Aye, the Nights are Fair Drawing In

I hear it's snowing already in Finland but here the days are still full of sunshine and warmth. That is, until this week. The 'rainy season' has started and we've had the full repertoire of thunder and lightning and rain pissing down like it is never going to stop. So, better enjoy the few sunny days while they are still here. Also, soon it's time for my knee operation and then it'll be all indoors for me for nearly two months.

Luckily there are many little country roads and paths nearby and I've been collecting some flower seeds on my walks, to add to my collection of vegetable and fruit seeds at home. Maybe next year I'll be planting them in our own garden, if all goes well.

The beautiful autumn colours never stop amazing me!

The other day I took the car and drove up to the mountains and found a lovely quiet spot where I sat for hours, reading, knitting (oh, yes!) and just taking in the peace and quiet. And look who showed up! This little beetle busily rolling it's ball of shit; food for the family maybe?
First time I've ever seen one in nature. Thought they only live in Africa...My brother, the biologist, would be delighted by the level of my knowledge.

This is the view today from our window. Nice and wet. Doesn't look too bad on a photo, I suppose,  but I tell you it was pissing down like nobody's business. I think I'll stay indoors then.

Few more photos of lovely autumn colours instead of that fifty shades of grey to lift up the mood.

So everybody - put your woollen socks on, get the candles out and snuggle up to your nearest and dearest and enjoy the cool autumn days and nights. It's time to hibernate a litlle bit.

Day trip to Beziers

Our local social centre has a French language course that I've been attending for the past two and half years. Lately, after two volunteer teachers left and another one came in, the course is more of a social thing. Rather than learning the grammar and vocabulary, we tend to just have discussions, go for walks or do day trips to nearby places.
This latest one was a trip to Beziers and instead of the normal numerous gatherings, only three of us went this time. Which actually wasn't a bad thing at all. We walked a lot and got way more done than you would with a bigger group.

The main destination for the day was the Fonserannes Locks, a flights of 9 staircase locks on Canal du Midi, now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

'It consists of eight ovoid-shaped (characteristic of the Canal du Midi) lock chambers and nine gates, which allow boats to be raised a height of 21.5 m (71 ft) in a distance of 300 m (980 ft). The flight was originally built as an 8-rise, which together with the ninth lock (the écluse de Notre-Dame, 710 metres (0.44 mi) to the north-east) allowed boats to cross the Orb river on a level and reenter the canal further downstream. The "9 locks" name dates from this time.' (from Wikipedia)

Apparently one of the oldest canals still in use in Europe!

We spent a good long while admiring and observing this marvellous piece of work. It was fascinating! I'd definitely like to do one of these boating holidays one time - talking about taking it slowly and just relaxing.

The boats are almost ready to move into the next chamber.

And after several locks and a good, looong while, the boats set off again onwards on the Canal du Midi.

View from the canal into Beziers old town and the cathedral.

After the canl bit we walked back into town and cross the brigde to get the car and onto the next attraction.

Which was the tunnel of Malpas, built in 1680, by Pierre-Paul Riquet, and it is the first navigable tunnel passed through a mountain.

This tunnel makes it possible to boat your way from Atlantic to Mediterranean.

Next on to the Oppidum of Enserune, a fortified Gaul village, dating back to 6th century BC. By this time the sun had finally come out properly, so the views were fantastic.

And from the hill you get also a great view to a place I've wanted to see for a long time; Etang de Montady, the dried lake of Montady. I just didn't realise we were going to come here until I clapped my eyes on it. Just goes to show I'm away with the fairies the best part of the time!

Again, Wikipedia explains it better than I could:

The Étang de Montady, the "pond of Montady", is a drained "lagoon"  or more accurately a former freshwater wetland that is popularly said to have been "constructed by the Visigoths"  but was realised by monks during the second half of the 13th century, under authorization of the archbishop of Narbonne^,The Étang de Montady is near Colombiers, midway between Béziers and Narbonne, in the western department of Hérault, in southern France.
The area was drained by making radial ditches from a single center point out to the extremities. The water flows to this center point and is then drained through an underground culvert and through the Malpas hill and under the Malpas Tunnel of the Canal du Midi. The field plots are of a triangular configuration due to the radial lines from the center.
The fact that the drain for Montady went through Malpas encouraged Pierre-Paul Riquet, the designer of the Canal du Midi, that he could build a tunnel through the same hill for his canal.

