經歷了二十多天馬不停蹄地遊覧英國 Cotswold 區域和湖泊區域，以及法國 Brittany 南部和西北沿岸區域，我們終於在這旅程的第二十五天傍晚抵達在圖盧茲 (Toulouse) 郊區 Portet-sur-Garonne 的渡假栢文。
我們計劃在這兒住上一整個月，方便之處是這兒離開眾多具歷史和宗教意義的城市和鄕鎮都只是一個多小時車程，可以即日來回。而駕車至法國和西班牙地中海沿岸亦只需不到三個小時，方便兩三天的行程。
但在這兩天，我們最高興的是可以到附近超市買菜回家做飯 !
On Day 26, at the end of our whistle-stop tour in the Cotswolds, Liverpool, Lake District and Brittany (including Mont St Michel in Normandy), we checked into our rental apartment in the outskirts of Toulouse. Hereafter, we look forward to spending one month in south-western France, based in Toulouse and close to various historical and pilgrimage sites, and around two hours by car to the Mediterranean coast...
From Day 27 onwards, the biggest comfort is having the option of cooking our own meals.
趁著週未的交通沒有週日的繁忙和泊車較為容易，我們跟隨栢文的屋主建議，駕車至 Toulouse 舊城區㚈的公眾游泳池側的停車場，因而在門外參觀了這粉藍色帶點 Art Deco 風格的建築，在今年歐洲反常的盛夏高温下，變得特別吸引！
從游泳池沿著 river Garonne 步行十多分鐘才到達舊城區，沿途儘是週日充滿熱鬧的河邊酒吧餐廳和咖啡店。步過古典的新僑 (Pont Neuf) 便進入有近一千年歷史的舊城區，在攝氏三十五度高溫下，除了地標 Capitole 大廣場還算是有點遊人㚈，街道頗為靜寂，畢竟星期日在法國確是休息日啊！
Taking advantage of lesser traffic on a Sunday, we drove to Toulouse and per earlier advice, parked near the pastel-coloured public swimming pool across the River Garonne from Toulouse’s old town. Had a pleasant 20 mins walk along the river bank to the old town markedly quiet on a lazy Sunday afternoon; only exception was the cafes facing the grandeur City Hall called Capitole.
Here are a few photos to share about a Sunday afternoon of 35 degrees Celcius temperature, in Toulouse...
在法國的早餐時分，似乎不時都會有些動物訪客。數天前在 St-Georges-des-Cateaux 的民宿就跟一對駝羊和一隻孔雀共進早餐，這個早晨的訪客雖然沒有前者那麼神奇，卻是更為趣緻和超級友善，而且還有一絲絲形單影隻的汪汪眼...
Here in France, you get interesting visitors at breakfast... three days ago they were two alpacas and a peacock, this morning was less of a surprise yet equally pleasant !
這個早上再沒有小動物訪客，但有負責豐富早餐的大廚... 栢文陽台外的花園種植了不少樹木，看多了就留意到它們的顏彩細節，亦開始明白為何夏日鮮花盛放的樹木影像會出現於眾多後印象派畫家的作品中；是在這兒的生活和生命的一部份嘛....
No alpaca nor doggie visit at breakfast this morning, but by the master chef herself.... the view from the apartment terrace is growing on me; no wonder so many plants with blooming flowers ended up on the canvas of the Post Impressionists in the summers of 1890s and early 1900s.
從 Toulouse 駕車到離開西班牙邊界不遠的法國地中海沿岸城鎮 Collioure 約需兩小時半左右，它是具備了所有海灘渡假城鎮應有的一切而且還有更多；不管是沙灘和石灘、中古城堡和燈塔、漁港碼頭和小運河、以及各式各樣的海鮮餐廳、海旁酒吧咖啡店和雪糕店....
日間已是充滿渡假氣氛的 Collioure 在晚上變得愈夜愈熱鬧；無他的，儘管這個地方在不同歴史年代受法國或西班牙統治，但它奉行的始終是徹頭徹尾的加塔尼 (Catalan)區域文化！
Seaside Collioure in the French-Spanish border has everything a Mediterranean resort town should have, and a lot more... sand and pebble beaches, castles and lighthouse, water canal and fishing boats... in the evening Collioure really swings into action, since whether it has been ruled by Spain or French, it is Catalan through and through...
