The heat wave was set to return and so we decided to head for the Asturian coast for a few days where it would be cooler. On the way we stopped at Castrojeriz, a small very old town which is on the Camino Santiago (France).
Evidence of the Camino Santiago (France) is everywhere and the route takes the ‘pilgrims’ directly through the middle of the town
It was a seriously hot afternoon but after parking up and getting settled, I was not to be deterred from making my way to the back of the town and then on up to the castle ruins at the top of the largest hill for miles.
The Romans erected the original castle on this hill some 2,000 years ago but there is little more than a footprint left of that particular structure. A newer 9th century castle was built on top of the original Roman fortress and this newer castle was added to in the 11th, 14th and 16th century. It is all a bit of a ruin now having collapsed in the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755.
The castle from the town (first photo) and the camp site (second photo)
There’s not much left of the castle but it is open to visitors and it is free to visit. Whilst up at the castle I got to talking with a German and a Chinese who met each other on the Camino and were now intent on completing it together. We were agreed that so many of the villages on the different Camino routes would probably have disappeared by now were it not for the pilgrims.
Back to the castle. It has some history too. In 1358, Queen Eleanor of Castile was captured and imprisoned in the castle by her nephew, Pedro I. He had her killed there and it is believed she is buried in the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria del Manzo down in Castrojeriz.
The views from the castle across the plains below are quite something. The church at the edge of the town in the second photo is where Queen Eleanor is believed buried.
There are three churches in Castrojeriz; a surprisingly high number for such a small town. I didn’t get inside either the Collegiate of Santa Maria del Manzo or the Iglesia de San Juan de Castrojeriz (this latter church is I understand the most beautiful) but I did spend an hour or so in the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and what it lacks in beauty it more than makes up for in interest.
The Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Saint Dominic to us British) is now more a museum to the Camino Santiago than it is a church and, because I was the only visitor that afternoon, I was given a private guided tour by the caretaker. He appeared very knowledgeable about St Dominic (and his friend St Francis) and the church itself (and the damage caused to the church by the 1755 earthquake) but, he was exceptionally knowledgeable about the Camino Santiago. His pet line was “The end of the Way is not the end of the trip but the beginning of another one”.
After an interesting half an hour he went off on another trip and left me to the videos and exhibits which form the church’s ‘Camino Experience’. Did you know that the Scallop of Saint James is known as “Pecten Jacobaeaus”, which is very common in Galician Seas, and it was pinned to the the Apostle’s clothes to authenticate his stay in Santiago during his return journey? No, me neither.
Iglesia de Santo DomingoA few photos in the town
Not a lot else to say about Castrojeriz except that Vanya wasn’t overkeen on the place but… she neither saw the castle nor witnessed the ‘Camino Experience’. Actually, I very much doubt that either of those would have made any difference at all to her.
Just one more thing. A lot of the houses in Castrojeriz had these handmade flowerpot characters sitting on their window sills. I think they look cool.
What is to say about Logrono that hasn’t already been said in our earlier blog following our last visit? We love the place. Yes, it has comparatively little “to see and do” when compared to other similar sized or even smaller Spanish towns in Spain but, it isn’t at all spoiled by tourism and it is so very much alive especially on a Thursday night at Calle Laurel and… we had booked into a hotel (the NH Logrono Herencia Rioja on Calle Murrieta) for the Thursday and Friday nights. Yahoooo!
Despite what I have just written about the relative lack of things to see and do in Logrono (here I am talking historical buildings, monuments, etc), I took the time during our stay to revisit what is around – the parks, bridges, churches, etc – and I was fortunate enough this time around to get inside the Concatedral de Santa Maria de la Redonda. It proved a disappointment not least because of the renovation work going on inside the church. One whole side of the inside of the church, including the altar area, was almost completely covered in scaffolding.
I like these photos of the Concatedral, the first taken early in the morning and the other at dusk
I was also able to get a better look inside St Bartholomew’s but once again I was thwarted in my attempts to get up into the belfry for it’s views over the city. A church service was about to begin as I entered.
The Church of St Bartholomew
I was disappointed not to get up to the bell tower of St Bartholomew’s but there is always next time. On a brighter note, I discovered some great street art at the back of the church…
Well, I like it!
