After breakfast we sped west, leaving the Camargue behind. On our way out we watched the bulls being herded in and saw some of the famous flamingos swimming in the lagoon. Our very zippy little six speed Ford Focus was soon on the A9 heading to Carcassone (ka-ka-sone, though I am sure the French hear the ‘r’ when they say it; I do not!).
It was about a two hour drive to this Medieval City with a 12th century castle, ramparts to walk, and a lunch reservation. We had to decide - do we go directly there and not rush through Carcassone or take the slow way along the coast stopping maybe at Sete, maybe at Assignan, or some other quaint seaside place?
It is the dilemna of our travel days, short stops with time for serendipity and surprises or in leisurely in-depth visits to the highlights? Carcassone was our main stop of the day before ending up in a B and B in a small village nearby, and from all the research I did, it warranted spending time there. We will save the coastal drives and beachside lunches for the Costa Brava this weekend.
We arrived at the carpark right next to the walls and viola - though it was a beautiful Saturday, there were spots available. We headed in, skipping the tourist train tour and the horse drawn carriage ride. We found the TI, got our bearings and headed to tour the castle.
Built over 2,500 years ago and rebuilt over the centuries, it is a marvel of what man could do before machines. Fortified by a city wall, two moats, gates, towers and ramparts, it had passed from one family to another through marriage and alliance and in the mid 19th century it was restored back to what they think was its 12th century version.
The Chateau ( Castle) and ramparts (walls) at Carcassonne are considereed the world’s best example of Medieval military architecture. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. Restoration started in 1844, and took over 50 years....!!! It now looks like it did in the 13th century. We spent about 90 minutes crawling all over the castle and walking the walls.
The walled city was full of small lanes and kind of ticky-tacky souvenir shops, everything twice the price as anywhere we have been. Lots of play swords and medieval costumes for kids, candy and ice cream and cheap clothes. But we had read that this was the town where cassoulet was invented, so even though it was summer, we had a rez at a highly recommended lunch spot for this hearty dish. Luckily it was a beautiful day, not too hot, not humid at all, and the terrace of Le Chaudron, was a shady respite. And the cassoulet was pretty tasty!
We got to our B and B by 4pm, and since this is our only one-night stop, we left our suitcases in the car, grabbed bathing suits and clean undies for tomorrow and headed in where Leyla, with perfect English, was already busy cooking buttery crepes for breakfast tomorrow. The pool area was sunny and beckoning and with Kindle in hand, we easily spent a couple of hours relaxing. Though this trip takes us to the seaside plenty, we have not actually budgeted any time for a day on the beach, so pool time it is.
I am not sure when this will post as the wifi here is pretty bad and we just realized that ONE OF US (picture us each pointing to the other one) left the adapter (yes, the one we just bought in Aix) at the last hotel. Steve says I left it there because this morning I plugged in HIS phone to charge and I didn’t then take it out of the wall. I say that he used it last, took his plug out and left the adapter in the wall, which he doesn’t dispute is true. You decide. And then send in your vote by email to both of our email addresses! Tonight a walk to the small tapas place up the block, maybe I will get an hour to do my nails, and then tomorrow off to Spain where it will be my turn to step up the language challenge, my Spanish vs. their Catalan.
It was about a two hour drive to this Medieval City with a 12th century castle, ramparts to walk, and a lunch reservation. We had to decide - do we go directly there and not rush through Carcassone or take the slow way along the coast stopping maybe at Sete, maybe at Assignan, or some other quaint seaside place?
It is the dilemna of our travel days, short stops with time for serendipity and surprises or in leisurely in-depth visits to the highlights? Carcassone was our main stop of the day before ending up in a B and B in a small village nearby, and from all the research I did, it warranted spending time there. We will save the coastal drives and beachside lunches for the Costa Brava this weekend.
Built over 2,500 years ago and rebuilt over the centuries, it is a marvel of what man could do before machines. Fortified by a city wall, two moats, gates, towers and ramparts, it had passed from one family to another through marriage and alliance and in the mid 19th century it was restored back to what they think was its 12th century version.
The Chateau ( Castle) and ramparts (walls) at Carcassonne are considereed the world’s best example of Medieval military architecture. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. Restoration started in 1844, and took over 50 years....!!! It now looks like it did in the 13th century. We spent about 90 minutes crawling all over the castle and walking the walls.
I am not sure when this will post as the wifi here is pretty bad and we just realized that ONE OF US (picture us each pointing to the other one) left the adapter (yes, the one we just bought in Aix) at the last hotel. Steve says I left it there because this morning I plugged in HIS phone to charge and I didn’t then take it out of the wall. I say that he used it last, took his plug out and left the adapter in the wall, which he doesn’t dispute is true. You decide. And then send in your vote by email to both of our email addresses! Tonight a walk to the small tapas place up the block, maybe I will get an hour to do my nails, and then tomorrow off to Spain where it will be my turn to step up the language challenge, my Spanish vs. their Catalan.
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