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Issue #259, October 14, 2024, Béziers and Minerve, France
Road Scholar ducklings walking over the iron bridge in Pezenas, en route to the tour bus
October 15, 2024: Béziers, Minerve, and Couiza, France.
It’s Phoenix‘s 17th birthday, although for Phoenix, it’s still the 14 of October, as we are eight hours ahead. I wrote him a card before I left, so hopefully he will see that. He and Paige are going to the Flagstaff house for dinner tonight.
James MacDonald in front of the Saint Nazareth Cathedral, Béziers
We are at the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, in Couiza. It’s basically a castle that has been renovated into a hotel. We are in more hilly country now. Yesterday morning we left ‘La Distillerie’ in this big white bus, and the first place we headed to was the town of Béziers, where were met by the Lancashire-born James MacDonald, who now lives here in France.
View of Saint Nazareth Cathedral from the moving bus
James has written extensively about the Cathars, the persecuted religious minority who lived here centuries ago. He gave us a lecture outside the Saint Nazareth cathedral, which is upon a big hill overlooking a sweep of countryside, and then we went inside to see it.
James MacDonald, esteemed historian of the Cathars
The lecture James gave was about how the Cathar’s Christian beliefs were different from the other Christian beliefs. To my mind, this is like splitting hairs over differing opinions on an original fantasy; but adherence to those fantasies resulted in death. The struggle over belief was essentially a power play for control, as most struggles over belief are.
Interior of St. Nazareth Church, Béziers
James described the siege of the Cathars here in town, and then we briefly went inside. The splendor of a Gothic church is not often evident until one sees the interior, with its lofty spaces illuminated with minimal light sources; In this case, from impressive stained glass windows.
Cloister of the St. Nazareth Church, Béziers
Some of the interior had been reconstructed, such as was the case of the decorations in the central naive, which were from a later period, the more decorative Romanesque.
Mural depicting Jean Antoine Injalbert, (who also designed the Molière sculpture in Pezenas )
We spent more time listening to James speak than experiencing the church, which I was disappointed with. We only had about 15 minutes to experience the interior, and then since everyone needed a bathroom break, we walked back to the main town square, where unfortunately there were no public bathrooms. The only way to get a bathroom break was for everyone to order a coffee, and then make a bee-line to the single toilet available in the shop that had sold us the coffee; a process that took almost an hour. It was here, on our way back to the square, that I spotted the detailed mural of a man standing on a balcony; with an inscription below stating that it was of Jean Antoine Injalbert, the man who made the sculpture of Moliere that we saw in Pezanas!
Minerve, France
From Béziers, we headed into hillier country, but still quite dry, as this area is adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea. We soon came to our lunch and next tour destination: a little hamlet called Minerve.
Jon's sketch of Minerve
Minerve is nestled on the cliffs above a ravine (a perfect spot for a sketch)! We had lunch in a restaurant that served pork and potatoes, and then James announced he was going to give us a tour of the town.
James with his dog, in front of our restaurant in Minerve
At this point, knowing we had about two hours before boarding the bus, I decided to do a sketch, so I split off and went back towards the bus, on the other side of the ravine, where there was a good view of the town.
View from the bridge in Minerve. Looking across the ravine, you can see the cliffs where I sketched from.
Keeping my wireless device on, I realized I could still hear James’s lecture, even though I was on the other side of the ravine, so I sketched while listening to him talk about the siege of the town, and how many people were burned alive, because they refused to say they had changed their beliefs!
My view of the tour group from my sketch spot (from here I could hear the lecture)
I enjoyed the opportunity to once again try out my gouache paints, even though I felt rushed.
Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, Couiza
Moving on, the bus continued on down narrow and winding roads, bobbing up and down in a way that made me feel sick, enough so that I changed my location to the back of the bus, as did another couple, Ray Craigie and Pam Smarling (we stayed in this configuration until the end of the trip).
Inner courtyard of the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, Coiusa
We arrived at our hotel, a remodeled castle, the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, in the late afternoon with just enough time left for me to make a brief walking exploration of the surrounding area.
Hi, Mom!
One funny exchange that has been happening over the meals finally crystallized out in the open, at this hotel’s restaurant: The allotted one glass of wine per person scenario appeared to be less than optimal for the wine aficionados of the group, whose eyes grew sorrowful when they watched Mom and I turning our wine down. Through cajoling, or perhaps outright intimidation, it became clear that she and I should accept the wine, but then pass it along to those folks desiring more. In this way, we inadvertently contributed to more jolliness amidst the imbibers.
