Rocamadour

Our final stop on our return home from our superb time in France in June was at Rocamadour. 

We actually stayed at L'Hospitalet which is just outside the stunning cliff side village; stunning views from our hotel which is the same level at Rocamadour's chateau. Our visit began by taking the old pilgrim road down into Rocamadour village. Our hotel is on the far right of our photo, you can see the steep road down to the house on the left.

The cliffs were formed by the course of the River Alzou and Rocamadour was built on their steep sides. It has three parts: the village on the lowest, the chateau at the top and the church in-between. 

The main roadof the village, lined with medieval houses, is Rue de la Couronnerie with fortified gateways at each end: Porte du Figuier and Porte Salmon.

Above the village is the religious centre of Rocamadour, it has been and still is a destination for pilgrims and lies on the route to Santiago de Campostela.

The Grand Escalier leads from the village to the Sanctuary, the central square surrounded by eight religious buildings. This steep stairway has 216 steps which pilgrims climbed on their knees.

The first chapel was built in 1105 and the first miracle announced in 1148, this lead to the arrival of many pilgrims.

It's quite a small area with the churches built alongside each other. The Palais des Eveques (Palace of the Bishops), the basilica Saint-Sauveur, Saint Michel chapel and the Chapelle Notre Dame are all stunning. The Black Madonna, a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary and child, draws many visitors as it is believed she has magical healing powers.

The Chateau of Rocamadour is reached by a winding path which has a Station of the Cross at each turn. Although a beautiful location Rocamadour is a place for religious focus, a couple in front of us knelt at every station to pray.

Our stay ended with a superb night ride on the petit train, a holiday highlight for me. From L'Hospitalet just outside our hotel the train took the steep road down into Rocamadour village and along the cobbled streets. It then crossed the river and ascended the road opposite before turning round and stopping (in the middle of the road) for us to get out and admire the view of Rocamadour lit up, it was beautiful.

Rocamadour is one of the must see placed in France, I'm so glad we have and we certainly will again. 

Citè de Carcassonne

One of the highlights of our holiday in France was a visit to Citè de Carcassonne. It is another place we visited when our children were young. My Dad loved it, we have a lovely video of him walking round the cobbled streets with his stick.

Our son owns All Mana of Games and runs a table top focused social group which his girlfriend is also involved with. City de Carcassonne is one of their favourite games so they had an added interest to visit this amazing place.

The Cité is an UNESCO heritage site and dates back to pre-Roman times. Fortifications have been built here as it sits on an outcrop of rock overlooking the Aude valley and is a strategic location between the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast.

It has two enclosures that surround the houses, chateau and Gothic cathedral, these were first developed in the 13th century but after a fire in 1849 the Citè was extensively restored by Eugene Biollet-le-Duc in 1853 to 1879

The outer ramparts have 19 round towers and the inner has 26 such towers. The Citè would have been surrounded by a moat with two access points; Porte Narbonnaise which faces the Mediterranean and Porte de l'Aude to enter from the west. 

In 1096 Pope Urbsin II blessed the first stone laid for the cathedral, dedicated to Saint Michael it became a Basilica in 1898. The Cathedral has both Roman and Gothic features but the outstanding features for me is the stunning design glass window above the altar and the beautiful rose window.

We had a super time visiting Citè de Carcassonne, a day walking round this amazing mix of houses, hotels and towers remembering past times and making new memories to treasure.

The Longest Yarn

We saw this on BBC Breakfast and really wanted to see it in person especially after our recent holiday to visit the Normandy beaches. 

The Longest Yarn is a knitted tableau of 80 scenes from the D-Day landings. The work is incredible, so many clever knitters giving colour and texture to the scenes. 

Each scene is housed in a glass case giving a bit of reflection on photos but you can see the amazing skill from these I took on our visit to Southwell where it is on show until the end of September.

My favourite scene was Pegasus Bridge, it was amazing to see it knitted and looked exactly as we saw it. The scene with the full bridge, the cafe and the gliders brought a tear to my eye as I relived the story of those brave men. 

A massive congratulations to everyone involved in this stunning project, espevially the knitters. The web site has details of the companies that are helping move this important exhibition around the UK, there is also a list of dates of where it will be .... The Longest Yarn is definitely worth the long queue!

Rennes-le-chateau

Rennes-le-Chateau has always been a mysterious magical place to us since our first visit in 2002 when our children were young and my Dad was with us. At the time we knew very little about this intriguing village but for all of us it's story has captured our interest, as it has with many others including the author Dan Brown. 

The mystery surrounds Bèranger Saunière who in 1885 became the priest of this very poor village located at the top of a hill with access via one road. The story is that he discovered something in one of the church's pillars which made him very very rich.

What is was is still unclear but it believed to have been a parchment that would turn Christian religion upside down, did he find the Holy Grail? 

What is known it that after his discovery the priest visited the bishops in Paris and returned a wealthy man. He used the money to renovate the village church but in quite a unusual way ... how many churches have the Devil greeting you on entry?

Inside the church is decorated with statues and pictures depicting the stations of the cross and other statues but they all differ slightly from Christian beliefs. 

Many books have been written on the meaning behind Bèranger Saunière's decorations. It is rumoured he is telling the story of the Knight's Templar, Cathar treasure or the Ark of the Covenant, others say he was an imposter who gained his wealth by selling masses to worshippers. 

As well as renovating the church Bèranger also built Villa Béthanie complete with beautiful gardens, an orangery and Magdala Tower that looks over the vast valley below, some say to watch over who was coming to this remote village. It is certainly in a great position with a beautiful view over the Bals des Coleurs landscape.

In 1917 Bèranger Saunière died taking his secret with him. It is said that only his housekeeper Marie Dénarnaud knew and although she promised to tell she had a stroke a few years before her death in 1953 and so the secret remains.

The money Bèranger Saunière made or was given disappeared, he left everything to Marie but years after his death she was seen burning 1000s of bank notes: this was because when the French franc currency changed all paper money could be exchanged at a bank only with evidence of its source, something Marie could not, or would not, divulge.

We had a super day revisiting Rennes-le-Chateau, especially being able to share its mystery and intrigue with the new members of our family. 

It does however make me want to rematch The Da Vinci Code, reread The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail and watch Henry Lincoln's videos on YouTube. 

As well as Bèranger Saunière's life there are many theories about the geographical position of this mysterious village in line with other historic locations nearby .... but that's another story!