Andorra
We traveled out of the country on Saturday February 21. We were headed to the small country of Andorra to ski in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees are only about an hour and a half away from Toulouse, so it was a short, fast trip. I have to admit I was excited. I hadn't skied in a awhile, but all the better to re-learn what you've known in the past. Especially if it involves skiing in unknown awesome territory like the Pyrenees. We were with our new friends Lisa and Philip Snell, they had gone once already but were also looking forward to the trip.
We were told before going on the trip that Andorra was one of the largest ski "resorts" but it isn't like any American ski resort. There are places to rent ski's of course, but they are just the little shops that are in between the touristy shops. They aren't all under one roof like you'd expect to find in America! But one good thing about these shops is that you can rent ski's for the whole day for 15 euro! Much cheaper than at home. The lift tickets were a little expensive, but you knew that the lift ticket would be good for the entire day all over the mountain, not just at the place where you started from. We were lucky also to have such a wonderful bright sunny day, after we got our skis we hiked a little way to the nearest bunny hill, all of us were feeling the heat tramping around in our ski boots.I was thankful we started on a bunny hill because its been quite awhile since I've skied and I knew if it was like any other time it would be like riding a bike, I could just hop on and get my ski's beneath me like any other person. (That is know how to turn and stay safe on a mountain). After some times down the bunny hill we felt ready to tackle the real runs...even if they were just greens. Unlike at home the greens are a little steep, but we all took it carefully being aware of what skiers were around us as well as what traps lay before us. Ben was having fun, I was as well. We continued some more on a couple more greens and then headed to the next mountain over, which required a lift ride up it and skiing down the other side. It was a good run, even though it really took some mental composure and can-do to get down it. I was done, my ankles were unfortunately hurting a lot and I soon learned why, I was forming huge blisters on my ankles. Lisa and Philip continued to ski for a few more runs and then we were all ready to go home. It was a good day despite the mishap of blisters and the tiredness. It was all worth it to see the jagged mountains above us and knowing we had skied down those treacherously awesome slopes.
Auch
This slightly confusing to pronounce town is a neat place to go. I went with Lisa on Thursday, February 26, she had found out some interesting little tidbits about it, such as that it was the fictional birthplace of that famous musketeer D'Artagnan. You could even go see a statue of the famous musketeer! We did in fact on our little walking tour of the town which took us past Auch's cathedral. It was a touring cathedral in similar shape to the one in Albi for it still had its wooden choir blind which was made with wood from a river (I cannot remember which one). Like the Albi cathedral the blind had unique pictures of several of the disciples, some of the pictures even told stories. One of the stories was of course the story of Adam and Eve, the picture was interesting because the serpent had a torso and head, to represent a somewhat human like form. Other stories included the story of Jesus and his disciples as well as stories of the various saints. All these representations I'm sure helped people better understand the Bible, but nevertheless it was fascinating to see. Continuing through the cathedral we saw an interesting sculpture of Jesus getting laid to rest (as in the tomb). In medieval fashion, the people laying Jesus to rest were wearing what someone would wear if they were a lord or lady in the middle ages. Besides the people laying Jesus to rest there were Knights standing guard over the burial place I suppose to represent the Roman guards. It was a intriguing sculpture.
The cathedral was not the only stop on our walking tour of Auch. On one side of the cathedral is a prison. We could not go inside but the map we had said it was a fearsome place in its heyday. I wonder what they scared the prisoners with, holy water? Next to the prison is a "grand staircase" which leads you to the statue of D'Artagnan. It also has a memorial to those lost in a flood that had threatened Auch. It was the story of Noah and his family. As we followed the staircase up, we could see the former city gate and the walls that blocked the entrance into the city. It was a neat little place.
We did not stop at Auch though, we found another interesting little village called Montegut which had a chateau. The chateau was called Roquetaillade and it jutted its mighty head out of the hill in which it stood. We also took a little hike to a small fortification of a tower. I'm sure it was a look out for the Chateau in its heyday. Montegut was a cute little town to see. If anything to see the dramatic unburned countryside of France. When we got home to Toulouse we got the car parked right before a massive protest marched through Lisa's neighborhood. I had to go the the post office that day and was stopped by the massive progression of people passing by. It is only the fourth protest that I've seen in France. Ah, such is life.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Several Good Places
Well, do to technical difficulties we are without a computer and internet. My computer decided to die on us for some random reason and that has left us without internet (even though we have the capabilities). So this is a time to catch up from the several weeks without a computer and a means of communication.
Condom, France
I went to Condom Thursday, February 12, I went with some ladies whose husbands are here working for Airbus. Despite the name of the town, it was an interesting place to go. When we got there, as the tradition on these trips we went to a café and drank some pretty good coffee, not to strong and not to weak, I suppose perfect for the American taste buds that were having it. Since there was no bakery attached to this café we went next door to the local bakery and got some excellent pastries to eat with our coffee.
