I have to begin with the end of the day. June 21 is "Fête de la Musique" all over France. This music fest has been celebrated every June 21 since its inception in Paris in 1982. I've been lucky enough to experience this festival both in Paris and in Vannes, Brittany. Two very different experiences. But what is the same is the community feeling of this party and the celebration of local music and musicians and all styles and tastes in music. It's just a joyful night out with one's neighbors and friends. It is now catching on across the world. A story today in the Madison WI newspaper described the June 21 music fest as Make Music Madison (part of Make Music Wisconsin). What a cool idea!
We've seen a poster for Fête de la Musique in Mirepoix and decided to stop on our way home. The fest is always just in the evening, usually starting around 6 pm. It's always on June 21, usually the shortest night (longest day) of the year. It's a family affair with toddlers running in and out amongst the chairs and tables set up in the outdoor venues. (If it rains, arrangements are made for indoor spaces, often in cafes.)
When we arrived at 5:30 (early enough to get a good parking spot), the only activity was at the covered market where programs were being presented by the local music school. When we arrived, a choir of local children and adults were singing after which the orchestra played for an hour of toe-tapping familiar songs. We installed ourselves at the tapas restaurant Le Casti just beyond the covered market. While busy, the cafes and restaurants on the square were not yet full.
 |
| sitting at Le Casti |
But by 7 pm, there was not a table to be had.
We were glad we had opted for a "pichet de 50 cl" (a half-liter pitcher) of rosé to while away the time before ordering dinner (Don't even think about ordering dinner before 7 at the earliest!) so we could look reasonably European tonight. Listening to the music of the local orchestra while people watching was all the entertainment needed.
I watched people greet each other with "une bise" on each cheek. The bise is a sort of air kiss given to each side of the cheek - the number of times depends on which part of France you're in. Here, it's one on each side. I misspoke when I said men only offered "la bise" to women but shook hands with men. We saw men of all ages giving each other la bise. (So my new theory is that it depends on how good a friend you are.) Greetings completed all around the table, folks would stop and chat for a bit and then move on. Some joined friends at their table.
When the community band finished, a duo of local musicians set up right on our corner and played French cafe music, pleasant to listen to as we ate our tapas.
We left around 8:30, so don't know if there was more music to come. I'm guessing there was, but....
we went home to a beautiful sunset over our field of harvested hay. (The farmer just managed to finish baling the hay before Wednesday's storms. Whew!)
One of the benefits of living in small towns (Mirepoix has a population of just over 3,000 people) is that everyone knows everyone at the fest. One of the benefits of living in France is that there are so many festivals, especially in summer. There seems to be something going on almost every weekend - music, walks, community garage sales, art shows, and, of course, markets. It gave me such pleasure to be reminded that most folks get along even if they have differing politics. I went home from the fest feeling all warm and fuzzy. I'm not sure why, we have small farm town fests all over Wisconsin too, but at these events, I feel like I'm part of the community, just one of the neighbors hanging out at the fest.
Which was a good way to end another day of castles conquering. This time, the we're aiming for 2 castles east of us - one in Villerouge-Termenès and the second in Thermes on the way home. One castle reconstructed, the other a complete ruin. Both involved driving deep into the gorges of the Corbières countryside.
 |
| view from Thermes |
The castle at Villerouge-Termenès is different from others we've seen. For one, it is in the village and not perched on a rocky outcrop above the valley. In fact, it is down a steep slope from the parking level to the castle and I worried the scooter breaks would not hold (they did).
Secondly, it has been lovingly restored by the town of Villerouge-Termenès (a ploy to get more tourists, perhaps?)
 |
| There's even a medieval restaurant in the courtyard (closed when we were there) |
 |
| Interior of living quarters |
Third, it offers an audio guide that automatically starts when you pass from one room to another. The guide explains a lot about Cathar beliefs and lifestyles (yes, this is another Cathar castle). And the woman taking our money is wonderfully friendly and helpful, in English and in French.
 |
Fourth, the ground floor of the castle is handicapped accessible.
 |
| Castle entrance gate - no steps! |
So I could visit at least part of this castle. Our guide on the audio, Pierre, provided explanations and the story-line for Guillem Bélibaste, the last Cathar, turned in by an Inquisition bounty hunter, resulting in prison, a trial, and a judgement of being burned alive in the courtyard of this castle in 1321. This is long after the Albigensian Crusade and the Inquisition, so the castle was never at risk of siege or warfare. In fact, Bélibaste wasn't from Villerouge-Termenès at all. But it was the seat of the Bishop of Narbonne who wanted to show his power over "heretics".
 |
| dressed mannequins helped lead us into the story of the Last Cathar. This is our guide, Pierre. |
 |
| remains of a medieval painting in the dining room |
The whole experience was very well put together with props (including mannequins dressed in medieval costumes), the audio, and also video presentations in each room.
After leaving the castle, we circled the old town which was lovely to walk through, but which didn't have a lot of other monuments to show us. But there were hills that required helpful pushing to save the scooter battery.
 |
| streets surrounding the castle |
 |
| walking toward the remaining gate left from the defensive walls |
 |
| Outside the gate is the modern parts of Villerouge-Termenès |
 |
| not everything is spiffy and well kept, but this door has a surprise.... |
 |
| ....There's a troll looking out at you. |
 |
| Another place that could use some love. |
 |
| the church |
 |
| a patch of lavender in bloom |
What a surprise to find a stone hopscotch (marelle in French) embedded in one of the village streets. The game was played in medieval times (and before) pretty much as it is still played today.
 |
| I hope you can see it as it's stone on stone. |
We ate lunch at a bench in a grassy park that overlooked the castle.
Our next stop, Thermes, is only 13 km away (5 km as the crow flies), but a half hour in time. Once more, we climbed and descended rugged tree-covered landscape with lots of curves and switchbacks.
 |
| lots of curves and switchbacks, but the views were fantastic (and no place to pull over for a photo as we were on a one lane road where traffic went in both directions. |
We had a view of the ruined castle of Thermes as we climbed over the last hill.
There was obligatory parking outside the town but the walk wasn't too bad because this village is really small - only 50 inhabitants. Dave left me with my needlework and headed up to the castle. He said the climb wasn't too hard. At least not as hard as other castles he's climbed this trip.
Views from the top were well worth the effort.
This castle was besieged by Simon de Montfort and, having run out of water, capitulated after 7 months. The castle was given to one of de Montfort's lieutenants as a spoil of war. The castle was of continued strategic use as it lay on the border between France and Aragon (Spain), until the border moved farther south in 1649 after which time it was abandoned. The castle is in its present state of ruin because it had been taken over after it was abandoned by a band of brigands who were terrorizing the region using the castle as its base. A local stone mason was hired to blow up the castle with gunpowder. Obviously, it worked.
We continued traveling hills and gorges until we hit better roads at Limoux, after which we had a road that was 2 lanes wide and even had a stripe down the center. After our previous roads, it felt like a highway. (Well, it is a highway by French standards.)
And arrived in Mirepoix about 5:30 to check out Fête de la Musique.
No comments:
Post a Comment