This morning we woke up at 9am and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. We were still the only guests at the bed and breakfast which was due to us being there at the end of March. The owner, Bruno, told us they are booked solid through the summer but the winter is very empty. I personally prefer to travel in the off season so that you don't have to deal with notorious European summer crowds. Breakfast this morning was a croissant with excellent apple jelly, a mango fruit salad, tea and coffee. Napoleon joined us for our meal again!
It was raining so Bruno suggested we go to the city of Narbonne, about 30 minutes away. Narbonne has a very large cathedral that was intended to be the largest in Europe, but only 20% of it was finished (it is still huge with only that part being built). When we got to the cathedral it was closing for lunch so we didn't get to go inside. Because the cathedral is surrounded closely by buildings we could not take in the vast size of it, but later when driving home we were able to see it from a distance and get a sense of the enormity of it.
In front of the cathedral was an exposed part of the
Via Domitia which is the first Roman road built in Gaul that connected Italy with Hispania. I thought this was really fascinating! You can see exposed portions of the Via Domita in various places in France and Italy. The Via Domitia was constructed in 118 BC! and here it is today:
We left Narbonne and drove south to Catalonia toward the Spanish Border and the Pyrenees to try to see Gorges de la Fou, a slot canyon I had researched which claims to be the narrowest canyon in the world. Today was April 1 and it was the first day that the canyon would be open for the year, weather permitting. Thankfully, it was open! I was so afraid the rain would have closed it. We paid 6 Euro each to get in for the 2 kilometer walk through the canyon. We were given helmet's to wear and since no one there spoken English the people tried to act out slipping and falling for us, telling us that there was a danger of slipping. It was pretty funny.
As we walked into the canyon I noticed that we would be walking on a narrow metal bridge the entire way
This picture was a balancing act with our camera on the wet metal bridge
The canyon floor where a quick stream of water was constantly flowing
A huge boulder that has fallen in the canyon. At some points the canyon was only a meter wide.
After leaving the Gorges de la Fou we drove through the tiny hamlet of Arles-sur-Tech. We stopped at the 14th century St. Sauveur church which has a tomb with "l'eau miracle"--miracle water. The tomb has no contact with the ground, yet water collects in the bottom. Some people believe this is holy water.
Next we drove to the village of Ille-sur-Tet to see Les Orgues. These are pillars of rock that look similar to organ pipes and are essentially the same formations found in Bryce Canyon, Utah. These pillars were at the end of a 1 kilometer hike and seemed to come up out of nowhere. Geologists believe that these formations will only be around for about 50 more years due to erosion.
Another balancing act to get a self portrait at Les Orgues
On our way back to our hotel we stopped for dinner at a place that was Tex-Mex and Italian. An odd combination to us!
To see all of our pictures from day 6 click
here.
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