On the Road Again

We circumvented the city fairly well and are now flying down the A-61. I am holding on to the OH SHUCKS bar for dear life. I am not used to being the passenger and therefore am not in control of the car. The cars and trucks are passing us like we are standing still and sometimes we are in themiddle lane with vehicle passing on both side and it is terrifying. Then there are the times the morocycles pass between us and the car in the left lane. I guess I should do as Meredith Anne told me to do as we traveled in Germany and Austria several years ago....GET IN THE BACK SEAT, CLOSE YOUR EYS AND DO NOT SAY A WORD!!!!! Easier said than done when you are the navigator. Also, the drivers here do not leave much room when they cut in front as they pass. I repeat, it is terrifying.

As we fly low along, the vineyards cover the hillsides for as far as you cane see and as they begin to change colors it is indeed one of God's most glorious pieces of work. We are obviously seeing several different varieties of vines because of different color and height. You cannot tell from the road at this speed if they have been harvested or still bear fruit. It is very interesting to see rose bushes at the ends of the rows of vines. The roses are planted at the ends of the rows so the farmers wi8ll know immediately if there are bus or disease on the vines and can treat them right then. After the grapes have been harvested, there is a machine which comes thru, gives them a "new hair do" and vaccums the clippings. The clippings are then burned so there can be no spread of disease or mold.

We are now between Carcassonne and Narbonne and I have just seen the most amazing windmills used to generate power. There are some right near the roads and others in the far distance on a mountain range. They look like huge airplane propellars.....for those of us who remember planes before jets which have no propellars.

This southern corner of the Languedoc, mostly in the Aude, is famous for two things: wine and castles. Hard as I try, I do not feel I am adequately defining the beauty and vastness of the vineyards. We are living in an area known as the Cathar region so signs for castles are everywhere. Though we only saw brief glimpses of water, the area south from Narbonne to Spain, a couple hundred miles,is one log beach. We have been told the sand is so perfect and the lagoons so beautiful and peaceful you often have the feeling of being on a desert island. In the summer there are flocks of pink flamingos. The only beach I can think would come close to being compared is that heavenly island of Sanibel, Florida....We know its beauty and peace in the early mornings and at sunset.

Here you never go a very long period of time before you eat again.....So it is time for a traveling picnic.....delicious bread, the creamiest,tastiest brie, peaches, grapes and water. What a way to go. It's the journey, not the destination.

Judy