Southern France

I'm having technical difficulties, and unfortunately am having troubles getting my photos up. I'll try again later this week--some of them look spectacular.

I loved southern France. Avignon wins the prize for city that I'd most like to live in.

After leaving Figeac, we hiked for three days through tiny little towns until we reached Cahors. I'd definitely recommend the hike that we did, or even a drive through the area. The first two days were very tough, the third almost impossible, largely because of the weather--it was 75 degrees the first 2 days, and over 100 on the third. We wandered along dirt trails and old roman roads past churches, hamlets, hundreds of cows, prehistoric burial mounds, and field after field of the most beautiful wildflowers I've ever seen.

My favorite quotes from my sister:
"This is more intense than I expected"
"I've never had a workout that made my legs this sore"

Both are quite apt. Oddly, what hurt the most for me were my hips, I think because of the weight of my pack. I also have blistered feet, abrasions on my back from the pack rubbing, and bruises on my sternum from the pack as well. It was definitely a very physical experience! I'm really glad we made it as far as we did. I feel quite proud of our efforts.

Favorite places along the way:

Faycelles: a "town of flowers." It consists of about 20 homes positively overflowing with flowers.

Grealou: about 10 houses with a stunning graveyard.

Cajarc: average town with a way-above-average river view. There's a campground right next to the river with canoe rentals, and mountain climbing right behind it. It would be a great place to spend a few days.

Varaire: possibly my favorite town along the route. It's a small farming community with 1 hostel and a great restaurant. We had dinner family style with a dozen other hikers from Germany, Spain, Holland, France, and Switzerland, all of whom had hiked other areas of the trail before. I really enjoyed talking to them. Useful pieces of information: after three days, your muscles adjust to the walking, and the spanish portion of the trail is much easier.

Cahors: the obvious highlight of Cahors is Pont Valentre, a massive bridge built in the 14th century. It's remarkably well preserved. I particularly enjoyed walking through the medieval quarter, a maze of narrow streets and ancient homes. We learned a bit about local history from a young Frenchman eager to practice his English. It was the first time that I've been told that I have a strong accent, which I suppose I do if you're used to hearing the queen's english.

On Saturday we caught a train to Carcassonne, one of the best preserved walled towns in all of europe. It's breath-taking, and extremely hard to take at the same time. After several days of being away from the tourist track, I was completely overwhelmed by the crowds. The best way to do Carcassonne? Spend the day exploring the countryside and arrive in the town after 5. The church and museum are skipable, and you could easily explore the town by night.

Below the walled city is the living town of Carcassonne, which deserves a visit as well. It's missing the castle and walls, but is equally old--the central market has existed in the same location for nearly 1000 years.

From Carcassonne, we took another train to Avignon, the city of my dreams. It has the elegance and history of Paris--it was the seat of the catholic church in the 13th century--all the charm and friendliness of a small town, and is in the curve of a spectacular river. I didn't see anyone practicing water sports, but it looked ideal for waterskiing. It's also were Cote du Rhone wine comes from, and a lot of amazing cheese.

I'm back in Paris now, and plan to stay put until my flight home on the 28th. I can't believe the journey is almost over!