JAM PACKED journey.

Hello! Would you like to go on a little journey with me? I'll try to make it as interesting as possible, if you do fancy sauntering along by my side.

I've been away on a wonderful holiday, back last Wednesday evening but unable to do last Friday's post because of a deadline for work.

It's only when I saw that I had 266 photos to download from my camera a couple of days ago, that I did a quiet gulp and thought, oh dear, I really did take lots of pictures, oh dear. And I really have been through each one and selected and cropped and cleaned them out so they download to your screen more quickly.

Don't holidays seem like a surreal dream when they've gone? Our holiday could have been a puff of smoke vanished into thin air, so it's nice to have photographs to prove the lovely time we had, was a solid reality, not just a nice dream.

Our holiday started with flying to Toulouse in France, where we were met by my parents, who had driven up from their home in Spain. This three day trip in France was a gift from my parents, a holiday within a holiday so-to-speak. Very generous of them to invite us along with them don't you think?

Toulouse is known as the Rose City, isn't that beautiful? The brick that many of the buildings are made of have a rose hue to them.

We only had a few hours in Toulouse before we set off on our journey to the Cathar region, but we did manage to have a walkabout, and being a Sunday, came across a market. It was somewhere between a car boot sale and a clothes market.

I found these treasures above, and at 2 euros a pair, one pair came home with me.

After a couple of hours we sped off towards Carcassonne.

Having a couple of small encounters on the way.

Miniature Wire Haired Dachshunds, also known by as Teckels!

As we own two of this adorable breed, coming across this little family of seven Teckels made my day.

And then later, after lunch, we encountered animals that spend a lot of time in the water.

In France they are called Ragondin, and that translates into the English Coypu.

No they're not giant sewer rats, which was our first thought! They're more like Ratty from The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. (Ratty lives on a river bank).

We threw the remains of the bread from our lunch to them, and watched as they slowly swam about, clasping the bread in their paws and nibbling at it daintily.

We were fascinated by their whiskery faces and their perfect little hand-like paws. We tried to ignore their tails.

Our first day of the holiday and we'd encountered a Sunday Market, a pack of Mini Wire-haired Dachsies, had a lazy lunch of bread, cheese and tomatoes whilst sitting on the bank of a canal, and also encountered Ratty..............................

And then we were off to see this!

Carcassonne!

Doesn't it look like something out of a movie!

I liked Carcassonne, it's beautiful, and the streets are very clean, you don't have to watch what you tread on in Carcassonne. It almost stood out for its clean streets alone. But of course there's a lot more to it than that.

There is Carcassonne Cathedral, with its magnificent stained glass windows.

And there is Carcassonne's Castle, with its interesting history of being restored.

On the way in to the walled town, the first thing to catch our eye were these horses wearing their ear protectors, lovingly crocheted, pristine white.

I have to say at this point, that it was HOT. We experienced temperatures of up to 35 c on our holiday, and when your home weather is habitually cold, these temperatures can make you feel very .......... lazy! I was more like August temperatures, not September weather. Still, it was lovely to be able to wear summer dresses without having long-sleeved t-shirts underneath, and cardigans on top, and boots, and socks, which is my usual way of dressing.

I thought the castle was fascinating, and there were good explanations about the building and its restoration. It was special to be able to walk the ramparts, which had been reconstructed. It was hot, so I don't know how much historical information my fried brain actually absorbed. Enough to enjoy myself, and find the film at the start of the tour very interesting. I find it's the same with most historic bulidings that are either ruins, or have been partially restored, and don't have the paraphernalia of every day life like furniture and cooking implements of the period in place, it requires imagination to try and picture what it might have been like when first built. I always try to make it come alive by thinking about the people living in a place at the time. Often there isn't much to help with forming these pictures, just empty buildings. This is where the film at the beginning of this particular tour was of great help.

After the castle, there was the wandering about Carcassonne. With a bit of window shopping, which was a little taxing for my Dad and Hugo.

I love to have a wander, an explore, and it's always a rewarding thing to do in France. Things are done beautifully, the light is soft and works so well with the milky colours so beloved by the French.

