Mysterious goings on

This part of France is steeped in history, much of it relating to the Cathars (real) and the musings, conspiracy theories and sometimes downright twaddle associated with books like the Da Vinci Code.  


Since today is Halloween, I thought I'd share our experience of a recent visit to Rennes-le-Chateau, which attracts around 100,000  visitors from around the world every year - pretty amazing for a village with a population of 100 people.   Very few tourists were in evidence on the day we went - a rainy Friday afternoon at the end of October.  A friend of ours had recommended one of the local restaurants - Le Jardin de Marie, which turned out to be a home from home for all the assorted residents who have moved to Rennes-le-Chateau to live/work there and channel the vibe.


The restaurant is situated in what was once the garden of Berenger Sauniere, the priest who is at the centre of the various conspiracy theories.  If you're interested in this sort of thing,  Wikipedia if full of details, so browse away.  Chris and I are still trying to work out what it was our friend saw in the restaurant, but we suspect she was there on a sunny day, sitting in the garden, whereas we had lunch in a downpour, in the freezing cold (the restaurant is open to the elements on the garden side).  It was a real shame about the weather, as RLC is in an absolutely beautiful spot, surrounded by mountains and close to deep river canyons  like the Gorges de Galumus - Languedoc's very own Grand canyon.

The Gorges de Galamus

Over lunch we chatted to a local resident who later introduced us to Henry Lincoln. one of the authors of the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, who lives locally and conducts tours around Rennes-le-Chateau for the many interested parties who come to visit this amazing, if slightly bizarre, place.  According to Wikipedia, Henry visited RLC in 1969,  and read Le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château about an alleged hidden treasure. The book reproduced copies of Latin parchments that had allegedly been found by a priest within a pillar of a local church. Inspired by what appeared to be secret codes hidden in the Latin text, Henry researched the parchments and a possible treasure and wrote a number of books about the area. 


The buried treasure theories, which have been around for many years,  have caused a fair few problems in the village, including visitors setting off dynamite around the place to try and unearth it!  Bonkers.

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