一段錄像可以勝過千言萬語，因為這是關於音樂和地中海渡假文化，盡在 Collioure 的海灘傍...
A video can be worth more than a thousand words, cos it’s about music and the Mediterranean summer night, in Collioure on the French-Spanish border.
1904 和 1905 年，法國一群以 Henri Matisse 和 André Derain 為首的畫家創做了短短幾年活力的「野獸派」(Fauvism)，以鮮彩奪目的顏色描繪抽像的澎湃感受。他們的靈感部分來自後印象派大師梵谷和高更等的作品，另一方面是夏季時到訪和居住於 Collioure 有著的感受 !
這天我們在 Collioure 舊城半山看到的鮮艷顏色，是否就是與百多年前的野獸派一般呢 ?.... 在高處看著狹窄的村屋街道和遠方的藍色海水，仿佛像義大利 Lake Como 的 Bellagio 小島一般美麗，但感覺郤是更為平靜和舒適。
在 Collioure 是我們一生最美好的時光之一。
Do we see the same colour today as the Fauvists in Collioure during 1905 and 1906?... and for a brief moment, on top of the hill looking down the steep alley towards the waterfront, I thought I was in Bellagio in Lake Como, only much more intimate, here in Collioure !
This day would well be among the best days in our lives....
Collioure 有的是「野獸派」帶來的藝術歷史，而離開它一個半小時車程的中世紀重鎮 Carcassonne 所代表的卻是十三世紀初天主教廷和法國北方貴族像野獸般的排除異己和強搶掠奪！
從 1209 年的 Beziers 屠殺和 Carcassonne 的圍城侵略開始，梵蒂岡天主教宗和法國教廷高層及北方貴族以 《Albigensian Crusade 》的聖戰之名，延續了二十年在 Languedoc 區域的軍事侵略，期間居住於數十個城鎮的數十萬男女老幼因戰亂，疾病和饑荒而喪生，為的是他們有著十一世紀初從傳統天主教中引申出來的 Catharism 宗教信仰。聖戰於1229 年完結，跟著而來的是天主教的大審判（Inquisition)，不少拒絕依從天主教的 Cathar 信徒被判以極刑，被火燒死。
我們是在接近黃昏時分到步參觀 Carcassonne 這個可能是全球面積最大而能夠保傳完整的護城牆的中世紀城鎮。雖然時間不早，但夏季的遊客卻是絡繹不絕，證明了法國除了巴黎㚈，這兒是有最多遊客的城市 (註 ：聖米歇爾山雖然有更多遊客，但它是修道院的村莊，不稱為城市）。
在舊城牆的感覺是中世紀歷史和宗教的殘酷與蒼桑，幸好舊城內有超過六十間餐廳洒吧和其他的雪糕甜品店給遊人帶來歡樂。可以説這兒是一個在山上的威尼斯，只有從事旅遊和餐飲行業的人才會在此居住。
If Collioure is about Fauvism of early 20th Century art history, Carcassonne is about the the Catholic Church’s merciless destruction of the Cathar faith in the 13th Century. Starting from the Massacre of Beziers and the siege of Carcassonne, a series of brutal and drawn-out military campaigns, sanctified as Crusades but were in fact wars of aggressive colonialism waged by northern French nobles and churchmen on the locals, descended upon the hilly terrains of Languedoc. After the death of tens of thousands of men, women and children of the Cathar faith over twenty years, the Inquisition would follow....
We drove from Collioure to Carcassonne after a long lunch and arrived in the late afternoon. Waited for the evening to visit the walled city when the summer heat was less oppressive, yet visitors still abound. It is afterall the second most visited city in France, after Paris (note : Mont St-Michel has more visitors however it is an abbey cum village and not a city).
Against the fading light at dusk, the evocation of haunting history was indeed overwhelming, yet comforts are provided by over 60 restaurants, numerous bars and ice-cream parlours working late into the night. This is the equivalent of Venice on dry land, only locals servicing the non-stop tourists would live here....
