Chateau La Commanderie retains its original spirit of an ancient medieval castle, but is modernised to create a family home. It has been beautifully decorated by the current artist-owner and her family.



Chateau La Commanderie is 15 minutes from the medieval bastide of Mirepoix, 45 minutes from historic Carcassonne, and the modern metropolis of Toulouse and their airports, in the Aude Department of Southwest France.

La Commanderie was bought in 1973 by Marie-France Gregory, mother of the present owner, and now is the family home of Rebecca Gregory, who is the proprietor and a sculptress. Rebecca is half-French and half-American. She grew up in Paris, and at 10 years old during the Green Revolution, her family moved to the French countryside. She then went on to complete her high school and university studies in Art History and Photography in the US, before moving back to France to manage La Commanderie.



La Commanderie was built in the 13th century by Guillaume de Plaigne, a Cathar Lord, who took an active role in the Battle of Avignonet and later joined the besieged stronghold at Montsegur.



In the 16th century, Barthelemy de Plaigne extended the Chateau by creating the Salle des Chevaliers. His daughter Anne de Plaigne married the Count de Pibrac in 1642. She sold Plaigne to François-Paul de Béon-Massès-Cazaux, head of the order of St John in Toulouse, who, in 1685, established this domain as a Commanderie of the Knights of Malta. It remained in their ownership until the French Revolution.



In the 19th century, the chateau belonged to Mr de Nicol, who modernized the building, and it stayed in this family for a century, up until his last descendant Violette de Ferluc.





"Francopino" is a term coined by Arlene's sister, Christine... "Franco-" from Andrew being half-French, and "-Pino" from Arlene's Filipino heritage. "Les Francopinos" comes to represent not solely the two of us and our relationship, but includes all of you -- our friends and families on both sides -- all the participants in this occasion, together in this loving lump.

Stuff about meeting at the Park Cafe, Spoleto Festival, Fart Machines, and Travelling the world.. Stay tuned..

The closest airports are Toulouse and Carcassonne (45 minutes).



From the US, you can fly into either Paris or Barcelona. You'll then have two options: Train or Plane?



+ Trains are very fast and much cheaper than in the states, and you're wanting to get to Toulouse, Carcassonne, or Castelnaudary (a nearby town). Look at Renfe.com (based i TGVn Spain) or use the (based in France) for your train tickets. They're both very safe, clean, and reputable, and we've used them on our trips in Europe.



+ You can make your "Big Booking" with your Major Flight Carrier to get you from the US to whatever European city you want to visit (Paris, Amsterdam, London, Dublin, etc.) prior to coming to Plaigne. Once you've landed on the continent, you can save extra $$ by booking a regional flight using RyanAir, Easyjet, Aer Lingus or Vueling.. Rates can be as low as $50 USD! You'll want to take a flight to Toulouse or Carcassonne.



+ For non-major-US-city peeps, see if your town can get you to NYC/Newark/DC, etc. via Jetblue or Southwest for under $175. Then, from that major city, flights to the European continent can be between $500-700!



+ And if you just wanna get to the castle with one click, we feel ya! Book your flight from the US to Toulouse or Carcassonne.





Tips Re: Plane Tickets

+ As always, The Earlier, The Better. For the best chance at getting the best price, try to purchase your ticket no later than the six-month mark, in January 2018!

+ If you purchase sometime before January, you shouldn't have to pay more than $1100 for your ticket. $900-1000 is pushing it high, too. (our fingers are crossed for ya!)

+ Tickets will always be available as June gets closer, but we've noticed that higher savings come with purchasing moderately early.



+ Our recommended sites for booking affordable air are: Momondo.com, Skyscan and Kayak (MomGoogle Flights is useful, to

+ Review your Skymiles or consider a Credit Card that can reward you with travel miles/points, if you don't have one already! Arlene has an American Express/Skymiles Card, and we hear that Chase offers several options, too.

+ Once you've booked your flight, please send in your RSVP!





Travelling Tips

+ Make sure your Passport does not expire before the trip!

+ Make the most out of this opportunity to travel: Arrive in Europe that Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, June 18-20, right before our Wedding Weekend to adjust to the time change, get comfortable, and do some exploring in this amazing region! We'll already be in the area by then, so hit us up!



+ Call your cellphone carrier to work out the details of text messaging, phone calls, Wifi and GPS/Mapping when you're abroad. The international plans are affordable, and offer a great security blanket for navigating about!

If you want to explore the area, it's almost essential to have a car. There's a bus that links Pamiers and Mirepoix but it isn't very frequent, unfortunately. There will be parking along the main drive of the Chateau.



Car Rentals

+ For those with an International Driver's License, the French have an Airbnb-like site for hiring other people's cars on the cheap called OuiCar.



