France – World Wide Walkies

Montségur: Mist, Martyrs, & Heavy Metal

Photo of Chateau de Montsegur on its pog

I read that in cycling terms, the Col de Montségur is a Category 2 mountain pass, popular with those slender, Lycra-clad aliens who chase gradients for glory. The same article revealed it to be known for scenic views, the highlight of which is a spectacular perspective of a historic castle ruin. Perched atop a pogContinue reading “Montségur: Mist, Martyrs, & Heavy Metal”

In Glorious Bastides: Cordes-sur-Ciel

Photograph of Cordes-sur-Ciel on its hilltop

Our second medieval village of the day could not have been more different. If Sévérac felt organic and quietly lived in, Cordes-sur-Ciel was its theatrical opposite. From a distance, it looked magical – a town suspended above the landscape, poised between earth and sky on a rocky ridge 328 ft (100 m) above the CérouContinue reading “In Glorious Bastides: Cordes-sur-Ciel”

Lovely Languedoc, France: Sévérac-le-Château

The castle at Sévérac-le-Château or Sévérac d’Aveyron viewed from the foot of the hill at sunset

In Southern France, history is not confined to individual locations, museums, or monuments; it is embedded throughout the landscape. During the medieval period, Sévérac-le-Château or Sévérac d’Aveyron sat on a geographic, religious, and political fault line. On the edge of a region with a fiercely singular identity, it was caught between the Mediterranean world ofContinue reading “Lovely Languedoc, France: Sévérac-le-Château”

Languedoc, France: The Land That Says Yes! With Wind, Wine, & Rebellion

The fortified medieval city of Carcassonne viewed from outside the city walls

Wrapped around the Mediterranean coast, from Provence to the Pyrenees, lies the French region of Languedoc. Translated literally, the Languedoc – le langue d’oc – means ‘the language of yes’. In the southern French Occitan language, Oc was the word for ‘yes’, distinguishing it from the northern old French affirmative oil – prounounced ‘oh-ee’ –Continue reading “Languedoc, France: The Land That Says Yes! With Wind, Wine, & Rebellion”