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francenew : wildflower
haven on the A64 on first arriving in France - driving
Marianne - a French national symbol, with French definitive stamps the calendar of the French Revolution
the 6th
bridge at Rouen: Pont Gustave Flaubert,
the French umbrella & Aurillac the forest
as seen by francois mauriac, and today the Citroën 2CV: Marianne - a French national symbol, with French definitive stamps the calendar of the French Revolution mardi gras! carnival in Basque country what a hair cut! m & french pop/rock country life in France: the poultry fair
short biography of Pierre (Peter) Abelard
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Motorway aires are designed to provide a suitable environment for relaxing, refreshing and recovering during the long, hard journeys. As well as facilities of often dubious nature, picnic tables and seats, a telephone kiosk, there are often optional extras such as a play area or a display related to some local interest or event.
port-lauragais and two neighbouring aires
This map shows three consecutive aires, on south [east-bound] side of the A61 autoroute that borders on the Canal du Midi. From each of the aires, you may walk out onto the path alongside the Canal [extent of this path beyond this region not verified]. In each case, should you feel like a stroll along the canal, we have indicated the nearest lock [écluse], and its distance, in each direction from the aire. We have also marked bridges and other locks along this stretch of the Canal. The canal banks also provide a pleasant environment for a picnic.
The aire d’Ayguesvives is small, and right next to the great Canal du Midi. A small gate next to the shaded, red-brick picnic seats and tables leads to the Canal du Midi, with the Ecluse [Lock, in English] du Sanglier hard by. All along the canal is a path for both walkers and cyclists.
This little aire has cooling showers and a little children’s play area.
Renneville is another quiet, small aire right next to the Canal du Midi. There are wooden picnic tables next to the canal-side path, through a little gate from the aire’s parking area, together with an organically-contructed wood bench. The next locks are a walk away in either direction, as shown above on our map.
Port-Lauragais sud is an open and windy aire, with four or five windmills in the distance. There is a substantial shop selling a variety of attractive and tempting local products - wines, violets of Toulouse: perfume, essence, cachets; items made from Pastel blue dyestuff (the French name for woad; traditionally used for French military uniforms), foods and clothes. The Rugby Museum was closed when abelard.org visited, with no indication when it might be open. During the summer, at the weekend, there are free ‘introductions’ to a range of sports, such as golf, fencing, sailing.... The aire also includes a spacious lake and an inland harbour that is connected to the Canal du Midi. From here you may take boat excursions. The Lauragais Port was excavated during the construction of the A61 autoroute in the 1980s.
the canal du midiThe Canal du Midi, stretching from the Altantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, is divided into three sections: the Canal du Midi with 70 locks, the Lateral canal with 53 locks, and the Garonne River with 2 locks. In all, this canal system is almost 500 km long. (The Garonne is the large river whose mouth opens near the Atlantic coastal city of Bordeaux.) Built between 1666 and 1681, during the reign of Louis XIV, the Midi Canal is the oldest working canal in Europe. It extends 150 miles (240 km) from Thau lake (near Sète on the Mediterranean coast) to Toulouse. There has been little change in this canals design and functioning since the seventeenth century. In 1856, 120 miles (192 km) of the Lateral Canal was completed, so joining the Canal du Midi to the Garonne River, and thence to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, the French fleet no longer needed to pass through the Straits of Gibraltar. The Canal’s designer was was Pierre-Paul Riquet. The man and his work has been commemorated by the Obelisque du Riquet, set in parkland, about 2 km to the north-east of the Port-Lauragais aire. The Canal was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The Midi Canal comprises 382 engineering structures, including 125 locks, together with weirs, aqueducts, bridges, tunnels and syphons.[3] It used both by over a thousand sea-going vessels a year and over 450 hire boats and barges, as well as floating hotels.[4] It is a very attractive, quiet and often shaded, long aquatic park. Its minimum depth is 1.39m (4ft 6ins), while minimum lock size is 30.5m (100ft1in) x 5.34m (17f.6ins). The locks are closed on French national holidays: January 1, May 1, July 14, November 1, November 11, December 25.
Sketch map locating the Ayguevives, Renneville and Port-Lauragais aires The Port-Lauragais sud aire and its facilities is directly accessible from the east-bound side of the A61 motorway, when going towards Carcassonne and the Mediterranean Sea. If you are approaching from the east (from Carcassonne, the Mediterranean Sea) there is a tunnel under the motorway from the Port-Lauragais nord aire. The Ayguevives and Renneville aires are both located on the east-bound (south) side of the A61, only being accessible from that side of the motorway. These three aires are in Département 31 - Haute-Garonne.
end notes
estrictions - all measurements in metres) |
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email abelard at abelard.org © abelard, 2005, 26 august the address for this document is http://www.abelard.org/france/motorway-aires9_midi-canal.php |
