This is the Whit weekend - an important weekend in this region of France. As a result, going places by the sea, we felt, would probably have us tolerating (or cursing!) a lot of traffic so we took a long journey, by auto route, to Carcassonne. Carcassonne is a medieval city that is still inhabited. It lies between the Massif Central and the Pyrenees so it controls the route between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is very impressive. We made our way to a parking area quite near to the Office du Tourisme and entered the walled city via Porte Narbonnaise.
Porte Narbonnaise
Jim (inspired by watching Allo Allo) kept referring to this lady as “the fallen Madonna with the big boobies”. I was inclined to describe her as the big Madonna with the fallen boobies!
Just to prove I was there!
Tourism is big business here with lots of souvenir shops and lots of biscuiteries and sweet shops. There were tastings in nearly all the shops so having a lunch was out of the question!
Who buys these things?
At the Chateau we bought tickets to see the museum and to access the parapets and do the ramparts. I was rather taken aback by the notice warning us what to do in the case of a terrorist attack.
Not too sure how good I would be at either running away or hiding under a settee!
Some spot for a concert!
In the Basilique St. Nazaire.
There are great views over the plain of the river Aude but it was hard to get any acceptable photos.
We returned to Calvisson on more minor roads via Narbonne but we did not stop because the weather had deteriorated and was not conducive for walking along a beach. Our day ended with aperitif at our local where we bonsoired everyone and tuned in a bit (the accent is very difficult) to their carry on.
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