Up at the usual 8:30. We had breakfast at the hotel today. Probably won't again, as it was 15 Euros each, but today the waitress seated us at the front table with the doors open and our view was the Castle of Carcassone. Worth it, at least for today.
Then we were off to a little town called Rennes-le-Chateau. It's about about 45 minutes south of Carcassone. You may have heard of Rennes-le-Chateau from the DaVinci Code. We actually stopped at a small town just outside of Rennes-le-Chateau called Couiza. Found the small Office of Tourism and a nice lady showed us how to go the last 5 K...and a good potty stop too. The final 5 K was a winding, switchback mountain road. Very pretty. We finally made it to the top of the mountain. 2 Euro to park and 10 to enter the museum. Well worth it.
The story from the DaVinci Code and Holy Blood Holy Grail is that a Father Sauniere came to the town in the late 1800s as the local Parish Priest. He began a reconstruction program to rebuild the church, the grounds and a house. He also built a chapel specifically to honor Mary Magdalene. The Magdala Tower. His house was nicer than anyone elses in the town. And the grounds and garden "incomparable." He also apparently threw lavish parties at his house. The church also has some odd sculptures in it that you don't usually find in a Catholic Church. For example, the Holy Water font is being held up by the Devil. Those types of things that probably don't mean anything, but certainly can fuel the speculation of conspiracy theorists. Then in 1909 the Monseigneur from Carcassone called Sauniere to task and trial demanding to know where all the money came from to build his fabulous church and estate. There were rumors of him digging and finding a treasure and there were also rumors that he found papers (Hello Dan Brown) that stated the Catholic Church knew Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married and had a child....(Holy Blood) and the church (from Rome) was paying him ransom to keep the information quiet and/or destroy the evidence. While awaiting trial, Father Sauniere died. True or not, it makes for a good story. And the town has prospered because of it, gaining tens of thousands of visitors every year. I'm glad we visited.
We had brunch at a Cafe in the town. Nice place with nice people. Saw some Aussies and talked to them about our friends we had met on the River Cruise a few years ago and then met up Wit them again in NYC and Chicago.
Back to Carcassone and walked the walled city. Great site. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Beautiful. We had a late lunch at a place called Le Senechal (French for the Sheriff...who collected the taxes in Medieval times). Our favorite croque monsieur, frites and a beer or water.
Went back to the hotel and Sandy slept while I blogged. The waitress/bartender who suggested Compte Roger to us yesterday suggested we try a restaurant called Domaine d'Auriac tonight.
It was only a five minute drive, Never Lost didn't help. The address didn't work. So we eventually found it on our own...a few minutes late, but we were welcomed with open arms. Glad we dressed up for this one. Very elegant restaurant. We shared fish for dinner. With salad and two drinks without tip..99 Euros. Sure hope the kids aren't hoping for too much when we kick the bucket!!! LOL! Now that takes the place as the best meal we have had in France.
Headed home and hit the sack!
Take care my friends and family!
Dave & Sandy
Great Breakfast, Rennes-le-Chateau, Elegant Dinner
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Carcassonne - Update #8, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
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