Carcassonne

Patricia loaned me a coat that belonged to her mother - a warm, fleece lined leather coat. I am going to need it today, because it is bloody cold with strong winds. It is early Saturday morning and I'm on the train headed for Carcassonne. My prof warned me that Carcassonne would be colder than here because of the winds that come from les montagnes noirs (the black mountains just before the Pyrenees). She was absolutely right. When I got home I told Patricia that I would have perished had it not been for her coat, the scarf I bought at the vide grenier and the beret that Robin and Tim gave me for Christmas last year. Enough of the weather - I think you have the picture.

Carcassonne is a fortified medieval French town divided in two- the Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, la ville basse or la Bastide de Saint Louis. My game plan, as always, was to visit the Tourist Office to get a map and then start exploring. Fortunately, there are three tourist offices in Carcassonne. Unfortunately, the first two I went to were closed. Once I had map in hand, I worked my way from the La Bastide de Saint Louis (the lower city) over the Pont vieux and up a steep hill to La Cité Médiévale.

A picture of the L'Aude rivière from the Pont vieux

An odd looking art installation on the banks of the river

Views of La Cité Médiévale on the way up. It's pretty impressive and from what I gather even more so from an autoroute or at dusk.

These are pictures of the ramparts or exterior walls and some of the towers. Although I didn't count them, I believe there are 52 towers on the site. Le Château Comptal otherwise known as the Carassonne Castle and the ramparts were declared a UNESCO world hertitage site in 1997. From what I have read, it is the second most popular tourist attraction in France, next to the Eiffel Tower. Despite the bitter cold, there were other tourists visiting this magnificent place.

This sculpture of La Dame Carcas adorns the entrance to La Cité, La Porte Narbonnaise. Here is an interesting story that I read. Legend has it that she was the widow of the leader of the Saracens who inhabited the Cité in the 9th century. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, were attempting to overtake the town and believed they could make them submit by starving them. Unbeknownst to the Franks, the only food that remained in the city were a few sacks of grain and a pig. Dame Carcas fed all the grain to the pig and then threw it over the walls. When the pig fell to the ground, its belly split open. The troops retreated thinking there were abundant food supplies. The church bells began to peal in celebration and the people chanted "Carcas....sonne" (Carcas...sings), hence the name Carcassonne. However, this likely is nothing more than folk lore because the Saracens were Muslims and wouldn't have had a pig within the walls of the city. Also, at that time, people spoke Latin, not French. The name more likely came from the Occitan roots "carac" meaning rock or stone and "sonne" meaning wood from the forests around the town. I think I enjoyed the more romantic version of how Carcassonne got its name.

 

After passing through the gate, I turned left and walked into the list or lice en français. This is the gap between the two ramparts. The walkway is made of stones and I think my brother Trev, the geologist, would have been most interested.  

I decided to climb the stairs and walk along the exterior ramparts. Here are a few pictures from that vantage point. The first is a picture of a cemetery and I was surprised to see all the flowers on the gravesites. 

The countryside looking southeast.

It was so cold and windy that I ventured through the interior ramparts to warm up and take a look at La Basilique St Nazaire. I was unable to get a picture of the exterior of the church, but it is most famous for its enormous rose windows, weird gargoyles and large organ.

Just outside the basilica, there is a lovely hotel (below) and charming buildings, narrow alleys, restaurants, stores and cafés. On a lovely day, I would have spent far longer wandering the streets, but is was just too miserable to do so. 

After paying my entrance fee, I walked over the bridge through the main entrance to the castle. That is where I picked up my audio guide from a kind gentleman. I said "Bonjour Monsieur" and he immediately responded "you would like an English audio guide?". I asked him in French, "how did he know I was English with only two words?" He replied in English that it was my accent - I think it was that darned "r" sound or lack thereof. No doubt many Canadians and Americans speak with a non native accent, but I have been told by others, they find it "jolie" or pretty.

I spent a couple of hours exploring the castle using the audio guide. There was also a short film that described the history of the castle and the old Cité. The castle had fallen into ruin over the years due to its long and turbulent history as a strategic location between France and Spain. In 1853, an architect named Eugene Viollet-le-Duc (who also restored Notre-Dame de Paris) began its lengthy restoration. The restoration of the castle and the southern part of the city were completed in 1911.

A view of the lower city from one of the castle towers.

By the time I finished touring the castle I was tired, cold and hungry so I made my way back down the hill to the lower city. I had read about a couple of restaurants on websites and decided to try this modest place. The proprietor, both chef and server, and his wife had Alsacien roots. 

My entrée was a Tartine de Chèvre - grilled goat cheese served on a crunchy toasted baguette atop walnuts. It was delicious.

For the plat, I ordered a Filet de Colin - a boneless filet of fish unknown to me served with a cream sauce and potatoes. Naturally this lovely meal was accompanied by the house red (I have no idea what  is was, except that it was good.)

By the time I finished lunch it was close to 2:30 and sadly all the markets were finished. This is a picture of the old grain market which now houses Les Halles, a large indoor market.

I did manage to take a picture of the open market in the Place Carnot or central square first thing in the morning en route to the tourist office. Those poor vendors and patrons would have been really cold and wet.

I spent what was left of the afternoon in the ville basse mostly in shops to try and stay out of the wind and cold. As a matter of fact, I bought myself a pair of Italian shoes in one of the stores. Had the day been warm and sunny, I would have taken a trip in one of the boats along the Canal du Midi, also a UNESCO site. I don't even think the boats were operating because it was so cold. 

To end, I do have a picture of flowers outside a church that managed to survive the inclement weather. Go figure!