Grandlac : Fortified Farm House, 1500s France

Near LaCanourge, we visited a fortified farm house built in the 1500s.
Looks pretty cool, doesn't it?




This the the back side where the door is. The Poyets knew the owners and had permission to show us inside. This round tower is the circular staircase.

When we got inside, I didn't even take pictures -- I was so startled. It was cold, dark (not many windows). The ground floor would have been like living in a cave, or a garage. The Poyets said that people lived here up until the 1970s. It made me think twice about wanting to live in a castle--and how hard it would have been to keep it warm in winter. The 3rd floor was the most livable now, with a kitchen ... Still rugged living.

You have to love solitude to live there.


This is the barn, built like a boat, and low to the ground.


The slate (?) roof.


Inside the barn, built like an upside-down boat. It was perfect for sheep back in the day.


Another building on the property. Looks like a crofter's cottage in Scotland.

The family who owns this property has been slowly restoring it, and making it liveable. They have a modern farm with 500 sheep over the hill. We didn't see the working farm, though.
I also kept looking for a big lake, but didn't see one ...

Montsegur : The Last Cathar Stronghold

See that little bump on the top of this rock? That's Montsegur, in Southern France as we approach on the winding roads through the mountains.


The view from the parking lot. This is as close as you can get by car. The ticket booth is 1/2-way up so you can get a good idea if you'll be able to handle the rest of the climb. CL and I climbed up to the very top (Oliver stayed in the car and read D&D, so we didn't have to listen to him complain).


This is what the path was like ... very rocky and rugged, with stones people have been walking for 1000s of years. You just had to take it one-step-at-a-time. It was a 3-4 hour trek up and down. Think about getting supplies up there--it had to be what you could carry.


This is the view from the top ... I thought I could see Heidi tending the goats, or hear Maria singing "The Hills are alive with the sound of music ....' Sorry, wrong movie ; wrong country.


Snow-covered Pyrenes in the distance.


Inside the fortress. During the Crusades, the the Pope (at the time) launched a Holy War against all "infidels." [Sound familiar to anything happening today?] The Cathars were considered infidels because they kept to themselves, advocated a simple life (poverty, chastity ...) They were Christians, so I'm not sure where "infidel" comes in, other than they worshipped in their own way and were not interested in sending money to Rome.

In the 1200s, the Crusaders seiged Montsegur during a hard winter. The Cathars couldn't move, or get supplies. At the end of it, more than 200 Cathars were burned at the stake here in their own castle, their last stronghold. It's a grim ending, and one that makes me appreciate all the more the Freedom-of-Religion tenant in our US Constitution.

Yes, maybe the Cathars seemed a little strange, but they weren't hurting anyone. They kept to themselves and they built some magnificent castles which I can appreciate today. This kind of history really troubles me , even 800 years later.






The rocky way up to the castle.


Closer to the sky.

Vending Machine for Raw Milk (in France)

For those of you in WI (US) disappointed with the state legislature making it illegal to purchase unpasturized milk from local dairy farmers ... (We drank fresh milk all the time when I was a kid and we (or someone in the family) kept cows. I also understand the public health issues ... but it seems to me there could be a compromise with adequate testing, or something ...

This is a vending machine in the town square of Roanne, France, where you can purchase fresh unpasturized milk 24/7. They take taste seriously!


You can even get to know the farmer and his cows on one side of the stand.


They'll fill the bottles when you make a purchase. Only in France!

Favorite Moments from the Vancouver Winter Olympics

Even 4 months later, there are still moments from the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics that float through my mind ... Here are some of may favorite moments :


Whales on the Floor
This was just plain amazing!


The whales swimming in the ocean changed to Salmon swimming upstream. All in motion!


A performer runs through a flowing wheat field.
Picture from REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (CANADA)





Fiddlers (and Dancers) from the East See the NBC Video
God--I love that Cape Breton Sound! They were on fire that night! HOT!