Of course we attended Calle del Laurel and surrounding areas on both the Thursday and Friday night and the atmosphere and food was again brilliant. There cannot be a more sociable place to eat tapas in the whole of Spain (although they call them pinchos in Logrono, not tapas nor even pintxos). Talking of the pinchos, the absolute best I tried this time were the Grilled Mushrooms at Bar Soriano (three large mushrooms grilled and dripping in garlic butter and olive oil and crowned with a small prawn). They are superb although eating them without dribbling garlic butter is an art I have yet to master. I gave the Pig’s Ears a miss this time but liked the Crujiente de Pollo Corral (fried crispy chicken) and the Torreznos (pig skin) which were served at my favourite pinchos bar of our last visit. One that I regret I didn’t get around to tasting were the Chipirones a La Plancha (plate of squid) which was served at Vanya’s favourite pinchos bar from our last visit.
Early in the evening on Calle del LaurelAnd then it starts to fill upThe only food served in Bar Soriano are the mushrooms but they are so good the bar is invariably packed.
That first evening back in Logrono we made two forays into Calle del Laurel, pausing in between (for a rest) on the main square. It is the quietest place on a Thursday night.
Later that same evening, as we made our way back to the hotel we paused once again. This time it was to listen to a Spanish rock band that were performing a free concert on a temporary stage at the end of Calle Murrieta. A great end to the evening.
The following day, it was more of the same.
Yes, we thoroughly enjoyed returning to Logrono and I don’t doubt we will be back there again next year.
Now Laguardia, recommended by another waiter as a place to see, is very much a contender for the prettiest town in La Rioja!
With just 2,000 inhabitants, Laguardia is not a large town but it is the capital of La Rioja Alavesa. Perched on top of a long narrow hill in the Ebro Valley, the town started as a 1oth century military fort; probably a Templar monastery. As time passed a village developed around the monastery and with the demise of the Templars the monastery was transformed into a fortress church, the Santa Maria de Los Reyes. A second fortress church was added at the other end of the hill, Iglesia de San Juan Batista and the burgeoning town was then enclosed within thick defensive walls which connected the two fortress churches.
Parts of the walls were damaged during the Carlist Wars and again in the Spanish Civil War but the town’s five main gates are mostly complete; the Santa Engracia (northeast), the Carnicerias (east), the San Juan (southeast), the Mercadal (south) and the Gate of Paganos (west). We parked the Van outside the town walls and entered via the Gate of Paganos.
This was the view north towards the Basque Mountains as we arrived in Laguardia. The Basque Mountains sit between the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees. There was a bad storm the night before and the residual cloud over the Basque Mountains looked like a tsunami crashing down from the hills. The cloud cleared within an hour or so of our arriving.
The town is almost totally pedestrianised with just small tractors being allowed in at harvest time to deliver grapes to the town’s bodegas. The streets and alleys are too narrow to accommodate any other traffic and they slope gently from north to south such that the wooden barrels of finished wine can be rolled down to lorries and vans waiting outside the gates. Brilliant.
We made our way along one of the narrow sloping streets to the north of the town and the Santa Maria de los Reyes. The medieval town walls and buildings are honey coloured and quite beautiful. I’ll let the photos do the talking…
The narrow streets are arranged for the most part in a grid system, sloping gently from north to south – perfect for rolling wine barrels. After all, this is La Rioja Alavesa.The town is very much lived in and the residents maintain their routine notwithstanding the many visitors…… these guys sitting outside their house seemed to be having the time of their life shucking beans. They were friendly enough and we paused to ask them what type of beans they were preparing but their answer was lost in translation. Further on was the local green grocer’s shop. The tomatoes are almost pumpkin size.Just some photos which I took because I liked what I saw. The view through the door is of a musical clock very similar to the large clock outside the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall).
It didn’t take long to reach the northern end of the town and the Santa Maria de los Reyes. Opposite the church entrance is a 12th century military bell tower, the Abacial Tower (Abbot’s Bell Tower), which the public may ascend for views over the town and across to the mountains. Unfortunately, it was closed for lunch.
The Abacial Tower; Beanie posing on a fountain (not sure he should be doing that); The Santa Maria de los Reyes
Next to the church is an unusual iron sculpture, the Escultura Viajeros, which comprises a table of iron shoes and a table of handbags. It is supposedly a tribute to those who travel a great deal. Shoes and bags? I suppose it makes sense but some of those boots on the table are certainly not made for walking (as the song goes).
Just outside the northeast gate is the Paseo del Collado, a path which leads to the Castle Hotel and around most of the north side of the town. It’s a pleasant short walk and leads past an iron monument to the Fabulist, Felix Maria Samaniego, who was born and died in Laguardia.
One half of the Escultura Viajeros; Part of the Paseo del Collado; Laguardia’s Monument to Felix Maria Samaniego the Fabulist (Fabulists write fables which feature talking animals).