My Mum and Dad like to explore too, stop here, stop there, buy bread, find a shop that sells cheese, locate a nice spot with a view, (in the shade), for a picnic lunch. Lovely. So we all got along very well, had a very jolly time.

But next! Next was walking up to ruined Cathar castles. If you'd like to know more about these castles there's a good short explanation of their history here.

I thought you might like to see our starting point before walking up to Queribus castle.

I tlooks very forbidding don't you think? And very high up too?

The walk wasn't as bad as we initially thought it was going to be.

Lovely views!

And as you do, on we went to the next castle, Peyrepertuse Castle, much more forbidding looking.

We walked up the side of the castle that was in shadow, thank fully.

And again, the walk was surprisingly not too bad.

My Mum is almost 69 years old, and my Dad is soon to be 70 years old, so I think I'd be forgiven for being proud of how well they look in the photo above, especially after having climbed quite a difficult slippy path to the very top point of the castle.

The view was magnificent from the top!

But I tell you, once we walked back down, and found a cafe where we sat outside in the shade, we all sat in silence drinking our ice cold drinks.

We felt tired.

And the next day we drove the nine hour journey back over into Spain and my parents house.

But before I leave France, here are a few pictures for you, we have to have a few more wandering about photos.

A wonderful, wonderful holiday!

On returning to my parents house, we flaked out. We did very little. Mostly eating good food, drinking good wine, sat on their top terrace relaxing.

Whilst sitting on that top terrace, I worked on the Sarah London Scarf I'm going to be doing the pattern for soon. I've made one version, and I'm now crocheting it again in a wider version, to see which I think works better as a scarf, before I write the pattern down. When I've finished the second version, and decided which width I prefer I'll crochet it again to ascertain yarn amounts and write the pattern down.

Before I go, here are some photos from the Spanish town my Mum and Dad live in.

That's Hugo kayaking in the photos above.

And the crochet scarf in the first picture, at the beginning of this post?

That's the first version of the Sarah London Scarf I'm working on. My projects go everywhere with me!

It was strange returning home, it felt like we'd been away for a long time, and things seemed familiar yet unfamiliar.

I had a very, very nice surprise waiting for me in an email message. Whilst we were on holiday, I won Stephanie's fabulous giveaway! What a wonderful thing to return to, don't you think? Stephanie has sent me the pattern I said I liked, and a parcel is on its way, so I shall tell you all about that in another post. There's nice special yarn involved too.

I am now ready for a beer, and I'm sure you are too! See you on Friday!

Vanessa xxx

 

 

Comments

[dbyrne]

Thanks for the gorgeous pics and stories! Always such a treat. Your mother looks so young! Thanks for the post.

[Sue]

Thank you for such beautiful photos. What a lovely part of France.

[Archie the wonder dog]

Gorgeous photos! I love the Dachshunds and the ear protectors on the horses, welcome back!!

[Martha]

Thanks for sharing...your parents are wonderful to offer you such a trip! What a beautiful part of the world!

[Alison Gorf]

Wow beautiful pics would love to visit Carcasson - looks fab.
Alison

[Angie]

Wow your parents look like they might be in their 50's! Glad you had such a nice holiday. :)

[greenrabbitdesigns]

Beautiful, your photos are wonderful and so unmistakably French!
Your parents look great!
Vivienne x

[Helen]

I loved this post, Vanessa! Your photos and stories are so interesting and colourful. I love all the different subjects you found to photograph and how together they give a wonderful feeling of the places you visited. Your parents do look amazing! Hope you can settle down to normal life again this week after such a lovely holiday!
Helen x

[Penelope]

So lovely to have you back Vanessa, what a wonderful holiday within a holiday you had. We LOVE France so much, your pictures have truly done it justice x Looking forward to your scarf reveals and pattern xox
ps. love the teckels too xox

[Julia]

Welcome back. That was a big post - thanks for the lovely photos.
I'm curious - what do you do to 'clean them up' and keep the size small?
Your parents look very youthful - which should augur well for you too!
Julia

[Teresa Kasner]

