I arose a little before 8am and prepped Betty for the drive across the country. I hoped to make it to St. Andre Les Alpes, where I was back in June when I started my journey. I was planning to hit a few of the flying sites I’d really enjoyed before arriving back in St. Hillaire for the Coupe Icare, the biggest free flying festival in the world and one of the items on my “Must Do” list for Europe.
I enjoyed a light breakfast with Christophe, Virginie and Sasha. I bid the lovely adieu and can’t believe all that they did for me. Sasha, you are a lucky girl, you have a leg up in life with two parents like you have! Thanks for everything guys!
The first four hour leg of my trip was uneventful, which was fine by me. I even stopped Betty’s engine at pee breaks with no concern for her restarting, what a joy not having to be continually worried whether the car would start. I thought a lot about my father, but unlike some previous drives, I wasn’t dismayed or depressed by it. However, I’m still struggling to get past the actual death, being there and witnessing his last moments (although I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else) and the fact that he’s actually gone. I am struck by his comment about an hour before he died, “May 29th”, his recognition that this was the day of his death, which is the day after my mom’s birthday (who passed away, also from cancer, 18 years ago). Seeing someone, anyone, go through their final moments on this earth definitely makes one want to live every day to its fullest. I began to recount the summer, and apart from a few days here and there where I stayed somewhere for a while and had groundhog days, I could remember all of the places I had been and the adventures I’ve had this summer. I definitely couldn’t recall every day of a three month period when I was working my IT job....this is living.
An Ariane rocket near Toulouse:
Cruisin' in Betty:
I arrived at the city of Carcassonne. This name has a special meaning for myself and many of my friends back in Victoria. Nothing too serious. But it’s a board game, really a “tile” game, that we played on many occasions. I think none of us had heard of this French city until playing, and in fact many probably still hadn’t clued in that’s a real place. I was supposed to visit this place with my good friends Steve and Sheryl back in May but I missed our rendezvous when I had to return to Canada due to my father’s illness.
What a gorgeous castle:
It took me a bit of time and a few passes before I located the motorhome parking lot (yes, Betty’s height makes her challenging to get into some places). The walled town is quite impressive and your stereotypical castle. It was so formidable that it was never taken by force. I did a quick walk around the place; actually it took more than an hour. I loved the big stone walls with their crenulations (thanks for the word Kate!) full on with a grassy area that would have been the moat. I meandered along many of the streets within the outer perimeter walls and also ventured into the gorgeous abbey. I forewent the paid area of the inner sanctum of the castle as it was nearing 4pm and I still had close to 5 hours of driving to hit St. Andre.
Where are my teddys for Betty?
The front gate of Carcassonne:
Formidable walls:
Players of the game "Carcassonne" will understand this pic (yes that's me lying on the grass):
The drawbridge:
Crenallations (thanks for the word Kate!):
The entrance to the main castle:
The abbey:
Gorgeous stained glass in the abbey:
Outside the abbey:
Back on the road, I cruised past the cities of Montpellier and Nimes (by the way, did you know that jeans essentially originated from Nimes...the material that created this pant sensation originated from Nimes and in French that would mean they were “de Nimes”. This metamorphisized into “denim”...things that make you go “hmm” - thanks Virginie and Christophe for that tidbit). I arrived into St. Andre after dark, around 9:30pm. The campground gate should have been open until 10 but since it’s the shoulder season they must close early as I couldn’t get in. No worries, I know where I can park next to the landing zone. There was already another camper there so I wasn’t worried about crashing there for the night. A free night of camping, and I can do with any financial breaks I can get after all of my recent expenses. Betty had done well today....thanks again Christophe!
Some high tech windmill action on my way to St. Andre:
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