Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

One benefit of being sniffle-y, cotton headed  and feeling generally punkish is that I give myself permission to watch television without guilt.  Tonight the French TV's Arte Channel aired one of a series of documentaries about the canals of the world.  Tonight's segment was about the Canal du Midi, the canal that runs through Carcassonne.  

White kepis of the FFL

They showed clips of the French Foreign Legion.  The Legion's 4th Regiment is stationed in Castelnaudry, a town near Carcassonne and on the Canal.  I have seen their white kepis at some of the ceremonies here in Carcassonne. I always wondered about the Foreign Legion.  The very name conjures up romantic images of the desert and running away to find adventure   These guys are tough, and I could be wrong, but I don't think they allow women in the ranks. 

World Capital of Cassoulet--self proclaimed.

Castelnaudry has another claim to fame--it claims to be the home of cassoulet. This town is the first stop on the Carcassonne-Toulouse train route and is on my to-do list for next week, weather and sniffles permitting.  There's a windmill there I want to see as well as the Canal itself.

Occitan banner

They also showed clips of Carcassonne, the walled cite, of course.  I learned that it's the second most visited monument in France, after Mont Saint Michel. This segment featured a teacher of Occitan who also announced rugby games.  His co-host, announcing in Occitan, was the husband of the woman who hosted last week's Occitan Christmas workshop.  What are the odds that I would come to a city in France that I'd never visited before and watch a French language show that featured someone I actually know, (admittedly only in passing, but nonetheless, I know and have spoken to) speaking a language I had never even heard of until I got here?  Life is pretty interesting.

Sete

They also aired some segments from Sete, which is where the Canal meets the Mediterranean.  It's known as the Venice of the Mediterranean, and apparently during the summer the town hosts a jousting festival--but instead of horses, the lancers use boats and try to knock their opponents into the canals.  It looks like great fun. Sete is also on my to-do list, and soon.

It was thrilling for me to know that I have been at least in the train stations in each of these towns.  Castelnaudry is on my list for next week, weather permitting.  Beziers is also on the canal, and is the home of the man who in the 1700's conceived the idea of a canal linking the Mediterranean and the Atlantic through the south of France.  They have a flower market there, second only to Nice's, on Fridays, that I would like to see.  Fortunately these places are all on the train line and the tickets are not terribly expensive.  

But how much fun would it be to see all of these by boat?  There was a lady who operated her own little grocery store on her boat--she got in fresh croissants and baguettes every day, and her clients came to shop by boat.  Another man got the original plans for the first barge that hauled merchandise when the canal opened and built a replica of this boat and launched it.  Artisans who make cassoulet casseroles have their studio on boats. People are living their dreams on this canal.  

Permission to come aboard?

Now there is a trip to take--why not spend a year traversing the Canal du Midi on a boat, mooring where and when the spirit moves you?  The pace is the slow pace of the water.  The countryside is beautiful. It would be a real adventure!