Blogs from Carcassonne, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Europe - page 4

Today we awoke in the beautiful city of Carcassone, and excitedly ventured out to explore the castle, which was closed the night before. Before leaving the hotel though, we ate our free breakfast - the first proper breakfast we have had since getting off the ferry a week ago. Although French baguettes are delicious, they do get a bit old when you eat them for at least two, and sometimes three meals in a day! The Carcassone castle was as expected: spectacular. The city has a huge history - dating back to a rich family that ruled the region in the 11th or so century. (Actually the history goes back even further, as the original city walls were Roman.) The patriarch of the family was eventually ousted during the crusades for aiding heretics, but this was ... read more

It was day one of our road trip across the South of France to take my parents as far as Nice in just over a week. We packed the car and set off early morning just after breakfast. Our first leg in the car was going to be longest, a 3 hour drive further South towards the medieval city of Carcassonne. My parents really had no idea what was in store and as we approached the medieval city it came it to view from the motorway and they were blown away. We drove into town and found our hotel which was conveniently located, directly across the road from the old city, we checked in and headed to our rooms for a quick rest. The hotel was a fantastic little place with cosy yet decorative rooms which ... read more

We arrived at Carcassone late in the afternoon, and probably made a foolish decision to walk up the hill (Kansas mountain) to the fortress. It was a very long walk, involving marital snarkiness. Finally we reached the top; at least one mile and possibly two. I have wanted to visit Carcassone for a very long time. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site because there are so many intact medieval buildings inside the old walled city. Printed guides claim it is worth it to spend the night inside the old city walls because the town retains its character after all the tourists have left for the day. This is very true. We entered the main gate after the last busses were pulling out of the parking lot. The rest of the night was charming. Carcassone has ... read more

Trois jours dans une contrée riche en histoire. Gens du Québec, sentez-vous vengés de tout ce beau temps dont nous avons plus qu'abusé depuis notre arrivée, pendant que vous vous les geliez... Lorsque, ces derniers jours, vous frôliez des T° presque trop chaudes, nous avions, dans les hauteurs, un temps ressemblant à l'automne québécois, avec peut-être un petit peu plus de vent. Laissez-moi vous dire que les gougounes sont restées à l'hôtel ! La journée du jeudi, que nous avions d'abord prévue pour une visite à Collioure, a été troquée contre une virée en pays cathare, avec visite audioguidée d'un château médiéval, suivie d'une visite-dégustation d'une cave en Corbières. Que nous avons été bien inspirés de faire ce changement ! Ce fut une journée mémorable. Ces quelques photos vous résumeront chronologiquement notre séjour.... read more

The whole trip to France started evolving three years ago, when Kevin and I were last in the country. He had mentioned that we would come back in two years, and I said, “Let’s make it three, and we can have your 60th here!” And the planning began. The party part didn’t start in earnest, though, until about six months ago when a swap couple of the Ackmans from Carcassonne mentioned a wonderful restaurant and hotel, not far from the city of Carcassonne, called La Bergerie. The selling point was that it was a Michelin- starred restaurant. If you have had the great good fortune of going to a Michelin-starred restaurant, you know that EVERYTHING is just better. Food, service, presentation. Kevin got on line to them and got a booking for approximately 24 for the ... read more