Afterwards, in a nearby giftshop-cafe place we could see a mini model of the said area. And here we are; the three tunnels, one on top of the other. Quite a feat of engineering. How they did it, is beyond me.

Oppidum of Enserune.

A lovely day and excursion where I learned a lot about the area and its history.

Journée du Patrimoine

The other weekend we had the Journée du Patrimoine, the heritage days, where different historical buildings open their doors and you can visit these places for free. I chose to go and see the Domaine du Rieussec, an ancient roman villa, vineyard and gardens, a protected historical monument.

The first known documents of this site date from 853 and the wine making was already mentioned then. I like it already!!
The estate has belonged to the same family for more than five centuries and the buildings date back to the 16th century (renovated around 1860).

We were welcomed by the owner of the estate and the visit started from the gardens.

Lovely big selection of  trees and some exotic plants as well. The grounds are vast and the solitude is granted. No wonder the ancient pilgrims of Santiago de Compostela used to stop over here.

The ancient family burial ground.

The main house; rustic, but oh, so charming!

Orangerie, where they used to winter all the orange trees in the olden days. Nowadays they hire the place to use it for functions. At the moment they had a litttle art exhibition in there.

The view inside.

Old roman artefacts found from around the grounds of the villa.

And lets not forget the wine...These babies are still enjoying the sunshine until the very last moment. The harvest won't be as much as the previous years because of the incredibly hot summer, but the quality of the grapes will be excellent nevertheless.

And here they will go in time,  to make the transformation into delicious wine.

And last but not the least, we got into the business of  wine tasting. Very delicious indeed!

There's Still Time for Camping

Few weeks ago we went camping for a few days to a place we've been before, on the shores of the river Tarn. It was Mon Cheri's birthday and anyway, we wanted to get a little break while we can, before my knee-operation in October.

The drive took just over an hour and we passed through Millau on our way there. Here's some views on our approach.

You can bypass Millau completely, if you wish, by taking the Millau viaduct, apparently the tallest brigde in the world. That will save time if one is in a hurry, but the road toll will cost you about 8 euros on high season and couple of euros less off -peak.

'Located in Southern France, the Millau Viaduct is the tallest bridge in the world. Constructed in three short years, the bridge is an engineering and architectural marvel. At its highest point, the bridge soars 343 meters (1,125 ft) above ground, that’s 19 meters (62 ft) taller than the Eiffer Tower!'
(https://twistedsifter.com/2011/06/worlds-tallest-bridge-millau-viaduct-france/)

Ok, camp all set up and ready, now we can relax! And this late in a season there's not many tourists around either, so the campsite was nice and quiet. Just what the doctor ordered!

And looking at these views, how could you not feel relaxed! The river runs right by the campsite and its full of fish. Ducks also swim by regularly in hope of some food and one day we saw a heron that was hunting his lunch on the little islet in the middle of the river. The tent places are nestled among the trees and all we heard all day long was the little birds singing their hearts out, flying from tree to tree. One day there was a squirrel on a tree just next to us and both nights, just after it got dark, we could see many bats flying around. A real nature-lovers paradise!

What a pleasure it was to remove my sandals and get in contact with the earth. Not much chance of that where we live now, since everything is covered in asphalt, broken glass and dog shit.

In my youth I used to run around with bare feet all summer long and hence my soles were constantly  black. My mother put a bucket of water next to the front door and I needed to scrub my feet carefully before coming in. Which is probably one reason why I stayed outside most of the time.

Aah, bliss!

Somebody was swimming in the river. I didn't go this time...must be getting old.

The view was great from inside the tent as well.

Hubert, a Solitary Male from Mount Aigual, was looking for a lady friend, a soul mate. Any takers?

We haven't had any bbq's this summer, so it was about the time to grill some sausages and eat them with our very own tomatoes. In the village we found a shop that sells the most delicious, local sausages (on the left) and the merghez (on the right) were not bad either.
There were some tomatoes growing on the campsite too, which the campers were welcome to pick and eat. Now that's what I call service!

The nature's own bounty; wallnuts collected from the campsite.

Views from our walk near the village.

The weather was still incredibly hot and I questioned the sanity of our decision to hike up a hill in search of a forest. One must not be lazy though and think that it is better to lie in the camp reading a book with a cool drink in a hand. First work, then fun!

Our funny little neighbours. What a delightful and refreshing little 'holiday' we had!