Reflections, inner courtyard of the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, Couiza
Road Scholar ducklings walking over the iron bridge in Pezenas, en route to the tour bus
October 15, 2024: Béziers, Minerve, and Couiza, France.
It’s Phoenix‘s 17th birthday, although for Phoenix, it’s still the 14 of October, as we are eight hours ahead. I wrote him a card before I left, so hopefully he will see that. He and Paige are going to the Flagstaff house for dinner tonight.
James MacDonald in front of the Saint Nazareth Cathedral, Béziers
We are at the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, in Couiza. It’s basically a castle that has been renovated into a hotel. We are in more hilly country now. Yesterday morning we left ‘La Distillerie’ in this big white bus, and the first place we headed to was the town of Béziers, where were met by the Lancashire-born James MacDonald, who now lives here in France.
View of Saint Nazareth Cathedral from the moving bus
James has written extensively about the Cathars, the persecuted religious minority who lived here centuries ago. He gave us a lecture outside the Saint Nazareth cathedral, which is upon a big hill overlooking a sweep of countryside, and then we went inside to see it.
James MacDonald, esteemed historian of the Cathars
The lecture James gave was about how the Cathar’s Christian beliefs were different from the other Christian beliefs. To my mind, this is like splitting hairs over differing opinions on an original fantasy; but adherence to those fantasies resulted in death. The struggle over belief was essentially a power play for control, as most struggles over belief are.
Interior of St. Nazareth Church, Béziers
James described the siege of the Cathars here in town, and then we briefly went inside. The splendor of a Gothic church is not often evident until one sees the interior, with its lofty spaces illuminated with minimal light sources; In this case, from impressive stained glass windows.
Cloister of the St. Nazareth Church, Béziers
Some of the interior had been reconstructed, such as was the case of the decorations in the central naive, which were from a later period, the more decorative Romanesque.
Mural depicting Jean Antoine Injalbert, (who also designed the Molière sculpture in Pezenas )
We spent more time listening to James speak than experiencing the church, which I was disappointed with. We only had about 15 minutes to experience the interior, and then since everyone needed a bathroom break, we walked back to the main town square, where unfortunately there were no public bathrooms. The only way to get a bathroom break was for everyone to order a coffee, and then make a bee-line to the single toilet available in the shop that had sold us the coffee; a process that took almost an hour. It was here, on our way back to the square, that I spotted the detailed mural of a man standing on a balcony; with an inscription below stating that it was of Jean Antoine Injalbert, the man who made the sculpture of Moliere that we saw in Pezanas!
Minerve, France
From Béziers, we headed into hillier country, but still quite dry, as this area is adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea. We soon came to our lunch and next tour destination: a little hamlet called Minerve.
Jon's sketch of Minerve
Minerve is nestled on the cliffs above a ravine (a perfect spot for a sketch)! We had lunch in a restaurant that served pork and potatoes, and then James announced he was going to give us a tour of the town.
James with his dog, in front of our restaurant in Minerve
At this point, knowing we had about two hours before boarding the bus, I decided to do a sketch, so I split off and went back towards the bus, on the other side of the ravine, where there was a good view of the town.
View from the bridge in Minerve. Looking across the ravine, you can see the cliffs where I sketched from.
Keeping my wireless device on, I realized I could still hear James’s lecture, even though I was on the other side of the ravine, so I sketched while listening to him talk about the siege of the town, and how many people were burned alive, because they refused to say they had changed their beliefs!
My view of the tour group from my sketch spot (from here I could hear the lecture)
I enjoyed the opportunity to once again try out my gouache paints, even though I felt rushed.
Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, Couiza
Moving on, the bus continued on down narrow and winding roads, bobbing up and down in a way that made me feel sick, enough so that I changed my location to the back of the bus, as did another couple, Ray Craigie and Pam Smarling (we stayed in this configuration until the end of the trip).
Inner courtyard of the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, Coiusa
We arrived at our hotel, a remodeled castle, the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, in the late afternoon with just enough time left for me to make a brief walking exploration of the surrounding area.
Hi, Mom!
One funny exchange that has been happening over the meals finally crystallized out in the open, at this hotel’s restaurant: The allotted one glass of wine per person scenario appeared to be less than optimal for the wine aficionados of the group, whose eyes grew sorrowful when they watched Mom and I turning our wine down. Through cajoling, or perhaps outright intimidation, it became clear that she and I should accept the wine, but then pass it along to those folks desiring more. In this way, we inadvertently contributed to more jolliness amidst the imbibers.
Reflections, inner courtyard of the Château de Ducs du Joyeuse, Couiza
solo/group kukai
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen