North of Sarrians there's a rocky point topped by, you guessed it, a castle. Since Evie is enamored of castles, that's where we're heading today. Mornas Castle, less than half hour away.
Only, the crew is heading there without me as the climb is steep and not handicapped accessible. It sits on a rocky outcropping of rock about 450 feet above the Rhone River.
The strategic location of this spur made it important from pre-history through the French Revolution. In the early middle ages, during the Albigensian "crusade," it changed hands between the Count of Toulouse and the Papacy more than once. During the 100 years war, it protected the townspeople against marauding bands of lawless soldiers who ravaged and pillaged the countryside. Again, in the wars of religion, it changed hands between the Huguenots and Catholics and back again, each time inflicting horrific death on the townspeople of the opposite faith. After the Revolution, the castle fell into complete ruin. In 1977, a group called the Friends of Mornas undertook the preservation and restoration of the castle and today it advertises medieval pageants with re-enactors.
The first difficulty was to walk/hike up to the castle. While paved, it was steep and the last 50 yards were gravelly/stony.
Once up, it's not quite what was expected. People are dressed in costume, but it is a guided tour in French, which is of little use to our crew.
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| Did I mention that the wind was blowing? It didn't feel warm in spite of the sun |
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| Christie, Alex, Sonna |
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| Evie and Penny are a bit bored |
We thought the children would have opportunities to interact with various child-focused activities. Eventually, the group was encouraged to go off on their own and that was a better way to explore the castle.
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| this is more like it |
The views were, however, as advertised. Spectacular.
The castle was also interesting and allowed one to imagine what it was like in the middle ages.
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| defenses |
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| a trebuchet (stone throwing weapon) |
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| a medieval toy? |
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| uh-oh what did Christie do? |
The crew returned in early afternoon and had time to fit in a hike in the afternoon. The weather was much warmer (less wind) in the afternoon. The hike started only a few miles from here in Aubignan. It's 6 km in length and only 65 m (180 feet) of vertical, circling the plateau of Gargamiane.
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| this is how my kids hike |
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| Alex is serious about getting a photo of a poppy |
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| the result of Alex's efforts |
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| a flower for me? Luckily, there are millions of poppies left for others to see. |
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| In this area, you will always cross a vineyard |
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| or a grove of olive trees |
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| and there's always a castle. |
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