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We are now in residence in an apartment in a time share village which gives us the opportunity to relax and explore the local countryside at our leisure. Nearby is the Canal du Midi which runs from near Toulouse to the sea. Boats of all shapes and sizes are tied up at the local village and in the height of summer must be quite busy. We have arrived at a time with temperatures in the high teens and very cloudy with occasional drizzle. Seems like we have brought it with us from Spain, but another resident said this sort of weather happens often because of the proximity to the mountains.
After a lazy start to the day we took the deviation into Carcassonne, a town high on our list of must see places. Being a Saturday afternoon the streets were quite busy with a mix of locals and visitors shopping, sightseeing or making the most of the many eating establishments. Added to this mix were the little vans transporting hotel guests through the maze of little streets. Street entertainment in the form of a drumming band drew a large crowd. The church was closed to the public while we were there
in preparation for a wedding but that didn’t seem to stop tourists from entering, probably because there was no clear sign outside the building. One keen photographer managed to get in and got one quick photo before being given their marching orders by the woman trying to prepare the church.
The village inside the walls with its cobbled streets and quaint buildings was well worth the visit, given the history of this place. However, we felt that here shopping was one of the main purposes people appeared to have for visiting, as well as having a photo taken in front of a famous landmark. Perhaps having seen so many of these types of towns and villages during the past 6 weeks, some of the excitement and awe has been lessened. The best place to view the walled town with its many turrets was from the main bridge over the river. From there it truly looks magnificent. We would not have missed the visit and tomorrow look forward to exploring the old town.
Now that we have many of the comforts of home we are able to self cater. Buying cheaply at the supermarket will certainly help the budget. Cherries are
in plentiful supply and we notice more New Zealand kiwifruit appearing on the shelves. At €3.85 a kilo we haven’t had any yet but we were served some from Italy in a dessert in one hotel and the taste was noticeably lacking. There has been a lot on the news about the E.Coli outbreak and it appears Spain is not the source but we are watching what we buy and how we prepare the food. The problem may be sourced from Germany itself because of how the farmers spread animal waste across the paddocks as a cheap source of fertiliser. Eventually this gets into the water supply. We’ve seen this practice in New Zealand.
The day has ended with a brief glimpse of sun so we had a chance to enjoy a cold beer and cherries on the patio. The forecast for the week is not brilliant for the region but we hope to find a pocket of sunshine somewhere.
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