Carcassonne

A Monday, when you're on holiday, is the greatest day; A new week of new adventures awaits. It just so happened to be a Monday, and a exceptionally sunny one at that.

We checked out of our hotel and made our way back to the train station, dropped off our luggage in the lockers, and went to buy our tickets. Everything went like normal, the tickets were even cheaper than we thought. We went to the info lady to see what train would be best to catch. We heard the words that made our hearts, not just sink, but crash and splatter all over the floor. "There are no trains to Carcassonne today, you must catch the bus". It was going to be a two and a half hour trip and we would only be there an hour before having to catch the bus back. I was furiously thinking of where else we could go, when Lars saved the day. Thankfully, there are trains that go to Carcassonne, they are just on an Intercity rail, not the TER rail. We had forty minutes to wait, so some food from Paul (Saucisse et Chard in Particular) would help perk up our sprits again. 

Already the sun was warm, a promising day indeed. Once stepping on the train, we saw that the train had reserved seats. Because our tickets were for the other rail system, we had to stand with all the plebs. When the ticket lady came, she told us what tickets to buy next time and charged us an extra €7 each. Then she proceeded to yell at the ticket dodgers who were next to us. 

The scenery speed by, but we could still see the splendour that it was. Fields of green splashed with the vibrant yellow flowers. Little towns with matching burnt orange roofs, tall trees gently swaying from side to side, waving and welcoming us to the South of France.

The train came to a halt and we marched the march of curiosity. What will this new town bring? We stepped out of the station and I gasped. We were right in front of a flowing canal, the most beautiful flowers were paving the banks, the outside of the station was clean and white, with intricate detailing. The cherry on top was a gorgeous, ornate clock.

Once my mouth had closed after gaping at my surroundings, we went to find the info centre, we have to get that map! The main city of Carcassonne had quaint old buildings with neutral colours. Winding streets with shops that offer mainly pastries and coffee, if only they were open. We had arrived at the sleeping lunch hour. After a slow walk through the streets, we knew what was around the corner, but we were not prepared for the sight of the Medieval City of Carcassonne. High on top of a hill, the original walled city stands. We crossed the bridge that would have been used by people wanting to get in and out of the city, whose footsteps have crossed this bridge? We lined the camera up for the perfect photo, castle in the background. As the timer did the triple beep to take the photo, a gust of wind came and knocked it forward. All our photos of us have lots of concrete in the foreground. 

We sewed our way through more weaving streets and found ourselves at the base of the castle walls. Two options were offered to us, the gentle incline, or the step hill. As we were contemplating, a little old man came an told us, in a thick French accent, "You should storm the castle".  Indeed we did. After My skirt had flashed all of France, we made it to the top. A cheer of celebration came from our new friend at the bottom as because we had reached the top! For a short moment, it felt as if we were the only people in the city. The jigsaw of different shades of orange roofs stretched out to the distance. The Pyrenees Mountain range making a snow sprinkled border. 

Inside the outer walls of the city were many prime photo opportunities. We took those opportunities and asked a couple to take a photo of us, always miming our request because we don't know what language the others will speak. As I was wearing a summer dress, the lady warned us of how windy it was around the corner. She was not kidding! A more pleasant surprise around the corner was a lady playing a harp, the twinkling sound of angles dancing through the stars. 

In the inner city walls is where the town resides. We found out that the town had been rebuilt in the 19th century to look like it had in the 13th century. It had fallen to ruins before then. We walked on the city wall, any video we took had the sound of wind rushing through the speakers. The cathedral was beautiful, some of the most spectacular stained glass windows I have ever seen. Of course we had to visit the Sweets Shop, nougat for Lars. Then, strangely enough, there was an All Blacks Store. I know France has a love of rugby that near matches NZ, but why this store is in Carcassonne confuses me so. A rest, a meander down the other wall, and a scrumptious ice cream, it was then time to have some lunch. The closest supermarket was near the station, so we made our way to the Monoprix. A baguette, cheese, pate, and beer; all down by the water. No better way to spend a Monday. When our bellies were full of carbs and dairy, we headed back in to the station, our train was 40mins delayed. It was fine, we always leave plenty of time to get to the airport. This time on the train we had reserved seats! Again, we watched the picturesque world go by, filling our hearts with happiness and warmth, the beer could have helped as well. Back at Gare Matabiau (the train station), we collected our bags and went to get on the metro. Alas, the metro was closed. Good things we always leave enough time to get to the airport. Luckily, we discovered an airport bus. The driver was very friendly and helped us. We had the whole bus to ourselves, to cool off and sort our bags for the airport. 

Going through customs is stressful for me at any point, I just feel guilty. I don't have reason to, but I guess that's what their jobs are meant to do. What makes it worse is when a French man starts yelling at you for cutting in line. Being avid airport users, we followed the steps that we always take, this man did not like it. He told us that we were incorrect, I put my hand up and told him it was fine, Lars told him to go away (in the nicest way possible) and we went on our merry way. At this airport, all camera gear has to be taken out of your bags. Because we only had carry on, our bags were filled with camera gear. The people were friendly and helpful. As was everyone in Toulouse.

Photo Opportunities!

Waiting at the Station.

The Jigsaw of Carcassonne.

A lunch of Champions!