Tuesday 12 September 2017

Strike at the Castle

Great start to the day in Carcassonne today as we walked around the new town. It is actually hundreds of years old, but is still hundreds of years newer than the old town on the hill.
We came across a lovely square with a fountain in the middle, and called back there later for coffee and cakes.
We had a booking on the guided tour of the fortress of Carcassonne at noon, but on the way there we stopped to watch a friendly group of strikers marching through the town.
The guided tour was excellent and our guide was great fun. She was very amusing, and bobbed up and down while waving her arms and hands in  the air to help illustrate her stories.
Unfortunately, she was limited in what she could show us as some of the strikers worked in the castle, so it was shut for the day. We had also planned to spend the afternoon exploring the ramparts, but they were also closed.
It didn't spoil the day though, and this evening we got some great views of the castle. I assume that the lights are on a timer as they were still working today. 

Monday 11 September 2017

Quick break from the decorating

We have been decorating and renovating for ages, so are taking a quick break to Carcassonne. Mr A warned me that Ryanair would only allow small handbags as carry on, so I have gone really unbelievably minimalist with the packing. Of course, as we got on the plane everyone else had really big wheelie suitcases, but at least my bag doesn't weigh much. 
It does mean that I will be wearing almost the same clothes for the rest of the trip, but I promise that I will have changed my underwear! 
We have had a good wander around the old city, found a nice bar for a drink and will be venturing out later for dinner and probably a bit more wine.