The centre of Laguardia is the Plaza Mayor where the new Town Hall, a hotel, a couple of bars and the tourist office are all to be found. We made it to the centre and were sitting in the town square with a beer when the Town Hall Clock (almost) struck the hour and three dancers in traditional dress appeared from inside the clock and did a little dance to the music. Not sure how that works because the dancers do not appear every hour.
This is a particularly famous clock built on to the new Town Hall. At designated times on the hour (but not every hour) the three figures appear and dance to a short tune. We watched and listened over a glass of wine.
After a short respite in the square we carried on to the southern area of the town to the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista y Capilla del Pilar (The Church of St John the Baptist and the Chapel to the Virgin of Pilar). The large octagonal Chapel was added to this fortress church during the early part of the 18th century. At first, I didn’t realise they were connected. It was only when I was inside the Church of St John that I noticed the large chapel at the back of the church. Public access to the chapel is through the church. Both buildings are absolutely stunning inside.
The San Juan gate and part of the Iglesia de San Juan BautistaThe Capilla del Pilar and a detail from above the door (which is closed to the public). Access is from inside the adjoining churchInside the Church of St John the Baptist – One of the most beautiful of churches. I especially liked it’s polished wooden floorsInside the adjoining Chapel of the Virgin of Pilar. This chapel perhaps outshines even the Church of St John the Baptist. I took so many photos and videos.
It was an absolute pleasure walking up and down the streets of Laguardia. We took time to stop at one of the town bodegas to enjoy some wine and tapas but we omitted to visit the cellars which, in hindsight, was a mistake. I learned afterwards that there is almost as much underground in Laguardia as above ground. Apparently there are some 300 plus caves which is where the area’s wine is now produced and stored.
We enjoyed everything about our short stop at Laguardia and I very much recommend it as a place to visit. I would definitely revisit the place although, next time, I would come outside of the summer season when there are fewer tourists and; I would be tempted to overnight in the town square hotel.
Is it the prettiest town in La Rioja? That’s a difficult question. We are forever being surprised by what we see on these trips and; we haven’t seen all the towns in this Region that we would like to see and; so often other factors will influence such a decision (e.g. the time of the year, the prevailing weather, local activities, etc) so; it is difficult to say. One thing is for certain; it’s a strong contender.
We might have stayed on longer but, it was Thursday afternoon and we were already booked into a hotel just down the road in Logrono for a couple of days. Thurday night is party night on Calle Laurel and is not to be missed. On to Logrono…
La Rioja, with it’s 600 wineries and 250 square miles of vines, is Spain’s most famous wine region and the town of Haro is considered the wine capital of La Rioja. There’s reason enough for us to visit Haro but, it also came recommended by a friend.
The drive from Berceo on the LR 206 and the LR207 via Alesanco and Ollauri to our Haro campsite by the River Tiron would have taken well under an hour were it not for the fact that I kept stopping to take photographs on the way. These are country roads with very little traffic (a few tractors is all) and it was too easy to just pull in to the side of the road and start taking photos of the beautiful scenery. The La Rioja Region is about wine and grain and at this time of the year the area is a giant patchwork quilt of gently rolling fields with dark green vines and straw coloured stubble set against a backdrop of the Basque Mountains and a bright blue sky. Not quite Prosecco Hills but, nevertheless, awe inspiring.
Plenty of beautiful scenery
Almost everything about Haro is to do with wine. Wineries (known as bodegas in Spain) are all over the place. There is a wine museum, countless wine shops and even the statues and street art throughout the city are linked to wine.
There is also a three day wine festival in the town which includes a wine fight (La Batalla de Vino). The fight is generally a good natured event which takes place between 28 to 30 June, during the feast of St Pedro. There is a big party on the 28th June; the fight takes place immediately after mass on 29 June and; there’s another party (which includes traditional dancing) which takes place on 30 June. During the wine fight everyone wears white and throws red wine over each other using buckets, bottles, jugs, water pistols or anything else that holds wine. Thousands of litres of wine are used in the fight every year. The inaugural wine fight is said to have started in the 13th century after an argument between Haro and the neighbouring town of Miranda de Ebro.
After arriving in Hora, I did my usual preliminary exploration while Vanya stayed with the Van and practised her Spanish. The first place I made for was the Plaza de la Paz (in the old part of the town, of course) to find a suitable place to eat in the evening. Job done; there are plenty of places on the square but she would probably prefer to walk the lanes for tapas.
