Matthew and I headed to a city called Beziers. Beziers is not, shall we say, a "tourist hot-spot". In fact, as Matthew told people at work where we were going, he got the same reaction as, well, Clermont gets! Nevertheless, we were excited to head to the Mediterranean for some warmer weather, some relaxation, and some wine tastings! On our way down, we attempted to find a vineyard that a colleague of Matthew's introduced us to last year- Domaine La Tour Penedesses. Thank goodness for our GPS! We finally found it, tasted some great wine, and continued to Beziers.
Beziers was the birthplace of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the architect of the Canal du Midi. Friday, I planned a bike ride for us along the canal. The "trail" was 15 km...one way. We rented our bikes and set off on our little biking adventure. Let me just mention now that I have not ridden a bike in at least 6 years! We started off on a paved trail along the canal, wound our way through a little village, turned off onto a dirt road that took us through fields and vineyards, and we ended up in a little beach town. We had lunch at a restaurant that looked over the harbor, and then started the 15 km back... I was quite sore by the time we returned to Beziers! After well earned relaxation time, we headed out to dinner. We found this little restaurant called Le Patio. It was one of the most beautiful restaurants I have ever been in. Because it was the "low" season, we were one of only 3 tables in the entire restaurant. We had an amazing meal, with local wine- bien sûr!
Although Beziers does seem to be one of the poorer cities we have visited, I was really impressed with their efforts to increase tourism. Everything (menus, city guides, signs, etc) was offered in at least French, English, and Spanish. The Office of Tourism also provided maps that outlined different self-guided walking tours through the city. You could choose different walks based on your interests. There was a Romanesque and Gothic tour, a Garden tour, a 19th Century tour, a canal tour, and a 'Beziers over the centuries' tour. The walking guide also included pictures of various landmarks along with a little paragraph of history or information. We chose the 'Beziers Over the Centuries' walk. We started in the "Plateau des Poetes" pubic garden, built in 1870. It is a beautiful park complete with sculptures and a bird sanctuary. Next we headed down the Allees Paul Riquet, to the theatre, built in 1844. The tour took us down little winding roads past Gothic chapels, past the Town Hall, and through a covered market that dates from 1889. Our walk also took us to the Madeleine Church (XI-XIVth century). This church was the scene of the most bloodthirsty episode of the Albigeois Crusade, as the Catholic church tried to rid the world of Cathars. When one of the commanders of the crusade was asked how to tell the Catholics from the Cathers, the commander supposedly replied, "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet"- "Kill them all, God will know His own". The people of Beziers were exterminated and the city was left in ashes. Ok, so there is your history lesson for the day!
Saturday afternoon (after the infamous mussel lunch...) we drove to a little village called Florensac. The winegrowers of Florensac have joined together to form a wine co-op. They have also built a huge building that is the home of the co-op, called Vinipolis. In the main room there are about 6 tasting stations set up with computers that walk you through the wine tasting process. The computers also provide information about the different wines available. Then it was back to Beziers for dinner. We took the recommendation of the hotel owner and went to a tiny French restaurant called Les Antiquaires. The restaurant could only seat 24 people (I counted). Even though it was the low season, we didn't have a reservation and luckily got the very last table that was not reserved. The food was perfectly French, and perfectly wonderful.
Sunday, on our way out of town, we stopped to see some of the more impressive sights on the Canal du Midi. The first was the Fonseranes Canal Locks, which date from the XVIIth century. This series of seven locks allow boats to navigate a 21-meter change in level! Next, we walked along the canal to the Pont-Canal. At this point in Beziers, the Canal du Midi intersects the River Orb. In 1857 a bridge was built over the River Orb to allow boats on the canal to cross the river. That's right, it is a bridge for boats! It was hard to take a picture from beside the bridge, so I found this aerial photo of the locks and the bridge to give you a better idea:
Les 9 Ecluses des Fonseranes (The 9 Fonseranes Canal Locks):
Le Pont-Canal:
1 comment:
Beautiful pictures Kim! Looks like you guys had a wonderful time.
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