Oly immediately requests to go down to the hotel restaurant we can see from our balcony and get food. We get dressed as quickly as possible and head down there. 

Breakfast is included, and it’s really great. They have fruit, yogurt, croissants and real coffee! I am particularly happy about the real coffee. The hostess even heats up warm milk and keeps it next to the pot of coffee for me (and sure, maybe some other guests). It’s amazing what the perfect cup of coffee can do for your day.

We want to revisit the amazing castle we discovered last night, so we ask to stay at the hotel another night. This will allow us the freedom to explore the area without worrying about driving somewhere new. Plus we’ll have the amazing breakfast again!

//Stefan Note: As close as we gettin’ to the sagrada familia

We drive back toward the castle town, Villefranche-de-Conflent. On the way we pass a cave that our hotel host recommended, Grottes Canalettes. It’s a kilometer self-guided tour and very well-lit, so we decide to go for it. The kids are actually super into it. I think it’s primarily due to these signs they have with a cartoon bear on them. There are 8 numbered signs, and the kids have a lot of fun searching for the next one and making us read the explanation to them. It makes the whole experience so much more fun. The caves are well-developed with railed metal pathways throughout. It’s very different from our previous experiences with caves, but I think it makes a lot of sense for the kids. Stalactites, stalagmites and amazing drapery. There’s even an underground lake and lots of flowing water.

After the cave we head down the road to Villefranche-de-Conflent. This time it is really packed with people. We finally find a parking spot and enter the beautiful old city again. It is so charming. The kids are all of a sudden starving (this seems to be happening a lot no matter how often we eat!), so we head to a beautiful little creperie, La forge d’Auguste. It feels like you are in someone’s house; there are two women slaving away in the kitchen and only one woman serving everyone.

We order galettes (savory crepes) with cheese, meat and eggs. So good. Oyl is particularly excited about the egg on his crepe. Stefan and I share a bottle of cider, which is very good and reminds me of our trip to San Sebastian.

Stefan insists we need to walk up to the fort on the mountain above the town. It’s a reinforcement build under Napoleon III. In order to get up there, you must climb the 1,000 step staircase. Ummm…okay? So we walk over and realize everyone is out to make a buck in this town. It costs quite a bit of money, and we don’t want to use the rest of our cash. We finally get the guy to agree to let us go up if we pay at the bar at the top. One caveat, we have to take the outdoor route, not the stairs. Sure, okay, no problem.

We walk a little before starting the ascent up some rough stairs. It doesn’t take long to realize we just signed up for an intense hike. Oly decides his feet don’t work, so Stefan carries him on his shoulders. We call this “donkey head”. Long story. So up, up we go. The incline isn’t too great, but that means this is a very long walk. We finally approach the Fort, but we are just looking up at the tall walls. We don’t see a way in. We are on a path that goes along one side and keeps going passed the Fort a bit. We walk on thinking any minute it will curve back to the entrance on the other side of the Fort.

We walk and walk and walk and walk. We know we are way too high. We can see the Fort below is. But for some reason we keep going. We think we saw two buildings from the ground. Perhaps this goes up to the second one. We’ve come this far, we might as well push on and see what is up here. When I think we are twice as high as the Fort (seriously) Stefan thinks we should take a shortcut up to what he thinks he sees is the top. He strides up the mountain and ushers Lilian to follow. I try to go as well, but I can’t find solid footing at all. I keep sliding back to the path. Lillian gets halfway between me and Stefan and realizes she is stuck. She has to slide back down to me. She is so upset by the whole thing. I think an ant crawled on her. She’s super unhappy and complains the rest of the way up. Oh yes, we keep going up. It’s inexplicable. Lillian is having a hard time, so we make up a song about the ice cream train we are riding and all the flavors and toppings we will put on our ice cream when we get down from here. After all, we earned it.

We reach a certain point when I insist we turn around. Lillian is upset, and we are almost to the very top of this mountain. There is nothing up here. But us. A ridiculous family with two small children. Climbing a huge mountain with their elderly dog. All we had was a backpack full of kids’ activities and the kids’ water bottles.

We start heading back down, and to keep up morale (it was loooooww), we sing. We sing songs all the way back down to the Fort. As we approach the Fort, directly in front of us is a bridge to the open front door. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!! There’s aren’t enough exclamation points for this. I do not understand how we missed this. I just have no idea. Uuuuugggghhhhhh.

We are exhausted by the time we reach the Fort. We get some water, and the kids are rewarded with ice cream. After a bit of resting, we finally explore. Lillian insists we see every square inch because “this is what we came for!” I kind of feel the same way, but I am zapped of all energy.

The Fort is pretty amazing, but there are a billion stairs. Seriously, I do not recommend this adventure for anyone with small children or who isn’t in amazing shape. Yikes. But on the upside, it is beautiful and cool.

We take the stairs down. This is the way most visitors ascend to the Fort. It is absolutely insane. It’s actually a few less than 1,000 stairs, and it’s difficult to imagine that number in terms of moving your body and carrying children down a mountain. Let me just say it’s too many. Way too many. And most of them are all in a row, so there are very few breaks.

We finally arrive back in the ground, and Stefan and I realize our legs are shaking from the exertion. We have to go home.

//Stefan Note: Its been 3 days and my legs are getting more sore

We hobble to the car, drive home and collapse. The kids get to watch some tv (and Oly conks out) and we just rest. So nice. I can’t imagine getting up again. But Stefan rallies the troops for dinner.

//Stefan Note: We are both lost.

Lillian and Stefan are navigating. Lillian loves learning to read the Google maps. She is also learning that Stefan’s short cuts are not what he makes them out to be. He directs us up a hill and then back down. It’s pretty funny actually, especially given how exhausted we all are.

Stefan’s spot is full, so we look for another. More walking, but at least it’s beautiful out here.

We end up at another hotel/restaurant across the river, where they were setting off the fireworks last night. The hostess is wonderful. She brings coloring pages and pencils for the kids and helps us select some local wine. The kids have salmon baked in paper, which they demolish in seconds. The best is ending the meal with cheese. I’ve been wanting blue cheese after the mountain cheeses in Ax. Now I am finally enjoying some Roquefort for dessert. Success.

The walk home is nice except Lillian falls and bloodies her knee pretty badly.

//Stefan Note: we call Ll grandma now

Poor thing. Oly is very concerned. Showers for everyone when we get home, bandaids in multiple places, and then finally off to bed.