Plaza de la PazThe town statues are almost all concerned with wine production…… so too is the artwork. The second photo, with Beanie, is a detail from a larger mural depicting the annual wine battle on 29 June…… and there it is – La Battalla de Vino
The most impressive building in any Spanish town is more often than not the church and the 16th/17th century Church of Santo Tomas is certainly the most striking building in Haro. It was declared a National Historic Artistic Monument in 1931. The oldest and most celebrated part of the church is it’s front entrance but I was also struck by it’s magnificent Baroque altarpiece which dates from 1740.
Not easy to get good photos of such a large church in the small old town centre of Haro but the entrance is kind of special…… as is the inside.
And so to the wine. If you want to tour one of the bodegas in the town (and there are some impressive tours to be had), you have to make appointment but; if it’s just a tasting session that you want, many of the larger bodegas in the Barrio de la Estacion area operate an open door policy where you can just walk in off the streets. Some, such as Balbainas, CVNE, La Rioja Alta and Muga have pleasant seating areas, inside and out, and have food to complement their wine list. It’s like being in an up market Austrian heurige.
I made my way to the Bodegas Muga which is currently open for tasting from noon onwards. I settled down in the very pleasant courtyard at the side entrance to their premises and was immediately presented with a wine list and snack menu. You pay for each wine you try but the prices are reasonable and the measures are very generous. What I particularly liked about the Muga is that the waiters (or are they cellar masters?) all seemed very knowledgeable about the dozen or so wines available and were more than happy to share that knowledge. There were red, white and rose Riojas available at prices between 3 and 12 euros per glass but most wines were 3 or 4 euros. There was even a fizzy Rioja. I tried a ‘couple’ of reds and my favourite by a long way was the Muga Seleccion Especial 2018 at 6 euros for a very large glass (which got even bigger after I ordered a second). I’m no expert wine taster but – intense cherry colour, long, smooth, red berries. I added the “intense” for effect lol. I promised to introduce Vanya to the Muga at the earliest opportunity.
The Muga ‘experience’ – so good I had to do it twice…
Vanya and I made it to the Muga the very next day for the noon opening. After I had reminded myself as to how good the red wine is, I sampled the white riojas, including the fizzy. Not fussed about that one (I’ve been spoiled by Prosecco) but the other white wines were good.
Of course, Vanya enjoyed the visit to Bodegas Muga as much as me and we had to try another. We moved on to Bodegas Bilbainas for a Vina Pomal. Vanya didn’t like the Pomal and so I had to drink both but she very much enjoyed the fizzy Rioja Lumen Reserva 2019; so much so she bought some to take back to the UK. Given the price, I probably would have liked it too. As it was, I felt rather sleepy for the remainder of the afternoon.
… and then on to Bodega Bilbainas
We spent a couple of pleasant evenings during our stay on the Plaza de la Paz people watching but tended to eat at the tapas bars. It wasn’t bad food but it was a poor substitute for Calle Laurel in Logrono. It was time to move on. A waiter advised us to call in on the small town of Laguardia before going to Logrono and we promised we would.
Not quite Logrono standard but this pork tapas was good
Haro is well worth a visit and we will definitely return. As it is we were only going to stay the one day but stayed two. Next stop Logrono but via Laguardia.
Ezcaray was described to us as the most beautiful town in La Rioja and a ‘must see’ place to visit. It sits on the edge of the Sierra de la Demanda mountains on the banks of the River Oja and is just 30 kms west of Berceo. It was an easy decision to stay on at the campsite in Berceo another night and travel to Ezcaray for the day.
With just over 2,000 inhabitants Ezcaray is not a large town but, it attracts a great many tourists throughout the year. Summer and winter, it is particularly popular with visitors from the Basque Country.
Parking up was easy. There is a motorhome aire at the edge of the town next to the pretty 18th century Hermitage of Nuestra Senora de Allende.
Decent parking facility not far from the town
The resident hermit in the hermitage accommodation adjoining the chapel let me in for a look and it is as pretty inside as outside. There’s a magnificent altar piece but an attractive and unusual feature inside is the collection of paintings on the side walls by the artist Arcabuceros Angeles.
We carried on towards the old town and soon encountered the Iglesia Parroquial de Santa Maria la Mayor, which is a fortress like church put together in several phases between the 12th and 16th centuries. It looks more like a small castle than a church and, as we arrived, was locked as tight as any fortress could be. I was having to settle for a couple of photos of the outside of the church but as I readied myself with the camera, I was distracted.