One of the key places to visit in Condom is an Armagnac brewery. Armagnac is a cognac like drink made specifically in France. The brewery we went to has been run by the same family for several generations. We visited the brewery of the Rhyst Dupeyron family. The first thing we saw when entering the family’s brewery was a video based on the making of Armagnac. This area of France is good for making Armagnac because how the grapes grow in this soil, as well as the type of oak used for the barrels that the alcohol is brewed in. While we were watching the video we could smell the wonderful aroma seeping through the barrels we were sitting amongst. After the video we were picked up by our pleasant blonde tour guide. She was not able to speak English very well, but was very animated when telling us about the process. Lisa Snell, who is learning French via private lessons was able to interpret some as well. So we who did not know much French were able to get the gist of the process it took to make Armagnac. After the tour we were able to taste some of the Armagnac. The first taste was of a 20 year Armagnac. It was smooth and tasted good and went down nicely. The next one we tasted was a dessert Armagnac which was made with a mixture of champagne and blackberry. It was quite sweet. But it also had a wonderful flavor. One downside to the dessert Armagnac is that one needed something salty to taste afterwards, it was that sweet! Of course, both drinks had there low points and high points it certainly was nice to taste something that you had learned about before taking a sip.
After the Armagnac brewery visit, we went to Condom’s Cathedral called St. Pierre. It was a bit like Albi’s having part of its choir blind still up. This Cathedral also had wonderful stained glass, displayed nicely in each of its little chapels. Each chapel seemed to have its own religious art which was incredibly indescribable.
Before going home we decided to make one more stop, to the town of Larrissingle. It is a little fortified village on a hill out in the countryside. It was a domineering site with its high stone walls and drawbridge complete with what was once the moat. Once inside you could walk along the tiny streets and see the tiny little houses and what looked like a chapel from the outside. Unfortunately nothing was open because it was either lunch or a school holiday, we couldn’t decide. Outside of the fortification was a display of medieval war machines. They were fascinating to look at an imagine what destruction they could of caused. All in all it was a fascinating look at the medieval architecture and an interesting look at how some French cognac was made.
Musee des Augustins: Toulouse
On Sunday, February 15, Ben and I decided to at least see one museum here in Toulouse. It is called Musee des Augustins. The museum is housed in an old monestary and church. The building itself was history, much less the fact that it was displaying important pieces of art in history. It was full of medieval sculptures from various churches around the Toulouse area which included the art on the side of Cathedrals, tombs and statues of the saints. They all were fascinating to look at as well as imagine the wood carver holding his hand steady as he tried his best at molding the stone. Another great thing about the museum was it had several awesome paintings. These paintings could be as big as the wall or as small as a portrait, there wasn’t a single space not covered by some sort of painting. They all seemed to tell of some dramatic happening, like the capture of a city, the crowning of royalty or just people enjoying themselves on a nice day. It was nice having an afternoon just to enjoy art for what it is something to stare at and take in at a slow pace.
Cahors and Rocamadour
This particular Thursday, there were only two of us to go exploring the far reaches of France. This was February 19. We had decided that we were going to two towns Cahors and Rocamadour, each having there own specialties. We started in Cahors as it was on our way to Rocamadour. Cahors specialty was its bridge, which I read was there to keep the English away. It spanned over the Lot river with its high towers to keep watch. It was all white stone with rushing beautiful waves under it. It very much reminded me of a castle over the water with its worn down steps and ramparts guarding the way. After walking across the bridge we took a little hike up a large hill and saw a beautiful view of the bridge. Thus many pictures were taken of the immense bridge. Unfortunately the only good thing we saw in Cahors was the bridge, there were other interesting sites, it was just that they were closed to the public or hard to reach.
Rocamadour was a different picture all together. On our way there we spotted high a top a cliff a small chapel facing the sun, the wind and the rain on its bitter peak. It was a chapel dedicated to St. Roch. Then on the road to Rocamadour we took an extremely winding road that the GPS thought was a great route. We were thankful we didn’t meet many people and the one person we did meet we were able to get safely to the side of the road in a little village. When we finally came to Rocamadour the view as spectacular and we were not even in the town. We were on the opposite mountain seeing the sheer cliff that the Chateau hung to and the town below it. Once we were in the town we first looked at the Chateau ramparts. Getting in was the fun part we squeezed three people in a turnstile. Oops! But it was worth it. The view as quite good, looking down one got a great bird’s eye view of the village below. Looking across the way one could see the neighboring mountains. We took a small trail down the mountain; it was called Chemin de le Croix or The Way of the Cross. It was the whole story of Jesus’ trial to his death on the cross. It was interesting to see the little wood paintings that were dotting the trail (Jesus’ suffering). Then once down the trail we came to three littler “sanctuaries” they called them. All were sweet and dramatic in there own right. One held a little relic that was black depicting the Virgin Mary. It was interesting. The views of this place were spectacular. I would have liked to have stayed there to maybe see the city and what it had to offer. I would definitely go there again.
Condom, France
I went to Condom Thursday, February 12, I went with some ladies whose husbands are here working for Airbus. Despite the name of the town, it was an interesting place to go. When we got there, as the tradition on these trips we went to a café and drank some pretty good coffee, not to strong and not to weak, I suppose perfect for the American taste buds that were having it. Since there was no bakery attached to this café we went next door to the local bakery and got some excellent pastries to eat with our coffee.
