Castelnaudary

Monday, May 23 in Carcassonne the temperature was 7.5°C in the early morning then climbed at midday to 18°C, it is more bearable. In Castelnaudary only the Collegiate Church is worth the detour with its two portals, one of which is Gothic and the other Renaissance, but unfortunately it is closed on Mondays, not mentioned by the Green Guide. I took a look at the Seuil de Naurouze, a place where water from the Montagne Noire is collected to supply the Canal du Midi, part Mediterranean and then part Atlantic. I bivouacked in an Intermarché car park in Castelnaudary.

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Castelnaudary, Seuil de Naurouze

Montgiscard

Tuesday, May 24 from Castelnaudary I took the circuit proposed by the Green Guide in the Lauragais which was ravaged by Simon de Montfort in the 13th century during the war against the Albigensians. The plain is dotted with ruined castles and dilapidated bastide towns. The weather was overcast with here and there spring showers after the hot weather last week. As before, I bivouacked in the parking lot of a shopping center.

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Tour in the Lauragais

Toulouse, Aeroscopia

Wednesday 25 I spent the morning at the Aeroscopia in Toulouse, Let's Visit Airbus, Aviation Museum. It is a retrospective of the saga of aviation from Michelangelo to the present day with the mythical planes, Concorde and A380, which ends with the family tree of the Rafale, combat plane, whose success technology stems from the evolution of Marcel Dassault aircraft designed by the same design office before WWII, long-term continuity is the guarantee of success.

Because the deceased, if we venerate his memory, is more present and powerful than the living. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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Aeroscopia, Aibus A380

The old Toulouse tour-1

Thursday, May 26 began with a huge blunder, I had forgotten that it was the religious feast of the Ascension, the height of a state that claims to be strictly secular! But it is also and above all an acquired right for the revolutionary unions. The sanction was immediate, the circulation of the buses adopted the schedules of the public holidays, consequently I took the bus of 10:20, not serious. Tour n°1 runs through Romanesque churches including the Saint-Sernin basilica, here access was guarded during the religious service by a duly badged municipal employee. The paintings in the Carmelite Chapel are superb; it was closed, but people were setting up a Steinway piano for a recital. N.-D. du Taur also has some very evocative paintings. The Jacobins is a Romanesque church with a semicircular nave.

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Le Palmier des Jacobins

The old Toulouse tour-2

Friday, May 27 I repeated my blunder, but this time it was school vacation hours. The route takes place south of the Place Capitole in the old streets lined with the houses of the notables of Toulouse in the Middle Ages. Of course with Gothic-style churches including Saint-Étienne Cathedral, here, with a double nave, the oldest of which is larger and more offset. The Musée des Augustins was closed for renovation.

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Le donjon, place Capitole

Les Causses du Quercy

Saturday, May 28 was a beautiful spring day, sun, blue sky and birdsong, only happiness. But the fatigue accumulated during the two days of visiting Toulouse got the better of my ability to visit the steep medieval villages of the Causses and the Aveyron gorges. I found a nice car park on the boulodrome, a popular playground in Provence and Occitania.

Medieval village of Bruniquel and its castles

The 14th century hall of Beauregard

Cantarel

Sunday, May 29 Martine, sister of Françoise, had gathered in her mansion the couple of Dany and Jacques, as well as Guy the author of this site. It was a pleasant day of old friends commemorated by a lunch at the "Dinée du Viguier" in Figeac. We were joined by friends from the neighborhood. The afternoon was spent in the idyllic environment of the Causses du Quercy landscapes under a blue sky and a radiant sun punctuated by birdsong.
The photos were taken by Jacques with his smartphone.

Dany, Martine -- Jacques, Guy