And kd lang singing Hallelujia. Photo by REUTERS/Jerry Lampen (CANADA)
What a perfect voice she has!

Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes

Been kind of a tough week for me. The one thing that is sure to make me feel better is hearing this song. This live version makes me want to get up and dance and sing along--so I did. ;-)

Enjoy!

J's Techno Whales

My long-time friend (from way-back in junior high), Janna got a job this spring flying a small plane for a right whale survey off of Cape Cod. This is such a cool job for her, because she's been wanting to fly as long as I've known her, and now she gets paid to do it! I'm excited about the subject matter, too ...

See some of the pictures that wound up on BBC Earth News.

Here is an email she sent a few days ago (posted with her permission) :

From: janna greenhalgh
Subject: Techno whales
To: "Michele Matucheski"
Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 4:05 PM

We flew today offshore from Cape Cod. What a day! The whales are moving out of the area, we have 11 more days and about 15 more hours left in the season. We didn't expect to see much and had a great survey. The north end had about 50 humpback whales spread out between 20 miles! As we approached the southern end about 20 miles off shore it started out "I see a blow..oh, and another, oh, and.. Oh my God..."

There were maybe 30 fin and probably Sei whales all feeding near the surface and about a dozen right whales scattered in them. Tough to keep track of for circling as they came up and down!

The fin whales look like giant tad poles when their pleats fill out in feeding. Even more cool is that this was very near the NOAA boat Deleware II, which I spent some time on! They had a small boat out and were tagging whales. We got a great couple photos of them doing this. I'll probably never see them, but it was cool to know they would get them.

And to top the good day off we saw Wart. The same whale we spent over two hours circling as the small boat tried, yet again, to get the ropes off of her. Three years of chronic pain was showing in her activity. The ropes had been successfully removed a couple days ago minus one and we were told to keep an eye out for her to see what her condition was. No ropes at all and a VERY active whale! Yeah Wart!

We saw another nick-named White Cloud that was paler than other right whales and had a white edging on its fluke. Very neat!
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More info at Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.

Bucolic Pictures from a Hillside Village in France

Isn't this a lovely view? This is the view from the Bed & Breakfast we stayed in near Roanne. St, Jean-St. Maurice. France is full of these little hillside villages. One of my favorite past-times in France is to explore these old villages ...


This was a painting on the side of one of the houses. In the skies [See that speck above the tower in the 1st picture? That's a hawk), you'd always see a bird-of-prey soaring. At home, it's a big deal to see one. CL said, it's not like they can farm these hills Monsanto-style. They are only good for sheep ... so the birds have not been killed off by pesticides. Good point!


Another scene from the village.


Another view of the tower ...




The tower the town is working to restore.


l' Echaugette Alex in St. Jean-St. Maurice (near Roanne).
This is the exact B&B we stayed in. They are listed in the Green Guide (Michelin), and a worthy stop on your trip! The owner's have a view of a lovely lake, so be sure to take breakfast and visit with the owners. Very nice people!


The "front" door to the B&B where the owners lived. Our room was a completely restored building across the street.


Another view from the village.


Grape vines covered our building.


More old stones ...

Polar Obsession

Paul Nicklen's Polar Obsession.
I have this book from my local public library. It's amazing!

Mr. Paul Nicklen was on National Public Radio's All Things Considered this morning talking about his encounter with a bowhead whale and a leopard seal who was trying to impress him.


Here's the Leopard Seal Story.

These are wonderful stories that have stuck with me for months now!

Don't miss the photo album at NPR.
Enjoy!

Spit Cake

No--not that kind of spit. Spit Cake is another specialty of the Haute-Pyrenees region of France. A bakery in La Canourgue sells these Spit Cakes. They drizzle the batter onto a spit that is turning over a heat source. Slowly the cake builds up over successive drizzles.


We ate it cut into bite-size bits with a fresh fruit salad.
Delicious!