The hotel opposite the church houses the El Portal de Echaurren restaurant, the first ever Michelin Star restaurant in La Rioja and, what’s more, it now has two Michelin Stars. The restaurant’s menu was posted outside the entrance. It claims to showcase the flavours of the Al Rioja region and looks both exciting and reasonably priced. They were charging between 22 and 32 euros for a meat main course and between 29 and 60 euros for a fish main although, no one in their right mind would settle for just a main course in this restaurant. Eating in El Portal de Echaurren is apparently almost theatre. The appetizers are served in the garden, then; guests are shown the kitchens where an entree is produced and then; the principal course is delivered to the guest’s table in the restaurant area. Personally I would like to try their tasting menu with appropriate local wines and Vanya and I have promised ourselves we will return for such an experience. Only issue is that, with a visit to the kitchens being part of the eating experience, I don’t think we’ll be able to take the dogs with us. They have what looks like a sister restaurant almost next door, El Cuartito. Perhaps El Cuartito will be more accommodating?
El Portal de Echaurren and the El Cuartito
Promising that we would soon return, we moved on into the old town and with the help of Google Maps quickly found the centre, the Plaza del Conde de Torremuzquiz (the Square of the Earl Torremuzquiz). In fact, the Square is better known as the Plaza del Quiosco (Square of the Kiosk). It is an ancient and picturesque square of half timbered three story buildings in the middle of which is a very odd looking but very pretty bandstand set on a stone foundation. It is this bandstand which has given the square it’s nickname, Plaza del Quiosco. Most of the buildings surrounding the square have been converted into cafe bars and craft shops. It was mid morning; the square was fairly full and there was a great atmosphere about the place. We settled outside one of the cafe-bars and took a pintxos brunch. I mentioned earlier that Ezcaray is very popular with visitors from the Basque Country and that is reflected in the cafe bar menus in the town. What would ordinarily be called tapas across most of Spain and in much of Castile y Leon is termed pintxos in Ezcaray.
Plaza del Quiosco
I’ve not mentioned that Ezcaray is good for shopping; woollens in particular. Vanya had noticed this almost immediately upon entering the town and it wasn’t long before we were retracing our steps to another square we had crossed earlier in morning, the Plaza de la Verdura. I remember it because the town’s tourist office is to be found on that square. Vanya had seen an admittedly pretty full length woollen jumper. It’s now in the back of the Van.
Another pretty square, the Plaza de la Verdura
Ezcaray has long been famous for the production of cloth (particularly woollen clothes and blankets) and at it’s peak in the 19th century had 29 textile factories employing 1,000 workers. That’s almost all gone now with most of the old mills having been demolished but one in particular has been saved. The Royal Cloth Factory of Santa Barbara has been converted into the Ayuntamiento (town hall), a Theatre and a Hotel. It is a striking building full of character.
A part of the Royal Cloth Factory of Santa Barbara
Textile production has given way to tourism all year round in Ezcaray. The ski resort of Valdezcaray is only 14kms up the road. Valdezcaray was built in 1974 and has a skiable area of 22kms; service stations at three heights (1550m, 1620m and 1850m) and; 6 lifts capable of carrying 15,000 skiers an hour to a total 24 ski runs (including 4 green pistes, 6 blue, 10 red, 2 black and 2 yellow). I didn’t know that they had skiing in this part of the world.
We had a pleasant day in Ezcaray but, while it is a pretty little town, I wouldn’t describe it as the prettiest in the La Rioja region. I think we’ve yet to discover that place. No matter, we’ll be back if only to try one of those restaurants I wrote about. For now, it is back to Berceo and then on to another town which has been recommended by a friend: the wine capital of La Rioja, Haro.
Our next stop was to be in the La Rioja Region of Spain. The plan was to spend a couple of nights in Logrono (a favourite city of ours) but we thought also to visit a few other places in this most underrated part of Spain.
Vanya identified a suitable stop over just inside the La Rioja region by the name of Berceo; programmed the Sat-Nav and off we set … to the end of a dirt track road nearer Burgos than Logrono! Whoops! No problem. An hour or so later we arrived at Berceo and there was still sufficient time for me to check out the town (although with just two bars this is more of a village than a town).
The entrance to the village and the bar I found for later
I found a small bar in the town for a drink or two that evening (there’s very little else to see or do) and then started to follow a pilgrimage route, the Ruta de Gonzalo de Berceo, out of town.
The route took me up and out of the town into some very pretty countryside…… a mix of forest and farmland where the crops were grain and grapes
Gonzalo de Berceo was a local 13th century religious poet. I cannot tell you any more about him except that his route took me up and then down through some beautiful countryside to the Monasterio de Yuso. I subsequently learned from our waiter where we ate that evening that the Spanish language was first developed by the monks at this monastery. Who am I to argue with him?
Unfortunately, the monastery was closed. So too was it’s sister monastery, the Monasterio de Suso.
