Castles aplenty!

They’re back!!! And SO happy to be on dry (and much less dirty) land!!

Now let’s see...where did I leave this? I believe we were heading for a taxi to take us UP to La Cite at Carcassonne. Well, it was lovely (note picture to the left). The last time we were there (many years ago!) I was driving into La Cite, and having trouble navigating between tourists and postcard racks, and getting a trifle frayed around the edges ... (it was the dead of winter, though, as apparently they allow no cars in during the summer months). This time was MUCH better, and I was in a better frame of mind to appreciate how beautiful it is! We took a long walk through the city and toured the chateau; wonderful reconstruction during the 1800's. Had a good lunch, then headed back to the boat for naps and rest. R had the great idea of jumping in the first bus that came along, and le voila, it brought us (finally) right back to the port! What a great idea! Unfortunately, the buses cease operation as of 7 p.m., which left us with another cab ride up to La Cite for dinner. Mostly deserted town, but a few restaurants open. Found one and had a good dinner – Brenda, Chris and I had daube de boef, which was incredible, and R had entrecote with green peppercorn sauce; also very good. Deserts centered mostly around chocolate, except for R who once again opted for the ever-present (and ever good!) tarte de pomme. Had the restaurant call us a cab, which whisked us home in minutes – stopping first on the bridge for Brenda to take a picture of the wonderfully lit Cite.

Next morning, (Friday) after the usual terrific breakfast of pain au chocolat and croissants with raspberry jam, before being the first boat out of the harbor and into our first lock of the day. Chris was pilot-du-jour, and to be honest, I think we were all counting down the locks we still had to go! Only six to get to Trebes, our “home” base. This section of the trip wasn’t the most attractive, as much of the time we were paralleling a major highway. It is so easy to forget the rest of the world when there are no sounds (other than the putt-putting of the boat) but birds and frogs! We actually had no problems at all with any of the locks, and arrived in Trebes right around lunch time. However! Problem! No place to park! The place was packed! (I think it was because this was the start of the season, and most of the boats hadn’t been taken out yet, and were probably fairly new to the water after the winter.) We cruised through town (fortunately, the town is built around the canal itself, which is in stark contrast to Bram and Castelnaudary); restaurants and boulangeries within sight! And about 200 feet from the boat base, finally tied up to some trees (other boats doing likewise); as Robert says: Watch out for nettles! Ouch! As the base was closed for lunch until 2 (very French!) R and I walked over the bridge to a little Italian restaurant and had wonderful salads of avocado/mozzarella/tomato (why, oh why, can’t American tomatoes taste like this???) I went back to the boat, but R decided to hang around the boat base to see if we could find a place to moor. (Also, we were running on battery power-only without a shore hook-up...) R’s patience was rewarded, as three boats eventually moved out of the basin and we were able to get a prime spot in the harbor – and, yeah! electricity!! By this time it was almost dinner, so we headed back over to the Italian restaurant for some wonderful pizzas. Early night, as we were all tired, but there was some rowdy carryings-on across the canal! I had earplugs, and R closed the hatch; no problem!

Up and cleaning the boat by 8, ready for our turn-over inspection at 9. Inspected and out the door (they had called a taxi, which somehow managed to fit all of us AND all of the luggage quite comfortably!) by 9:20 a.m. Very efficient, but to be honest, I was glad that we were moving on, as in the close confines of the boat, my bumps, cuts and bruises just seemed to multiply! The cab dropped us off at the Carcassonne airport, where we had reserved a car ... and what a car!! Oh my! It’s like driving a Tour-de-France tour car; a walking advertisement! It’s an extremely comfortable Ford, but not like any I’ve ever seen! It has incredible room in the back (it’s wagon-like) for all of our luggage to store, and then be covered by the drape. Lots of room for passengers – even little fold out tables with places for cup like on airplanes! And more gadgets than you can shake a stick at! We’ve got some sort of radar system that beeps when you’re getting too close to something – and beeps faster the closer you get – it’s like a truck backing up! To be honest, it is a tad annoying when you’re trying to get into or around a tight space! But it has UEFA Barcelona Cup logo on the hood, and FORD and other writing (including something that looks like multi-colored bubbles) on each side! So...our vehicle throughout France! Oh my...A truly lovely drive from Carcassonne to Albi, where we had lunch. All back roads, and lovely scenery. After Brenda had her first Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese with a fried egg on top...) and we had salads, we were off to the Peage (pay motorway) and Sarlat. Arrived around 4 – on a Saturday – and it was truly a mid-market nightmare! The map we had didn’t have directional indications on it, so it was difficult to follow. Looped around the city a couple of times, and finally got good instructions from the third person R asked! Problem was, when the big market is up (on Saturdays, naturally...) the main street to take luggage up is closed off! So, we parked where we could and schlepped the world’s largest supply of luggage to the hotel, Villa des Consuls. Thank you, Jay and Tommy!! It’s a BEAUTIFUL place! And as Brenda says – you can’t even touch the ceiling!! The apartment we have rented for the week is Montesquieu. It has two big bedrooms, one bath (incredible bathroom!), a large covered private balcony with chaise lounges and table and chairs, big living/dining room, and a kitchen! Wonderful! Settled in – SO nice to be able to have a place to actually put things!! There are also 3 FREE washers and dryers for guest usage! How great is THAT! Then went out for a walk – the market was just being packed up, and things were finally beginning to settle down. Had a good look around town – lovely to be back! Sarlat is a beautiful place, and we’re right in the middle of it! Had dinner at the Moulin de Roy; okay; R and I had entrecote, Brenda had quiche and salad, and Chris had coq au vin; again, lots of chocolate for dessert! Back to the apartment; to bed around 10:30.

So, now I’m just about caught up! Brenda and I both have loads of laundry going, we’re all bathed and ready to go down to breakfast (having it here this morning, as patisseries closed on Sunday...). Think we’ll tour Castelnaud, Domme & Beynac today ... more later!!

Much love,
m