Gwen’s Blog

La Cascade
Fully restored for workshops, La Cascade has four spacious double-occupancy bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, dining room, fully equipped kitchen, studio and outdoor dining terrace. La Cascade was built in the mid 18th century of local stone in the same way houses in the area have been built from the medieval times up until the 20th century. Our intention was to add modern facilities while honoring the house’s history. The house has a wireless internet connection and free telephone service to the US. Your computer can connect with the internet anywhere in the house.

• Our address is 27 Rue des Martineurs, 81540 Durfort, France
• The telephone number at La Cascade is (011) 33 563 50 81 09

Durfort
La Cascade is located on the banks of the Sor, the river that runs through the village of Durfort. It is an artisan village which has produced copper vessels since the 17th century and still reflects a life that is slow and peaceful. Water, once used to temper copper vessels, runs in channels down the middle of the streets. We are part of the village and do our best not to disrupt a way of life that hasn’t changed much for five hundred years.

An extensive national park with hundreds of miles of hiking trails and swimming lakes surrounds the village on three sides. The road that follows the gorge uphill out of town passes several old mills and waterfalls. At the foot of the village, the land opens up into a rolling patchwork of fields that turn gold with sunflowers in July. The Pyrenees Mountains are not far to the south.

A Unique History
During the 11th and 12th centuries, this region practiced Catharism, an ascetic form of Christianity. This was considered heretical by the Catholic Church, which wiped out the Cathars in the Albigensian Crusade. Today, the ancient Cathars are admired for their courage and values of community, tolerance and independence. A spirit of tolerance and openness characterizes the area to this day.

Destinations

• Toulouse, the rose city. There’s a regular bus service from Revel, 5 km away, to Toulouse.
• Soreze our neighboring village has a long history of culture and education. In the summer months concerts are held in the church and historic Abbaye Ecole. There’s a bank with automatic teller, a grocery store and two bakeries.
• Revel, a charming “bastide” town 5km away, has a Saturday farmer’s market that is considered to be one of the best in France.
• Albi, the capital of the department of the Tarn, was one the major center of Catharism. The amazing Cathedral of Sainte Cecile and the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum make for a wonderful visit.
• Carcasonne, the great fortress town restored by Violet le Duc in the 1800s is also an important destination.
• From ancient villages to great chateaux, there are many places to explore. The tourist office in neighboring Soreze has colorful brochures to help you plan your adventures.
• Montpellier and the Mediterranean are one hour by car.

Flights
Toulouse, France is your final destination. Your first touchdown in Europe will could be London, Amsterdam or Paris, where you’ll pick up a short flight to Toulouse.

Local Services – Shopping

• People come from all over France to buy the beautiful, reasonably priced copperware for which Durfort is famous. The shops in the village sell copperware, glassware and leather goods, products produced in the area for centuries.
• Cyrano, the café in Durfort, sells post cards and bread.
• If you want to buy almost anything else, you need to go to Soreze, the next village one kilometer away or the market town Revel, 5 kilometers away, where you can find anything you’ll need. The Presse Tabac on the main square sells English newspapers and next door Sarda processes film
• When the local ateliers were put out of business by cheaper copper imports from North Africa, Durfort re-invented its livelihood by shifting from manufacturing to retail. Today the copper boutiques on the square mostly sell the imported copper. Although the village replaced one of the Roman bridges with a bridge to the parking lot large enough for tour busses, cars and busses still prefer to park in the town square. The parking lot remains mostly empty except for le jour de fête, once a year.
• A large sausage factory on the outskirts of town has also added to local prosperity, however Durfort is known for its copper, not its sausages.