In September and October of 2019, we hiked and toured France and Spain

We spent a couple days in Toulouse and Albi exploring both cities. Our hiking started at Roquefixade in the Midi Pyrenees Mountains of France. We spent a week hiking from castle to castle, following the trail of the Cathars. Cathar castles are castles in the Midi – the South of modern France – dating from the Middle Ages and associated with the religion of the Cathars. Most of them are in the Languedoc.

The Cathars were a religious group who disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church on many points. The Catholic Church organized a crusade against them, the infamous Albigensian Crusade. The Cathars and their sympathizers took refuge in local strongholds, especially the defensible castles located on mountain tops.

We next spent a week hiking across the mountains and down the coast of Spain, from Collioure to Cadaques. We fell in love with all of the villages and towns along the route. We ended with four days in Paris where we visited all of the fun places - museums, gardens, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, the Eiffel tower, the tuileries, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Galleries Lafayette and much more.

Select a picture below to see our photos

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ABOVE - Map of our hiking in France and Spain

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ABOVE - 09/18 - Around Toulouse, France

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ABOVE - 09/19 - Sights in Albi, France

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ABOVE - 09/20 - Castle Roquefixade Hike

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ABOVE - 09/21 - Croix de Morenci to Castle Montsegur

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ABOVE - 09/22 - Castle Puivert to Quillan

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ABOVE - 09/23 - Gorges de Sant Jaume