One of the key places to visit in Condom is an Armagnac brewery. Armagnac is a cognac like drink made specifically in France. The brewery we went to has been run by the same family for several generations. We visited the brewery of the Rhyst Dupeyron family. The first thing we saw when entering the family’s brewery was a video based on the making of Armagnac. This area of France is good for making Armagnac because how the grapes grow in this soil, as well as the type of oak used for the barrels that the alcohol is brewed in. While we were watching the video we could smell the wonderful aroma seeping through the barrels we were sitting amongst. After the video we were picked up by our pleasant blonde tour guide. She was not able to speak English very well, but was very animated when telling us about the process. Lisa Snell, who is learning French via private lessons was able to interpret some as well. So we who did not know much French were able to get the gist of the process it took to make Armagnac. After the tour we were able to taste some of the Armagnac. The first taste was of a 20 year Armagnac. It was smooth and tasted good and went down nicely. The next one we tasted was a dessert Armagnac which was made with a mixture of champagne and blackberry. It was quite sweet. But it also had a wonderful flavor. One downside to the dessert Armagnac is that one needed something salty to taste afterwards, it was that sweet! Of course, both drinks had there low points and high points it certainly was nice to taste something that you had learned about before taking a sip.
After the Armagnac brewery visit, we went to Condom’s Cathedral called St. Pierre. It was a bit like Albi’s having part of its choir blind still up. This Cathedral also had wonderful stained glass, displayed nicely in each of its little chapels. Each chapel seemed to have its own religious art which was incredibly indescribable.
Before going home we decided to make one more stop, to the town of Larrissingle. It is a little fortified village on a hill out in the countryside. It was a domineering site with its high stone walls and drawbridge complete with what was once the moat. Once inside you could walk along the tiny streets and see the tiny little houses and what looked like a chapel from the outside. Unfortunately nothing was open because it was either lunch or a school holiday, we couldn’t decide. Outside of the fortification was a display of medieval war machines. They were fascinating to look at an imagine what destruction they could of caused. All in all it was a fascinating look at the medieval architecture and an interesting look at how some French cognac was made.
Musee des Augustins: Toulouse
On Sunday, February 15, Ben and I decided to at least see one museum here in Toulouse. It is called Musee des Augustins. The museum is housed in an old monestary and church. The building itself was history, much less the fact that it was displaying important pieces of art in history. It was full of medieval sculptures from various churches around the Toulouse area which included the art on the side of Cathedrals, tombs and statues of the saints. They all were fascinating to look at as well as imagine the wood carver holding his hand steady as he tried his best at molding the stone. Another great thing about the museum was it had several awesome paintings. These paintings could be as big as the wall or as small as a portrait, there wasn’t a single space not covered by some sort of painting. They all seemed to tell of some dramatic happening, like the capture of a city, the crowning of royalty or just people enjoying themselves on a nice day. It was nice having an afternoon just to enjoy art for what it is something to stare at and take in at a slow pace.
Cahors and Rocamadour
This particular Thursday, there were only two of us to go exploring the far reaches of France. This was February 19. We had decided that we were going to two towns Cahors and Rocamadour, each having there own specialties. We started in Cahors as it was on our way to Rocamadour. Cahors specialty was its bridge, which I read was there to keep the English away. It spanned over the Lot river with its high towers to keep watch. It was all white stone with rushing beautiful waves under it. It very much reminded me of a castle over the water with its worn down steps and ramparts guarding the way. After walking across the bridge we took a little hike up a large hill and saw a beautiful view of the bridge. Thus many pictures were taken of the immense bridge. Unfortunately the only good thing we saw in Cahors was the bridge, there were other interesting sites, it was just that they were closed to the public or hard to reach.
Rocamadour was a different picture all together. On our way there we spotted high a top a cliff a small chapel facing the sun, the wind and the rain on its bitter peak. It was a chapel dedicated to St. Roch. Then on the road to Rocamadour we took an extremely winding road that the GPS thought was a great route. We were thankful we didn’t meet many people and the one person we did meet we were able to get safely to the side of the road in a little village. When we finally came to Rocamadour the view as spectacular and we were not even in the town. We were on the opposite mountain seeing the sheer cliff that the Chateau hung to and the town below it. Once we were in the town we first looked at the Chateau ramparts. Getting in was the fun part we squeezed three people in a turnstile. Oops! But it was worth it. The view as quite good, looking down one got a great bird’s eye view of the village below. Looking across the way one could see the neighboring mountains. We took a small trail down the mountain; it was called Chemin de le Croix or The Way of the Cross. It was the whole story of Jesus’ trial to his death on the cross. It was interesting to see the little wood paintings that were dotting the trail (Jesus’ suffering). Then once down the trail we came to three littler “sanctuaries” they called them. All were sweet and dramatic in there own right. One held a little relic that was black depicting the Virgin Mary. It was interesting. The views of this place were spectacular. I would have liked to have stayed there to maybe see the city and what it had to offer. I would definitely go there again.
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