Carcassonne
we found a little 'information' centre, which was in what looked like an ice cream shack (top far left), and joined the obligatory queue! They do in fact have a much bigger Information Centre inside the city. So we got our map and there are two parts to Carcassonne, the lower city as we see from the station which we walk through to get to the Chateau and Ramparts (the most historical and upper part of the city).
It was so interesting hearing about the various episodes in history which made such an impact on the way the chateau was built and added to over the years. She spent quite a bit of time talking about the Inquisition and we visited the Tower of Justice, 
she led us along the parapet walk and the views over Carcassonne were spectacular.
We walked a little further on and we could hear something theatrical going on, we were in luck, we could see through the gaps in the parapet a performance of jousting. Just as you imagine it, with a long run, two horses one at either end and Knights in shining armour on their backs.
There was the audience along the side opposite us all cheering on their favourite Knight and then they charged, lances held high, and bingo they clashed, one of the lances broke in half, the horse staggered and fell and the rider was thrown.
Miraculously no one was hurt, the horse got up and was tended by an assistant, and the Knights continued to battle it out with swords. How exciting! David reckoned the horse was trained to stumble and fall, but it looked pretty real to me. How could he be such a skeptic?
We also visited the Basilica St Nazaire which is still being restored, so impressive, so old, and so beautiful.
We picked up Mel from the airport at 9.30pm Wednesday, she looked really good, and it was lovely to see her again. We arrived home and sat outside in the warm evening air chatting and drinking wine.
Thursday we had a quiet start, then after lunch we caught the bus onto Toulouse to introduce Mel to the city centre. We caught the Metro for two stops to Capitole and went to the information centre to check out Carcassonne, and then walked up to the station to buy our tickets for the journey on Friday. We walked alongside the canal back to bus stop and hopped on bus straight away, but we were so tired that we missed our stop at home and had to get off the next one, but it only took 6 mins to walk back, we were so hot, I chose to sit down and have a cuppa but David and Mel took the kids for a swim to cool off.
Friday, James took us to the station and as we were a little early we had a coffee at 'Pauls' in the station and sat on high stools making out like we were very French.
The train to Carcassonne was a regional train and stopped at all the stations on the way. Because it was a bit slower we could see the countryside a bit better than our last train trip from Nice. It was fun having Mel along, she is no mean photographer, with no mean camera, but there's no way you can set up a field of sunflowers for a perfect picture! Fortunately we passed field after field of sunflowers, so I am sure there must be at least one shot that wasn't a blur? It was also good to see some French farmhouses and vineyards.
It only took an hour and a quarter to get there. And as we walked out of the station we headed over the canal, and stopped to watch a boat going through the lock,
We walked up through the city looking for a place to have a coffee, but it was getting too close to lunch time and tables were set for lunch, so David and Mel stopped at a Patisserie and bought a couple of delicious looking cakes, Mel coped really well with her gooey custard square as she walked up the street! The city looked very festive and the shops were a mix of good clothing stores and souvenir shops, but no stopping, we were there to see the medieval city, so on we went in the relentless midday sun!
Wikipedia tells us: "Although both the Romans and Visigoths were here, Carcassonne really flourished under the well-to-do Trencavel family of the late 12th century. In 1355 the lower town was burnt to the ground by the Black Prince, one of the key figures in the Hundred Years’ War of the Middle Ages, miffed at his failure to capture the citadel. Carcassonne’s key role in cross border trade with Spain, however, dried up with the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, when Roussillon was restored to France.
As trade dwindled, the city walls, no longer needed for protection, fell into disrepair and it wasn’t until the architect Viollet-le-Duc began restoration in the 1800s that things started to improve. It was this project which helped save Carcassonne and ensure that the city of today is so outstandingly beautiful."
And it is an outstanding piece of 'live' history, it's like walking into a medieval town only it's for real with shops and restaurants, a few service vehicles and loads of tourists. We followed the mainstream of people, stopping to look at a shop or two and a restaurant or two, we had promised ourselves a 'long lunch' and found a restaurant in the square which was just the job. We had a lovely lunch and watched the people stroll by.
In the upper city there is the Chateau which dates back to the 12th century, so after lunch we walked up, paid our dues, and then joined a group with an English speaking guide.
So from there we walked some more and came to the amphitheatre which was not originally part of the chateau but has been developed since.
So, in a nutshell, that was Carcassonne, you just had to be there.
I just had to take a photo of this elderly couple, they were having a very animated discussion and she was swinging her stick around! Fortunately she didn't see me taking this, otherwise her stick may have been swung in my direction!
We caught the intercity train home, and it's only saving grace is that we got back to Toulouse in half the time, the same train we got back from Nice, air conditioning not working, dirty windows, etc, etc.
James picked us up at the station and it was rush hour in the city. sometimes in NZ we have students offering to wash windscreens, in France they have jugglers doing their stuff, they know the light sequence and finish their act just in time to go around the front cars with their hat!
We are still in awe at the remarkable things we saw and did today. Just contemplating the expense of restoring so much, and maintaining it to a suitable condition is huge, what a joy it has been to walk on those roads, stand on those ramparts, walk through the Tower of Justice, so thanks to the city fathers who had the foresight to tick the boxes and not question the cost. Maybe a lesson to our Christchurch city fathers?
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