Our journey – Part 2: Our first visit together to the Ariège.
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In our previous blog post, we shared about how our paths crossed and that we chose to visit the Ariège for the first time together in February of 2022. In this blog post, we will share all about our first impression of the region.
The three of us, together with a friend, booked a cosy apartment in Lavelanet and Esmee’s granddad allowed us to go with his car. Off we were!
When we entered the region we all felt a wave of excitement going through us. We had been talking about this for so long! And it was even more beautiful than we could have imagined when we drove through the mountainous landscapes. The week that followed exceeded our expectations.
We visited Montségur on one of our first days. Before we would climb up to the castle we wanted to get something at the local bakery. A real ‘artisan’ that gets all his ingredients locally and cooks his bread on a wood stove that burns the entire year. As he was still closed for the afternoon break, we were waiting outside, when we encountered a lovely lady that understood the Dutch we spoke. She invited us in to show her amazing wool atelier. She specializes in wool craft using traditional and ancient ways. We all felt she was a very inspiring woman and the connection was two ways. She encouraged us to follow our dreams and would become one of our closest friend in the years that followed.
The climb up the Montségur is worth the little hike. We enjoyed the quiet peace on top and the stunning view. We were aware of the history of the Cathars. Each of us in their own way felt a connection to this gentle community with very modern ideas about religion, gender relations and society for that time. Their presence in the area is one of the reasons we felt drawn to this region as well. It felt special to be there. As Flo worded it while on the swings in Montségur: ‘Even if I would be homeless, I would be happy here’.
Close to Montségur we also met a very kind angora goat farmer. We happened to arrive at his farm when he came running down the mountain with all of his goats to return them to their overnight shelter. He invited us to come along and took his time to share about his experience. It was our first encounter with these lovely creatures that have such a soft character. We were charmed. It was not yet our idea to start an angora goat farm, but that first experienced for sure planted a seed.
We also discovered the nature of the area, which is not hard as the Ariège is the second least populated department of France. We did the Gorges de La Frau hike and visited the Forest of Nebias, which we highly recommend! The latter is a beautiful druid forest and labyrinth, in which you can truly get lost.
We had more encounters we local people and they were all encouraging. It were people that chose to fully go their own path to realise their personal happiness. Examples that encouraged us to go our own way as well.
This week set in motion a whole lot of transformation for the three of us. We felt that this could be home and maybe even already did feel like home.
In the next blog, we will share what happened after our first visit to the area of Montségur!
Our journey – Part 2: Our first visit together to the Ariège.
Uploaded:
In our previous blog post, we shared about how our paths crossed and that we chose to visit the Ariège for the first time together in February of 2022. In this blog post, we will share all about our first impression of the region.
The three of us, together with a friend, booked a cosy apartment in Lavelanet and Esmee’s granddad allowed us to go with his car. Off we were!
When we entered the region we all felt a wave of excitement going through us. We had been talking about this for so long! And it was even more beautiful than we could have imagined when we drove through the mountainous landscapes. The week that followed exceeded our expectations.
We visited Montségur on one of our first days. Before we would climb up to the castle we wanted to get something at the local bakery. A real ‘artisan’ that gets all his ingredients locally and cooks his bread on a wood stove that burns the entire year. As he was still closed for the afternoon break, we were waiting outside, when we encountered a lovely lady that understood the Dutch we spoke. She invited us in to show her amazing wool atelier. She specializes in wool craft using traditional and ancient ways. We all felt she was a very inspiring woman and the connection was two ways. She encouraged us to follow our dreams and would become one of our closest friend in the years that followed.
The climb up the Montségur is worth the little hike. We enjoyed the quiet peace on top and the stunning view. We were aware of the history of the Cathars. Each of us in their own way felt a connection to this gentle community with very modern ideas about religion, gender relations and society for that time. Their presence in the area is one of the reasons we felt drawn to this region as well. It felt special to be there. As Flo worded it while on the swings in Montségur: ‘Even if I would be homeless, I would be happy here’.
Close to Montségur we also met a very kind angora goat farmer. We happened to arrive at his farm when he came running down the mountain with all of his goats to return them to their overnight shelter. He invited us to come along and took his time to share about his experience. It was our first encounter with these lovely creatures that have such a soft character. We were charmed. It was not yet our idea to start an angora goat farm, but that first experienced for sure planted a seed.
We also discovered the nature of the area, which is not hard as the Ariège is the second least populated department of France. We did the Gorges de La Frau hike and visited the Forest of Nebias, which we highly recommend! The latter is a beautiful druid forest and labyrinth, in which you can truly get lost.
We had more encounters we local people and they were all encouraging. It were people that chose to fully go their own path to realise their personal happiness. Examples that encouraged us to go our own way as well.
This week set in motion a whole lot of transformation for the three of us. We felt that this could be home and maybe even already did feel like home.
In the next blog, we will share what happened after our first visit to the area of Montségur!
