Today we chose to return to Narbonne to visit the Saint-Just-et-Saint -Pasteur Cathedral.
Narbonne,was the first Roman City in Gaul and it still preserves many vestiges of its past .
We manoeuvred our way through the town and parked in one of the new car parks underneath the banks of the Canal Robine.
We headed to the Market Hall in the heart of Narbonne.This is an old market hall in Baltard style,the haunt of hungry strollers, budding chefs and gourmets of all shapes and sizes.
With olives,honey,thyme,rosemary,oysters sardines,fruit ,vegetables,vanilla beans,fish,charcuterie ,this market is a foretaste of the nearby Mediterranean.
What a visual feast!
We headed to the cathedral and sedately walked through and viewed in awe.
We then headed to the Town Hall Square to view Via Domitia ,this is evidence of the ancient town twenty one centuries ago,the Via Domitia,joined Italy to Spain in the second century BC,and was uncovered in 1997.
It was restored and enhanced,it marks out the "Place de l'Hotel de Ville",the nerve centre of Narbonne.
We then decided to explore some of the peripheral areas of Narbonne before leaving for Homps.
This is a small village where we can take a barge trip on the Canal du Midi .
It was cool and windy so we have decided to come another day when it is not so windy.
The Canal du Midi is a waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and it dates back to the Roman Empire.
Augustus dreamt of a water route that would be quicker than the land routes and the dangerous Iberian Peninsular sea route.
He also wanted to facilitate military and political control of the Gaul region and simplify the transportation of goods between the two maritime fronts.
The Canal du Midi has a complex past but as soon as it was completed it became a major means of communication and was used for trade as much as for travelling.Although sailing ships travelled up and down its course,their masts lowered,to avoid sailing around Gibraltar,it was the specially designed and locally made canal boats- barges,saltines and coutrillons- that accounted for most of the traffic.
In 1989, the last Canal du Midi freight barge came to the end of its final journey.Having hardly any economic value( except for irrigation ) the Two Seas canal network was threatened with neglect.in fact ,many regional and national political figures pushed for just this.The network was saved by the growing popularity of river tourism,which began in the late 1960's and has become so successful that at certain times of the year there are actually traffic jams at lock gates.
We watched some barges come in to dock and we enjoyed a vin Blanc whilst viewing this process.
Another full day and we are now planning tomorrow.
The dining table is covered with brochures!