Hi Vanessa, welcome back from a very spectacular holiday! I agree, your parents are very youthful and athletic looking, how nice for you all! Loved the photos... I may never get to Europe so it means a lot to me to see images of the wonderful antiquities there. I hope you have time to visit my blog.. I went to a fiber festival and to a big Dahlia garden and shared my shots.
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Crochet with Raymond]

Welcome back Vanessa! What a fantastic trip and time spent with your parents too! they look amazing, you are right, especially after a big climb like that! I wonder if many 30 year olds would look as refreshed!
glad to hear you had such a wonderful time and thank you for sharing your photos with us!
XXXXX

[Serendipity]

What stunning photos. It looks like a beautiful part of the world. Thanks for that visual treat!
xxx

[tinajo]

Oh my goodness - the things you´ve seen and done! Love the pics! :-)

[Elena]

Thank you for this wonderful post full of wandering spirit! :-) France is beautiful.
Your parents look great.

[Magic Cochin]

Welcome home :-)
It must have taken you ages to sort out those photos - but how marvellous that you did because they are wonderful! Full of all sorts of inspiring colours and shapes and patterns.

I too love Carcassonne - stayed inside the citadel for our anniversary one year. Have you read 'Labyrinth' by Kate Mosse?

Looks like you brought some of that weather home with you!

Celia
x

[kate]

Wonderful photographs - what got to me was the colour colour colour - nothing drab - beauiful

[Catherine]

Your pictures are lovely. It looks like you, Hugo and your parents had a fabulous time! Cx

[Gill]

Welcome back Vanessa!
We have missed you!!
Fabulous photos, as usual - I intend to go back through them all again in case I've missed anything. A lovely picture of your mum and dad - one to treasure (You look like your mum don't you!!)
By the way the 'teckels' amused me, we have an animal rescue centre nearby called Teckels! I never knew where the word came from

[harmony and rosie]

Hello Vanessa, welcome back and so glad to hear you've had a wonderful time. Your photos have me swooning over Carcassonne and all its beauty, and now you have me wanting to jet out there right away. I'm wondering whether you should put your crochet project on hold and whip up some ear protectors for the furry things instead, they'd be just the thing for the impending Winter! Congrats on winning the giveaway, I'm sure that will definitely be helping to cure the holiday blues and one more thing .. did you get a good look at the dress the lady behind the bell is wearing? VERY nice !!

Kate x

PS - beautiful photos, would you mind if I pinned a couple? x

[Rachel Lamb]

Looks like you had a great holiday. The unfamiliar feeling when you get back is a sure sign it was a good break in my book:)

[Emma (silverpebble)]

What a feast for the eyes Vanessa. I particularly loved those brightly painted planters.

How wonderful to have been to Carcassonne. It barely looks real!

Welcome home x

[Lois]

My favourite is the red skirt on the clothesline in the distance shot, I am a sucker for clothes on the line. Such an incredible holiday, and so exotic to have parents who live in Spain, at least to this Canadian. It's exotic here to know someone in British Columbia...

[Marion]

Wonderful photos. Looks like you had a great trip. We know this area well but haven't been for a few years and I feel a bit like I've had a mini holiday after reading your post! You look very like your mum, which must be reassuring as she looks great. Thanks for sharing with us.

[Planet Penny]

Thanks so much for that post, Vanessa. We did a similar tour on holiday a while ago, I love Carcasonne too. As for the Cathar Castles, it's a family joke that I failed miserably to walk round Peyrepertuse Castle due to a complete fit of the nervies over the height. Tim went off to look, sans camera of course, while I inspected the fascinating flora sprouting out of the rocks so I didn't have to cope with the conviction that if I looked at the drop, I'd probably fling myself off! So now I can see what I missed! Glad you had a lovely holiday but nice to have tou back!
love Penny and Higgins xxxx

[Dawn Nelson]

Oh happy memories! We visited Carcasonne two years ago and it's fabulous. I'm lucky to have a friend who has a holiday home in a village near Carcasonne, so we stayed with her and explored the fab town and countryside. Glad you had a great holiday. Your pics are fab!!

Dawn xx

[Frances]

Welcome back to you, Vanessa!

You are so kind to post all these photos...I really like all those images that you chose to capture. They are just the sorts of views and details that would catch my eye.

