On Jan. 17th Ran and I went on a quest, looking for The Holy Grail. We knew it wouldn't be easy to find...it wouldn't be a 'quest' if it was easy. There are a lot of old clues to follow but no map. But we figured, even if we didn't find the grail, there were stories of all kinds of other treasures in the area...maybe we could stumble upon the Knights Templar mother-load or the Cathar treasure.
We went to Montsegur knowing it wasn't open this time of year but we don't have a lot of time left in our one year plan...this was our chance.
As we drove up to the roadside area where the trailhead is, to climb up to Chateau Montsegur, there were maybe 100 parking spaces, including a few bus spaces. But there wasn't one vehicle there. We were the only ones. I figured at least this would make it a lot less complicated, if I were destined to become a modern-day 'guardian of the grail'. What?...it could happen. I have some of the prerequisites goin for me; I'm living in a foreign land; it was a very foggy day; 
I've seen 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' many times on cable; I just finished reading the Labyrinth by Kate Mosse; I frequently carry a corkscrew-knife on my belt. Think about it! So we climbed for 30 minutes, up a very rocky and very icy trail, to the top. I told Ran we don't have to do this but she said I wanted to see it and this is my shot at it. This is one of the many reasons why I love this girl so much...anything is possible. Along the way we stopped at the small monument on the trail, put there to commemorate the death of 200 Cathar 'heretics' who surrendered to the crusaders army in 1244 and were burnt to death in one massive fire, at the foot of the mountain. Nice story huh?
While the heavy fog that day kept us from seeing a panoramic view of the Pyrennes, it did provide a very mystical and spooky atmosphere at the top.
Before returning to Toulouse we made two stops. One at Rennes le Chateau, to hear their alleged story of hidden treasure and see the slighty creepy Church of Mary Magdalene.
The second was when we stumbled upon the little town of Alet-les-Bains and their amazing ruins of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Alet. We couldn't help but get out and walk through the ruins there. It was closed but that never seems to stop us. From the skeleton of the exterior of the cathedral that was still standing, you could see that it must have been an enormous, awe-inspiring, structure back in it's day. Now-a-days it appears to home for what looked like hundreds of birds. Eventually we had to 'put a cork on it' (French slang for 'get movin') and get back to Toulouse, as the Vikings game would be on Skype NFL at 7pm. So even though no treasure would be found...bummer...at least I had my shot at it...and I didn't have to get chased by savages through some sort of modern-day Temple of Doom, with only my corkscrew to hold them off.
