We trooped out the Aude gate of Cité Carcassonne this morning. Then took a steep path down to the walking bridge spanning the Aude River. We were headed towards the Bastide Saint-Louis, a section of the old city settled around 1260 by Cathar citizens expelled from their homes in the fortress where we were currently…
Day: November 14, 2024
Gargoyles
Post by Ella Carcassonne has the Bastid (old city) and the Cité, the medieval village). We are staying within the ramparts of the Cité but it is an easy walk down off the hill and across an old bridge into the bastid. We spied the Cathedral Saint Michel from the ramparts of the Cité. And…
Taking a poll
Post by Ella Grubb says “hey look, another carousel” “You’re kidding, right?” No, he wasn’t. I say NO. What do you say? And how about this? Reindeer going on a track, like a train? Grubb says yes, I say no.
Another cosy French meal
Post by Ella Dinner last night (Thursday) was cassoulet. It’s a big thing here in Carcassonne. Every restaurant menu has at least one cassoulet on its menu. I might have mentioned before, a cassoulet is a rich, slow cooked stew. A medley of meats (sausage, mutton, pork and goose are the classic combo) and haricot…
Arrival at the castle
We made it to our castle in Carcassonne where we’ll be staying a couple of nights. This will our final chance to go medieval before we take bus to Barcelona. The cobbled paths of the castle were pretty quiet last night. The moon was rising over the battlements. And a big bowl of cassoulet was waiting…
Ah, no, it’s not the Parthenon
The Maison Carré in Nimes is a Roman temple built in 19-16 BC. I had read about it and thought we should stop in Nimes on our way to Carcassonne to take a look. Nimes is not an easy city to negotiate by car. It seemed like there was a roundabout every two meters where we were supposed…