbonne Cathedral, started in 1272, is unfinished. This gives it a unique open and exposed feel. It reminds me of the ruined abbeys in the British Borderlands, their bones exposed in the sun,
We left Narbonne as the bells chimed the noon hour, for Fontfroide Abbey, a place I'd never heard of until looking for ideas to fill out today's little day ride. It's about 12 miles west of Narbonne, in the middle of a gorgeous wine region. It was beautiful biking there, especially now with the vineyards turning red and gold.
The countryside west of Narbonne, around the Abbey, is like this: low, gently undulating valleys blanketed in vineyards, olive groves and pine forest, punctuated by broken limestone outcrops.
The Abbey is something else. I imagine that the whole world would know of it if it were in Provence or near Paris instead, but nobody seems to come to this part of France. We nearly have the Abbey to ourselves, basking in one magnificence after another. There are few enough people here that you don't mind at all - they're completely in awe too, and add a bit to the show.
There is enough to see and say about Fontfroide Abbey that I've placed it into its own subfolder.
