Carcassonne - 31st July to 2nd August 2015

I arrived in Carcassonne in the late afternoon to grey skies and before long a thunderstorm was in full flow, with rain hammering down. Luckily I had booked to stay with a very warm and welcoming French lady, who as well as speaking very good English, lent me her dusty umbrella and pointed me in the direction of a delightful creperie in 'the modern town'. The modern town is not modern at all, but is considerably newer than La Cite, the old, walled part of Carcassonne. The streets were very quiet - perhaps due to the rain, and all the houses were shuttered giving the appearance of an abandoned town. It turns out this is normal and is a way of keeping the houses cool. Not that this was needed this particular day. I was glad I'd packed my light jacket and wrap.

My galette Narbonnaise with scrambled egg, cheese and ratatouille. The waiter here was very patient with my clumsy French and taught me the difference between tres bon and tres bien.

The next morning was still grey, but the forecast was for brighter weather in the afternoon. I set off to visit La Cite via a 30 minute stroll along the river Aude. The river was a dark green colour, slow moving with sheets of lily pads spread along the surface.

My first view of La Cite - moody.

Out came the selfie-stick on the Pont Vieux.

Perhaps due to the weather, La Cite wasn't as crowded as I expected when I first arrived, however this soon changed when lunchtime brought blue skies. The narrow streets within La Cite were packed, somewhat ruining the atmosphere of such an historic place - the tourist tat shops didn't help either. I decided a glass of rosé would probably help. It did.

Afterwards, I took a walk around the lists - the space between the two walls where knights used to do their thing. From here there were stunning views across the modern town to the Pyrenees.

I'd had enough of the crowds after this so decided to stroll back via the town, pausing for a rest and drink in the main square. Is there anywhere else in the world where it is normal to see a group of 7 young men, sitting at an outside bar in the sunshine and order a bottle of rosé?

A sunny version of the selfie-stick picture from Pont Vieux.