Carcassonne

We were awakened by tractors going by our open window and the church bells ringing eight. We finished hanging out laundry and got ready to set out to Carcassonne, a double walled medieval fortress city. After navigating around the city – thank God for Lauren’s TomTom, because you could totally get lost on these tiny back roads – we found a spot to park and walked 10 minutes to the castle gate, unfortunately not the one Rick Steves recommended for the walking tour, but we adapted. Inside the walls it was very touristy – lots of shops, restaurants, and hotels. We took a tour of the castle with audio guides. Although the castle tour was interesting, it was ABC (inside joke for Mary, Theresa and Fran!). We did learn that they didn’t really pour boiling oil on invaders – too expensive – they just threw rocks instead. For lunch we went to a crepery. We had both savory crepes (ham and cheese) and a sweet crepe (strawberry). All were very good. After a bit of shopping, we decided to get the car and try to drive around to the gate Rick Steves said to enter, the Narbonne gate. Little did we know if we’d walked 100 yards from the crepery, there it was! Sharon, Cindy and Lauren walked the outer walls (with no railing) while the kids stayed back for ice cream. After leaving the castle, Lauren and the kids went for a ride on a double-decker carousel. On the way home we were planning to stop at the grocery, but somehow we missed it on these crazy back roads. We ended tonight by reading and journaling on the terrace, enjoying the breeze cuz it was another hot one! Salut!