Off to the Castle of Carcassonne

The next stop on our journey was the walled medieval city of Carcassonne.

The first glimpse of the city is magical. It’s almost as if it was ripped from the pages of a storybook the way it sits perfectly lit painted into the skyline atop the hillside.
The moment you walk over the drawbridge and through the main entrance of the massive city walls It feels like you’ve just stepped back in time to the lands of kings and queens, dragons and fair maidens and knights in shining armor. As we walked through the city, I was halfway expecting little wooden horse-drawn carts and wagons to come rattling up the weathered cobblestone roads behind me.

The whole time I was there I just wanted to swing open the shutters of our little window, look out over the little square and bust out singing…

“Bonjour…bonjour…bonjour…bonjour…bonjour…
There goes the baker with his tray like always…the same old bread and rolls to sell….”

Actually, near the end of our trip, I couldn’t resist anymore and just did it. The folks down in the restaurant across the square all gave me kind of odd looks but I didn’t care. It was true Disney-esque kind of  moment and for a bit I felt just like a princess in a castle!

A fun painted tunnel we walked through to get from the train station to the seaside in Cerbère

On our way to Carcassonne we stopped off in the little seaside town of Cerbère where we had lunch on the beach and fed a few more pigeons.
 


The city of Carcassonne is so quaint but there isn’t a lack of fun things to do. You can walk the ramparts and look at the beautiful views of the city, explore the castle and the museums, sit down and have a meal at one of the many restaurants or grab a hot crepe and walk through the gardens. Or if shopping is your thing there are quite a few  little boutiques and shops filled with unique artisans goods, fine wines, delicious foods, and fun sweet treats that are all locally made. Another one of the highlights of the city is the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Celse where you can marvel over the architecture or the breathtaking stained glass windows, and if you are really lucky, hear the beautiful melodies of the pipe organ or the harmonies of a four part choir.

Left: Matt with his delicious breakfast crepe filled with Nutella, banana, and Chantilly cream. We thought she was going to slice the banana but she just wrapped the whole thing up inside. Note that’s why it’s so big

Right: Taking in some of the beautiful views while walking the ramparts

Some of the fun candy at the candy store… peas and bacon of course. We made sure to sample some of the cookies, chocolates, candied fruit, and nougat as well. The nougat was my favorite

Lighting a candle in the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Celse for my Aunt Kathie

The lights of the castle walls at night

We were told by the folks we stayed with in Paris that the dish we had to try in Carcassonne was cassolette. It is basically a slow cooked bean dish with almost every type of meat you could think of buried in it. It was kind of fun to see what I would pull out next. I was glad I was hungry because it was delicious and extremely hearty… boy howdy! I wasn’t hungry for breakfast the next morning… in fact I might have skipped lunch as well. A great meal to really get the feel of what it was like to eat like a King!

The view of the city at sunrise

As we made our way to the train station to head off to Switzerland we took just a bit to stop and really appreciate such a unique city skyline. Now off to a different kind of skyline….the monolithic monster that is the Matterhorn!

On a train bigger than this…