Truly, you've really treated me to a beautiful vicarious holiday.

Thank you! xo

[Crafted by Carly]

Hi Vanessa,
Wow! It looks like you had an AMAZING time! Thank you for sharing all your beautiful photos. I spent a good half an hour looking through them and reading about your adventures - I really felt as thought I was there with you on your trip! I would certainly have like to have been - especially for the "eating good food, drinking good wine" bit! ;-)
Carly
x

[kazzy]

amazingly fabulous holiday- thanks for sharing ;O)such wonderful images...love the pretty sights and amazing views.

i think you deserved that beer ;0)x

kazzy... countryrabbit.blogspot.com
(used to be a mermaids purse x )

[Jenni at Baa-me Kniits]

Vanessa I always love your photos, you have such an eye for the littel details. I felt like I was almost there....you showed me just the things I would have been looking at myself :-) Also you have shown us your colourful side but we have not noticed Hugo's....loved his green shoes and socks!! Brilliant :-) How lovely to have a holiday with your mum and dad, you all looked very relaxed and at ease with life. PS Sarah London is having a giveaway on her blog of her new book and is doing a book blog tour....check it out it looks gorgeous hugs Jen xx

[jen]

while I loved seeing the places you've been, I have to comment on how well your parents look. You're lucky to have such fabulous genes!

[Siobhan]

Hurrah you're back! Welcome home. How nice that you came home to find you had won a give a way too. I hope I can post this, I've been having problems with comments disappearing and have had to investigate. Something about cookies but my settings haven't changed so its all a bit mysterious.

Lovely to hear you had such a good time, your photos are gorgeous. You went to a lovely lovely place, steeped in history. Carcassonne is a very special place. Isn't it weird though how you can exist in different places and then come back and feel you have never been away? Time and place is all a bit strange I think.

You are right, your parents look fabulous. Luckily, you have those very same genes!

You know how other people's holiday photos can be deathly dull? And you have to sit nodding away (or nodding off) while they show you the next one and the next one. Well, sharing your pictures and holiday tales is NEVER like that! It's really interesting and full of lovely things to see and hear about. It's been lovely to have been taken on a tour with you as our guide. I'll come on the next one too if that's OK?

Hope you are enjoying our sunshine, isn't it gorgeous? Lucky us!

[Linda]

Just landed on your blog via Lucy (attic 24).
Loved the photos, we live nearby in Béziers, so know Carcassonne well, and we 'did' Peyrepertuse last year....I'll never forget those slippery steps!

Coincidentally we were in Toulouse a few weeks ago too, small world. Your parents look great.

[steph@woolythyme]

I feel like I've just been on holiday with you!!!! Wonderful pictures!

[The Curious Cat]

blimey! It really was jam packed! Amazing photo feast! Looks wonderful. Glad you had a lovely time! xxx

[Kristina]

Ok, so what do I start with...? That I loved every single photo? That I wish I was going to France right now!? That your parents look really well for their age? That your scarf, as all your creations, is brilliant?

I think I'll just say: thank you for the virtual journey and all of the explanations (you are a good tour guide!) and hope that you've managed to have a break and are ready for the new projects.

[Jeanne]

What a fun, fun trip! Thank you for sharing it with us! I'm green with envy and thankful I can live vicariously through others!

[mlle paradis]

looks like a lovely holiday vanessa. i'm already a huge fan of france but you may yet convince me that i should also be as enthusiastic about those wire-hair dachshunds. so very sweet......

[Insurance Check]

Always such a treat. Your mother looks so young! Thanks for the post. Loved the photos, I'm green with envy and thankful I can live vicariously through others!

[gris fleur]

C'etait donc un tres beau voyage en France !

[Joyce Stewart]

What a wonderful journey that was! Great arty photos...your parents look amazing to have been so active just before the photo...wish I looked as good as your Mum. They look extremely healthy.
Thanks for sharing all that loveliness - I've come over from Heather's blog..my first visit to you but I'll be back!

[GardenOfDaisies]

I have been ooohing and aaahing over all your pictures... especially the stained glass windows in the cathedral. WOW!