+ via Jean-Marie (Andrew's Dad) try Auto Europe:

"You pay everything upfront in $ . They’re good and have the best rates! You can get the basic rate and rely on insurance from your credit card or you can purchase insurance with or without deductible directly from Auto Europe. It’s safer to get insurance through Auto Europe because in the event of a claim, they will pay for the damages right away. If you rely on your credit card coverage, you may have surprises and you will pay for the damages out of pocket and later get reimbursed—possibly not the entire tab or not at all if you do not meet all their conditions! Chances are you won’t have to file a claim. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure though!"



+ Familiar Rental Car Companies also have a presence in the region, and you can book online and pick up at your arrival airport.. AAA, Hertz, Avis. Before booking, check RetailMeNot.com to see if you can apply a coupon code to your reservation!



+ If you're renting a car, definitely rent the GPS to go along with it, too, or make sure you're able to navigate using Data/Wireless on your mobile phone. The GPS saved Arlene and her girlfriends' butts on their beautiful trip thru Ireland! Autoroutes and numbering are slightly different compared to what we're used to in the US.



International Driver's Licenses

To obtain an International Driver's License, one place you can visit is your local AAA. It's about a $15-$25 processing fee, nothing to study, and valid for one year. We each have one and must say it feels very James Bond-y.





There are a number of local taxi's in the area:

Mirepoix Taxi (Jacky Verdier): +33 6 11 73 53 70 or +33 6 21 57 85 96

Taxi Pibouleau: +33 6 85 07 01 98

Mazeres Taxi: +33 6 20 53 18 98, e-mail: taximazeres@orange.fr

The Taxi Mathis Pujolaise: +33 6 50 40 20 15

Amiel Luc (Pamiers): +33 9 61 30 16 82

Saurat Jean Louis (Pamiers): +33 9 65 25 22 20

Vielmas Rene Jean Paul (Castelnaudary): +33 4 68 23 33 73





The area we're going to is a paradise for those who love hiking, horse riding, fishing, hunting, alpine and cross-country-skiing. History lovers will find this region similar to Tuscany: rolling hills and valleys littered with Romanesque ruins and 13th century churches.



La Commanderie is close to the picturesque town of Mirepoix and Castelnaudary - home of world-famous cassoulet - as well as Montsegur: center of the Cathar culture.



Drive 40 minutes and you are in the medieval City of Carcassonne (a world heritage site), or Chateau de Foix at the foot of the Pyrenees.

40 minutes North West and you can be in Toulouse ("The Pink City"), the home of Airbus, Space City, and many other cultural and tourist attractions. Locally-produced goods such as wine, foie-gras, and cassoulet...

The recommended town to stay in.. We're planning to have a shuttle for our guests that will hop between here and the Venue throughout the weekend. Stay tuned for more details.



IMPORTANT: Several of the hotels' online booking systems are not accurate (they are showing as 'unavailable' when they have plenty of rooms for these dates). So please contact them directly via email to reserve if this occurs.



Mirepoix is a beautiful medieval town with a central square that hosts lots of markets and restaurants. It is a ~15 minute drive from the Chateau and has plenty of accommodations available on Tripadvisor and Airbnb.



A Few Hotels/Sites Include:

+ http://jjfrenchgites.com

+ La Cité Boutique Appartements - 3 x 1 bedroom apartments available - 2-3 pax each - average ~ 82€/night

+ Gites de Mirepoix B&B - Suite with Park view - 2 pax - average ~ £99/night

+ Gites de Mirepoix B&B - 1 bedroom house - 4 pax - average ~ 100€/night



Here's a link to find more about the town of Mirepoix (We love TripAdvisor!).

The Chateau is based in Plaigne, however, there isn't much (if any) accommodation within walking distance of the Chateau. There are numerous places to stay in the surrounding area and towns including Lafage, Pech Luna, and Balpech on both AirBnB and TripAdvisor.



Here are a few places with a number of options on their properties:

https://domainedefajaclaselve.com/

http://www.gitesdelafontaine.com/en/home.shtml#.WA...

http://www.les-pres-de-l-amourier.fr/g%C3%AEtes/pech-luna/

http://www.domaineenbirbes.com/

Toulouse is about 50 minutes from the Chateau. Andrew proposed to Arlene in Toulouse..! If you'd like to stay in a city, then Toulouse is your answer. It has a mix of the modern and medieval with plenty to explore and experience. Needless to say there are plenty of accommodations here. You can catch a direct train to Pamiers or Castelnaudary if you wanted to, then get a taxi from there to the Chateau.

If you Google 'camping' around Mirepoix, lots of options will come up!



Here are two recommended campsites which offer both pitches, cottages and chalets and come with swimming pools (one with its own lagoon). Both are about 15 minutes just southeast of Mirepoix.



Domaine de la Besse - Lots of cottages and its own restaurant.

http://camping-labesse.com/



Le Roc Del Rey - Slightly more rustic than the above, it again has some chalets, lots of pitch space and a convenience store on-site.

http://www.lerocdelrey.fr/le-camping/