Today we ventured west to the medieval city of Carcassonne. A slow start to the day ,after all it is Sunday here too. We took a drive to the train station so we would know where we are going Monday morning then headed off. On the autoroute west of Montpellier there had been an accident with a transport truck heading east. The westbound lanes were somewhat slow but the eastbound lanes were backed up for many kilometers. We made it to Carcassonne sometime after noon.
The medieval city is in the centre of the town and quite visible for miles around. It reminded us a lot of San Gimignano in northern Italy. The area first came to life about 1000 BC and the current site had a hill camp at about VI BC. In I BC it became a Roman province. About 1200 AD it became a Royal fortress and of course had many changes made to it over the years. These days it is a UNESCO world heritage site visited by many people. It is also full of tourist shops, restaurants, and of course people. A beautiful but crowded day there today.
The Narbonnaise Gate entry built in the XIII century.
The walls and remparts.
La Basilique des Saints Nazarze and Celse built in the XI and XIV centuries.
The Comtal Chateau and inner remparts built in the XII century.
The tilt yard and external remparts from the XIII century.
Finally a shot of the surrounding area. You might be able to see in the distance the ancient white Roman windmills, astonishingly enough still generating electricity.
And apparently they are tough on kids who misbehave.
Today is our last full day in France. We have enjoyed it all very much. However medieval cities are not meant for car traffic. As we were driving out this morning the radio was playing "Highway to Hell".
We head to the train station in the morning for a TGV (Train Grand Vitesse) to Barcelona. Deen is happy we will be dropping off the rental car. In Barcelona we are looking forward to meeting up with my brother Peter and his wife Janine for the rest of our Euro vacation.
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