I was late getting back from the monastery and we decided to leave the village bar for another time. Instead, we ate in the camp site bar restaurant and the food was fine. The drinks (Estrella beer and a La Rioja Crianza) were excellent.
The restaurant specialises in local dishes and we started with a very nice cream of vegetable soup
The friendly local waiter who told us about the Spanish language having been developed at the Monasterio de Yuso was a mine of local information and, while we were eating, he urged us to visit the village of Ezcaray if we were staying on in La Rioja. That settled it, we told the campsite we would be staying on another night so as to both visit Ezcaray and visit the local bar in Berceo.
Our visit to Ezcaray is told in the next blog. This blog ends with me reporting that we visited the local bar in Berceo and that we were well received by the locals and we drank lots of the ‘local’ wine. It came from the Bodegas Berceo in Haro. More about Haro later.
Camped up in Montrejeu and I somehow broke the Van’s fly screen. There’s no way you can spend Summer in a van in the south of France or Spain (our next port of call) without a fly screen so; we drove to the nearest (larger) town of Saint Gaudens to find the French equivalent of B&Q – Mr Bricolage.
Saint Gaudens is not the prettiest town in France but we arrived on a market day and we love local markets. So with the fly screen temporarily sorted via the purchase of a Moustiquaire Magnetique (just 12 euros), we wandered around the market; Vanya sourced a supply of ‘cbd’ in a local shop and; best of all we sat at the edge of the market and nursed a coffee and watched the world go by for a while.
The Church of Saint Peter & Saint Gaudens. I couldn’t get the more usual side view because the square alongside the church was full of market stallsNo doubt about it as to what dish Beanie most wanted.
Oh, and there’s one more thing worth knowing about Saint Gaudens. Dominique Bouchait, one of the great French cheese masters, is based in Montrejeau and, while his cheese factory is in his home town (alongside Camping Paradis), he has an impressive store in Saint Gaudens (Les Fromagers du Mont Royal).
Two creations available from Les Fromagers du Mont Royal
I last visited in Montrejeau in July 2019 (during Tour 2) but I never kept a blog that Tour, choosing instead to simply post brief details on Facebook. I recall I wasn’t very complimentary about the town in my FB entry. That was perhaps unfair because I didn’t get a good look at Montrejeau. My focus then was more towards the excellent camp site I stayed at (Camping du Paradis) and my trip to ‘le plus beau village’ of Saint Bertrand de Comminges where a medieval festival was under way. That was a great day but, it is time to put the record straight about Montrejeux.
Once again I chose to stay at Camping du Paradis and once again it was brilliant (nice pitch, facilities and people) although it is now three times more expensive than it was in July 2019. No matter, it was good enough for us to stay 4 days.
As for Montrejeau it’s a small town with no more than 3,000 people but, it has a couple of real plus points and it has some history. On balance I was a little unfair about the place and while Montrejeau is unlikely to set the world alight in my lifetime, it is a reasonable base from which to explore the Haute-Garonne.
So what did I see this time that I never saw before? Well, for a starter I missed the town’s main street. Instead I made my way from the campsite down along the Boulevard Bertrand de Lassusand then onto and over the town bridge to Saint Bertrand de Comminges. I returned the same way and as such missed the Marie (the town hall), the war memorial (it’s really quite unique), the Eglise de St Jean Baptiste (beautiful plain inside) and L’hotel de Lassus (the town’s most impressive mansion).
That’s the War Memorial in front of the Marie and a detail of the roof of l’hotel de Lessus (more about that below)
The church, L’Eglise de St Jean Baptiste, has an unusual octagonal shape tower but is otherwise unimpressive, until you get inside. The arched dark wooden roof and the roughly hewn cream coloured stone walls complement each other wonderfully well and the church isn’t full of garish furniture that might detract from what amounts to a beautifully simple interior. I like it.
There’s nothing particularly impressive about the exterior of the church but the interior…
L’Hotel de Lassus is not, nor ever was, a hotel. It’s a mansion (many French mansions are referred to as l’hotels), dating from the late 18th century and it belonged to the same Lassus family whose progeny subsequently built the 1892 Chateau de Valmirande. Nowadays it is used as a reception hall and there is a small space museum inside it.
L’hotel de LassusChateau Valmirande
One other attraction I sought out during this more recent visit to Montrjeau is it’s leisure centre and lake. The lake was developed out of a former gravel pit and extends over thirty hectares. To one side of the lake is a ‘Blue Flag’ water park complete with water slides and a bouncy obstacle course (I had to restrain Vanya from the obstacle course on the water) and the other side of the lake is for fishing.
