we took the fiat back into the mountains today. We stopped in Fabrezan for a barely adequate croissant and a great coffee. Then back on the road to chateau peyrepertuse, a fortress ruin perched on the top of a precarious mountain top. Beautiful views, hot steep climb on well worn rocks. It was actually two chateaus and each one had its own vaulted cathedral. Then down the winding road(switchback after switchback) and onto chateau quéribus. Another fantastically precarious and perched defense built out of the rock it stood on. This one has been restored a little more so you climb a long narrow winding set of stone stairs up to the top of the tower and you have a 360 view which included the Pyrenees in the distance, Spain and Peyrepertuse and nearly the Mediterranean.
then we headed east and north, thinking we would have a bite to eat by the canal in Narbonne.
Hoboy! Arrived in rush hour and found parking. Made coffee and tried to be calm about the stress of driving there. Then we made plans with Google to go to a creperie.
Crap! It took us down a confusing maze of small streets, passing by the lovely cathedral there, and then dumped us out in the pedestrian shopping square (which cars were allowed on but so were the evening cafes). We had to back up to get out.
Finally we got to a big street only to be led down a wrong way and directed into a tiny maze of roads that got smaller and smaller until the tires rubbed both curbs and we had to make a left turn that was more like a uturn in a stone street that had a 16 inch wide sidewalk on either side with towering stone buildings. It was unbelievably tight. There was a notch out of the building wall in front of us and Doug managed to clear the three building with nothing to spare. The streets got smaller with tighter turns and we began to panic a little. Each street has cars parked on it. They perch on the mini sidewalk and sit mostly in the street.
Finally it barely widesesnd then widened onto a Main Street and we made our getaway. Hit the freeway and headed to a creperie in our camping town which was closed despite all information. So now we are sitting at a table outside and chilling with beer and coffee.
