france: thursday 091709

Friday, February 5, 2010

This day was the day we made up for missing Carcassonne. We were in the heart of Cathar Country – it is named so after a kind of inquisition period, where the Cathari religion was being exterminated. (Interestingly, the phrase “Kill them all, God will know his own” is traced back to this period.) The people often hid in local castles of sympathizers or built their own. These castles were also used later during the French and Spanish border wars, and you can see bullet holes and such. We visted four – Lapradelle, Peyrepertuse, Queribus, and Aguilar.

France_day_nine2 France_day_nine3 France_day_nine5

The most amazing part is just seeing for yourself what you already know from history – castles were built to be defensive forts, so they are placed at the peaks of mountain tops. And as such, the parking is in the valley, so you have to walk up an enormous hike to see the castle. The French also do not tarnish the experience with stupid signs and ropes to “protect” visitors – if you are going to fall off the obvious side of a mountain, maybe you deserve it? I dunno. Maybe its just that Americans really are that retarded in comparison? Its hard to say. But there was no litter, no graffiti, and it wasnt overwhelmed with visitors, and it was awesome.

France_day_nine4

France_day_nine1

Our last stop was on the Mediterranean Sea, just south of the Montpellier Airport, in Palavas-les-Flots. We stayed at Hotel le Brasilia, which was very sheek. From our balacony, we could see the beach. And of course, our first meal there had to come fresh out of the sea!

France_day_nine8

I also realized here, out in the middle of the french countryside, something that had been trying work itself out in the back of my mind – something was very different here than in the US, something good. And what is it? Well, there are no annoying bugs!!! No mosquitos, no flies, no gnats, i dont even think i saw a spider. The only bug i can remember was a bee. Everywhere you go, you see windows thrown open – no screens, not even at the hotels. You eat outside everywhere. We walked through the woods on several occasions. Nada. You can go to the riverfront in the late evening and nothing! Now that is a convincing factor in deed on living in France, dont you agree? 🙂

France_day_nine6

 

See more posts related to:

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Stitch Club: Kaur

Stitch Club: Kaur

Saima Kaur led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club designed to make us smile by stitching brightly bold and whimsical figures, and I was inspired by ancient South African rock art.

read more
Stitch Club: Edwards

Stitch Club: Edwards

Priscilla Edwards led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we learned to make a wire frame and use batik wax to form a sculpture. For whatever reason, I decided I’d make a sailboat!

read more
Hexie Dreams + Template

Hexie Dreams + Template

My Hexie Dreams quilt, which was carefully fussy cut and hand pieced by me, then hand quilted by my gramma, is finally finished after three+ years of work (and avoidance). The proof is in the stitching – persistence pays off!

read more
Stitch Club: Dias

Stitch Club: Dias

Cassandra Dias lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on embroidered landscapes, and I was inspired to recreate a honeymoon photo of France’s Pont Du Gard.

read more
Hello 2024!

Hello 2024!

For the start of 2024, I’ve been playing with drawing, paint, and watercolor pencils to get a feel for the media.

read more
Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

I followed a water color pencil tutorial by Ida Andersen Lang to work through some techniques to set me up for a successful Mixed Media 2024 journey.

read more
Stitch Club: Boschert

Stitch Club: Boschert

Deborah Boschert lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on creating a mixed media art quilt. I based mine upon a visit to a new town and restaurant.

read more
Finds and Things

Finds and Things

A random post about some art supplies, vintage finds, and an AI-generated experiment for future crafts.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 3

Stitch Club: Stone 3

Sue Stone’s third workshop with TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club prompted us to use text in our piece, so I recorded a trip to Shawnee National Forest.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 2

Stitch Club: Stone 2

Sue Stone led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club in her well-known portrait style, and I was inspired to capture a man in a hat in four variations.

read more
Hexie Dreams 19

Hexie Dreams 19

My hand sewn fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is all ready to go to my gramma for hand quilting. Check out a few of my embellished hexies, and come back in the future for the finished product!

read more
My Village Quilt

My Village Quilt

I present to you My Village Quilt, based on the Urban Village Green quilt: a four-year-long project that tipped the love-hate scale finally over to love.

read more