The dogs loved the lake
So, Montréjeau does have more to it than I first thought after my visit in 2019.
I mentioned too that it has some history. Well, it was the scene of one of the last battles between Republicans and Royalists during the French Revolution. In the summer of 1799, anti-revolutionary insurrection broke out in the area which threatened even the city of Toulouse. The Paris Directory quickly sent an army to the area and the rebels were crushed at Montrejeau in August 1799.
The next day, I was more than a little surprised that Vanya remained keen to visit the Cirque de Moureze, especially after she had seen the photos taken by our dinner companions of the previous evening. This simply wasn’t her thing but, then again, she has surprised me in the past and, hey, life is for living. It never occured to me that she wasn’t wearing her glasses the night before and couldn’t actually see the photos she was being shown.
And so we made the short drive to the tiny village of Moureze. We paid our 5 Euros to park in the car park by the visitor centre at the edge of the village, grabbed the dogs and set off on one of the shorter trails through the Cirque de Moureze…
Within minutes Vanya was starting to question what she was doing…… and as we moved further away from the village, gaining height all the time… and the going became more hands on… well, it became time to retrace our steps.
We were in the 300 hectare park which is the Cirque de Moureze for about an hour and I certainly enjoyed our time there. The views are sensational. There are a number of well marked trails through the park which are of between one and three hours duration and they take you through a strange and spectacular landscape full of ‘Dolomites’. Dolomites are large limestone rocks which have been weathered by wind and water erosion over thousands of years into tall columns and all kinds of weird shapes. Put simply,the softer limestone is washed away to leave the harder rock sculptures, some of which are up to 500 metres high, and they make for great scrambling.
Moureze VillageSome of the Scrambles
We retraced our steps to the village and found a small cafe bar. Moureze is a peaceful little village centred around the 12th century Gothic church of Sainte Marie. There is the ruin of a castle at the top of a rock above the village but I couldn’t get to it. I think that access is across private land. The village has a couple of cafe bars (one has crepes on it’s menu), a couple of small craft shops, an antique shop and an interesting little cemetery which has been designated a Commonwealth War Cemetery because it is the last resting place of a young Captain Peter Seymour Fowler who was murdered by the German SS in August 1944.
The Church of Sainte Marie; The Antique Shop; Captain Fowler’s Grave – The detail surrounding his presence in France in August 1944 is now available to the public. He was there as part of an SOE M19 operation (Operation Snow White). Interesting (but tragic) reading.
We enjoyed our drink, had a quick wander around the village and then returned to the Van. We had a long drive ahead of us to Montrejeau where I stayed almost 5 years ago.
Pezenas was one of the first towns in France to be protected as a historic monument. It also one of the most beautiful towns in the Languedoc Roussillon area and, without a doubt, one of my favourite towns in France.
Situated between Beziers and Montpelier, Pezenas is a small town of some 9,000 inhabitants but it has a sizeable and almost wholly pedestrianised medieval centre. It is a great place to explore.
We were parked at Camping Castelsec, a pleasant municipal campsite within easy walking distance of the old centre. It took no more than 15 minutes to walk to the town and my route brought me on to a wide avenue, the Cours Jean Joures, near the Place de la Republique. One side of the Cours Jean Joures backs on to the old town.
The buildings on this avenue are for the most part large houses; some may even qualify as mansions or ‘Hotels Particuliers’ as they are referred to in Pezenas. I walked the length of the avenue to Place Ledru Rollin where there is a gateway into the old town. What a find! It’s a maze of narrow winding streets and alleys. Almost all of the buildings in this warren are constructed of the same attractive honey coloured stone but they come in all shapes and sizes and no two buildings or even two doors are the same. It is enchanting. I spent hours wandering and marvelling at the place.
That’s Place de la Republique at one end of Cours Jean Joures. Once through the gateway into the town I simply turned right into the busiest street and made my way to Place Gambetta (the centre of the old town) where stands the mansion known as L’Hotel des Montagut and it’s fountain… … then it was just a matter of making my way backwards and forwards around the attractive honey coloured stone streets and alleys… … Every street or alley was brimming with character and history…… and many were simply downright beautiful…
The old town is a real mix of different commercial and residential buildings; many with unique features, be they ornaments or carvings or simply special window dressings and, as often as not, the real curios are to be found up on high. You need eyes in the top of your head if you want to see everything in Pezenas.