在 Carcassonne 舊城的翌日早上，感覺並非昨晚那般悲蒼，蓋因西邊城門在今年五月至九月展現由瑞士藝術家 Felice Varini 設計的 「圓形怪𧩙圓圈 2018」(Concentric Eccentric Cirlces 2018) 的鮮黃色圓形線條繪圖，用以慶祝 Carcassonne 舊城成為聯合國教科文組織認定的世界文化遺產的二十週年慶典，是感覺新鮮和良好的。
而在十二世紀建成的 Comtal 城堡內的舊城模型，可以感受到整個舊城相對於城堡和教堂時，面積是多麼寛大。除了 Comtal 城堡外，舊城仍然保留著完整的堅固護城牆及為數五十二個燎望塔 (雖然部分尖頂塔是負責活化 Carcassonne 的皇室建築師 Viollet-Le-Duc 於十九世紀中的設計，而非原本的平頂設計）、那混合不同年代建築風格的 Basilica St-Nazaire 教堂、和城堡博物館內的一堆 Cathar 烈士墳墓等，確實令人目不暇給。
加上不少無懼烈日當空的年輕學生和孩童，為舊城區帶來有點兒迪士尼樂園的氣氛....
The morning after at Carcassonne; not all is groom and doom. The “Concentric Eccentric Circles 2018” paintings (huge yellow stripes to play with perspectives) by Swiss artist Felice Varini would adorn the city wall from May to Sept 2018, to celebrate the city’s 20th anniversary of being listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Among the various sights, the model shows the vast scale of the Cité relative to the 12th Century chateau, the bascilia and the impenetrable double fortified walls in the northwest and south; the 52 towers along the ramparts with pointed roofs (added by architect-restorer Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th Century from the original flat roofing); a pile of Cathar tombstones at the chateau museum; the Bascilia of St-Nazaire with beautiful late Romanesque arches and Neo-Gothic remodellings; and the school children oblivious to the blazing midday sun... memorable sights indeed, with a touch of Disneyland; why not ?!
中午過後離開 Carcassonne 舊城，駕車前往附近名為 Ville Basse (lower town) 的新城區，主要是在 Ville Basse 乘搭平底船，於 river Garonne 𣈱遊法國最長的運河 Canal du Midi.
Canal du Midi 於1667 至 1681 年間興建，工程完成後替 Toulouse 提供了一條 240 公里的運河以便連接法國地中海的海港 Agde 和 Sete。在之後的二百年，藉著貨物航運替整個西南部地區帶來莫大經濟收益。由於山勢和地理關係，整個沿著 river Garonne 的運河需要建做 100 個水閘和 130 多條橋，是自從古羅馬在法國東南部建做大型架空引水系統之後，在當時的法國所進行的最大規模土木工程。而在運河兩旁種植了整齊的梧桐樹，一方面提供遮陰免卻河水過份於烈日下蒸發，亦可以為運河兩側鞏固土壤。在這一天，則替我們帶來一個優閒的下午。
而我們在 Ville Basse 沿著 George Clemenceau 大街前往運河的途中，經過了自 1964 年法國新浪潮歌舞電影 《秋水伊人》(Umbrellas of Cherbourg) 後，最為漂亮的滿是雨傘的大街情境，真是意想不到！
After the morning tour of Cité de Carcassonne, we headed to the ville basse (lower town) of Carcassonne, to spend time on river Garonne and the Canal du Midi.
Construction of Canal du Midi took place from 1667 to 1681 and provided Toulouse with a 240-km long waterway to the Mediterranean ports of Agde and Sete. Given the undulating topography it ran through, the Canal was then the most ambitious civil engineering undertaking in France since the Roman times, incorporating nearly 100 water locks and 130 bridges. A beauty when seen abroad a slow boat, with files of plane trees on both sides of the waterway providing shades and strengthening the embankment. A most pleasant afternoon in Carcassonne.
On the way to the canal, walking through Rue George Clemenceau in Ville Basse is the prettiest umbrella-lined shopping street I’ve seen since Jacques Demi’s 《Les Parapluies de Cherbourg》(The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; 1964)... what a bonus!
運河 Canal du Midi, 下午陽光透過運河側的梧桐樹在微晃的水面投下樹影... 這是不是法國印象派畫家百多年前在法國南部所見，又或者所描繪的光影交錯呢？
Canal du Midi, shades of plane trees on the water cast by the afternoon sun, the stuff of Impressionists in Southern France long time ago...
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