Saw Laura off to the airport in the morning (on the airport shuttle from the stationWe had originally planned to make this a short leg but decided to go straight through to Castelnaudry so that Emma, who had to take a train back up to Paris on Thursday could complete her journey all the way through to the sea.
We admired the houseboats along the canalbanks heading out of Toulouse and greeted the teams of relay runners pounding along the towpath (we didn't see our fellow guests from last night though).
The day was getting hot and we started to
The day was getting hot and we started tofeel hunger and thirst pangs around midday - with the usual quandary - any village which might offer a restaurant was at the top of a hill alongside the canal. One of the relay support teams told us that there was a restaurant in Gardouch so we took the risk - about a kilometre straight up! Fortunately it was open and we had a simple but excellent and very cheap 'formule' which set us up for the rest of the day. Coming down was a lot easier than going up!
Very comfortable ride as far as the Seuil de Narouze, the high point of the canal from the atlantic to the Mediterranean but from there on it became much harder work as
the path became much more of a mud track and we had to choose between a path running along a high bank along the canal and the towpath itself which was often too narrow for comfort and full of tree roots. On the other hand from here on it was downhill all the way.
In Castelnaudry we were about to set about looking for our hotel and asked directions from a cheerful group sat on a terrace overlooking the canal – only to discover that this was in fact our hotel (Hotel du Canal). The terrace was occupied by a group of very likeable Americans who had just travelled up the canal by boat from Beziers and were busy polishing off the remaining alcohol from their trip - so we generously sat with them to help out. A nice bunch, they were combining boating and biking along the canal. One of them had managed to fall in a couple of days earlier and was expecting to succumb to plague at any moment.
Very comfortable ride as far as the Seuil de Narouze, the high point of the canal from the atlantic to the Mediterranean but from there on it became much harder work as
the path became much more of a mud track and we had to choose between a path running along a high bank along the canal and the towpath itself which was often too narrow for comfort and full of tree roots. On the other hand from here on it was downhill all the way.In Castelnaudry we were about to set about looking for our hotel and asked directions from a cheerful group sat on a terrace overlooking the canal – only to discover that this was in fact our hotel (Hotel du Canal). The terrace was occupied by a group of very likeable Americans who had just travelled up the canal by boat from Beziers and were busy polishing off the remaining alcohol from their trip - so we generously sat with them to help out. A nice bunch, they were combining boating and biking along the canal. One of them had managed to fall in a couple of days earlier and was expecting to succumb to plague at any moment.
Being in Castelnaudry cassoulet had to be on the menu. The hotel and the Guide .jpg)
du Routard both recommended the same little restaurant (and they were quite right)and on the way there we met – guess who – the same relay runners from Grisolles and leaving the restaurant as we arrived were the same Americans. The world seems to be getting smaller by the day.
Total to date 700km
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du Routard both recommended the same little restaurant (and they were quite right)and on the way there we met – guess who – the same relay runners from Grisolles and leaving the restaurant as we arrived were the same Americans. The world seems to be getting smaller by the day.Total to date 700km
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