Europe 2014

Carcassonne, 8-9 June

		Driving away from Albi, we saw a road sign pointing to Lautrec, and decided to detour. *
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		Advertising sign of the kind that used to be seen throughout France, but now surviving only in backwaters. *
		Then off through another tree-lined road. *
		Lynn at last found the field of poppies that she had been looking for all the way through France. *
		We stopped to look at a ruined castle at Saissac, but did not visit. *
		After checking into our hotel, we went to have a first look at the old Cité of Carcassonne. *
		Then a nice dinner at Mère Carcas. *
		We were up quite early the next morning to try to beat the crowds into the Cité. We had to park below and walk up past the walls. †
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		The lists between the outer an inner walls. *
		The main entrance to the Cité. †
		We visited the cathedral ... *
		with its fine rose window ... *
		and other stained glass. *
		Tomb in the cathedral. †
		We wandered around the town ... *
		until we reached the fortress. *
		The fortress was much restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century, and there is still some controversy about how authentic it is. It does look a bit Disney. *
		The towers along the curtain wall were joined by wooden walkways which could be destroyed if an enemy gained control of one of the towers. *
		View of Carcassonne's modern town from the fortress walls. *
		Some of the fortress rooms had collections of statues and carvings from around the area, including this sweet Madonna and Child. †
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		Frieze of Saracens fighting crusaders. *
		And so to lunch. Under umbrellas again, and with a view of some of the fortress's towers. *
		We drove down to be across the river from the Cité, to get a better view. After some problems with the GPS taking us around in circles, we arrived. *
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		Then another dinner, umbrellas folded this time, but still under the fortress towers. *
		Night coming on around 9 pm. †

Then it was on to an area we have visited a number of times: Provence.