One building on Rue Alfred Sabatier has a statue of Saint Roch carved into an upper corner. Quite why there should be such a statue on this particular house, I don’t know. Saint Roch is, among other things, the Patron Saint of Dogs. It is said he contracted the plague whilst helping others with the disease and was then shunned and would have died except; a dog brought him bread every day and licked his wounds until he recovered. Because of this, Saint Roch is often depicted with a dog by his side and pointing at a lesion (caused by the plague) on his thigh.
One of many unique carvings on a building (up on high) in the old town and a statue of St Roch on Rue Alfred Sabatier
The town is home to a wide range of craftsmen; those working with iron or wood being particularly prevalent and; as a result, there are plenty of unusual art and craft shops in evidence throughout the old town (and some fabulous window displays). You could spend a lot of money here.
The town’s population swelled in 1298 with the arrival of a number of Jewish refugees from Spain, Portugal and Italy and this influx added to the range of craftsmen in the town as silversmiths and jewellers figured prominently amongst them. The Jewish population was to prosper in Pezenas for the next 100 years, most living in either Rue Juiverie or Rue des Litanies (which, it is said, had been reserved for them) until 1394 when the French King Charles VI decreed that all Jews should be expelled from France. As a consequence of this action the area of the town which comprises Rue Juiverie and Rue des Litanies is now referred to as the Jewish Ghetto but it is most unlikely it was deemed a ghetto at the time. It now contains a few artisan shops and bijou restaurants and is as integral a part of the old town as it ever was.
The entrance to what is now known as the Jewish Ghetto – the 14th century Porte Faugeres Photos of Rue Juiverie and Rue des Litanies. I was told that the Star of David built into the house in the second photo was added by a recent owner of the house in recognition of the injustice caused to the Jewish population in Pezenas all those years ago. I don’t know if that story is true or not.
Pezenas’ most famous “adopted” son is Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known as Moliere, France’s 17th century answer to our very own William Shakespeare. Moliere lived in Pezenas for a while (some say up to four years) and he is wholly revered. Everywhere you go in the town there are references to Moliere – there are shops, restaurants and hotels named after him. There is a monument and museum dedicated to him. The town has even retrieved the chair that Moliere is said to have sat on outside his barber friend’s salon. The list goes on and on.
To my mind, however, the most striking memorial to Moliere is the Monument carved from Carrara Marble on the Avenue Francois Hue. It takes the form of a bust of Moliere and two other more complete figures; the first being a female character, Lucette, from his comedy “Monsieur de Pourceaugnac” and the second being what looks like a satyr. It is presumed that Lucette was included in the monument because the character makes frequent positive remarks about Pezenas. One can only assume the satyr relates to the more exotic or licentious behaviour that supposedly characterised Moliere.
Photos of the Moliere Hotel; Moliere’s Monument on Avenue Francois Hue and; the erstwhile barber’s shop owned by Moliere’s friend Gelys where Moliere is supposed to have sat and sketched characters for his plays. The salon is now a museum to French singer/comedian, Boby Lapointe.
I could go on about Pezenas for a while yet but it will suffice to say that we liked the place so much we decided to stay on an extra day. These extensions are becoming a feature of this particular tour.
The second day was more about eating and drinking in the town and again we were blessed. On this our second night in Pezenas we stumbled upon a Grand Wine Festival on the Cours Jean Joures (Les Estivales de Pezenas). Every Monday, the local wine producers set up stalls along the length of the avenue. You buy a wine glass and off you go tasting the different local wines. The town provides tables and chairs (benches) and there are a handful of food stalls – I saw one serving oysters! That is a great way to spend a Monday night and it looked as if the town’s whole population thinks so too because the place was teeming with people.
I read that Les Estivales de Pezenas is held every Friday in the summer but this was a Monday (and all the local publicity refer to the event being held “Tous les lundi soir”
We couldn’t make a full night of it at the festival. I had booked us into a highly recommended restaurant called “Le Duplex de la Maman des Poissons” on Rue Conti but, once again, what a result! We had a marvellous evening.
We sat outside the front of the restaurant near an interesting couple from North Yorkshire and we got to talking (and sharing some Picpoul de Pinet) and, I for one, enjoyed the best tapas I have ever had outside of Logrono. Moreover, the couple we met told us about a place they had visited earlier in the week that we decided, there and then, should be our next destination – Cirque de Moureze. If Vanya hadn’t drunk quite so much Picpoul or, had paid a little more attention to what they had said about the Cirque de Mourez or, looked more closely at their photos, she may not have been so keen. lol.
Outstanding restaurant; good wine (we drunk them clean out of Picpoul) and; the best food. Fantastic!
I loved our time in Pezenas and look forward to returning. My only regret is that we weren’t there for the Saturday morning market which I understand is one of the largest and best in the region.
