Hotel De La Cite Carcassonne

... to enjoy each-others company.

But as time passed I felt increasingly constricted, both literally and figuratively. The house was a dust trap, with cats and dogs everywhere. It wreaked serious havoc on my lungs, and got progressively worse. At night I didn't so much fall asleep, as go unconscious due to oxygen deprivation. I also felt constricted with regards to my personal space. Most of the house was without electricity, and therefore had no lighting, so I ...

I can't complain about my tasks here at Tabithas. When I first arrived we spent a couple days working on the driveway, patching holes in the gravel, and pouring cement gutters to prevent too much water running down and forming grooves. The driveway is long, and seriously rutted in sections, a lot of work remains. Something ...

... than Donald the Duck. He's big, easily three times the size of a normal duck, and he's mean. He rules the show here. When I first arrived at the farm he waddled straight for me. "Watch out, he bites" Tabitha warned. I slowly backed away but he persisted. Thankfully he's slow, so I'm always able to keep a safe distance. Even if there is a group of people he still always comes for me. Maybe he can sense my love of all things duck, from a ...

I've come from the land of pig, olives and tomatoes, and landed right in the middle of wine country. The scenery here is dominated by perfectly straight rows of grape vines, climbing their way up the rolling foot hills of the Pyrenees. With strong influences from both the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the area allows for slow even ripening of the grapes.

When I was in Carcassone I was approached by some sort of religious missionary (I didn't really care to ask him ...

... characters compete for my attention. I get lots of curious stares, I'm sure I stick out like a sore thumb. One man stops to talk to me, quickly switching to English. He's tall with shaggy brown hair, sporting torn jeans and an old grey sweater. As a matter of chance he works as a volunteer at a community center for the poor, I don't pass up the opportunity to join him there.

Escambi, or "exchange" is a small room with poor fluorescent lighting, and no windows. A single ...

... walk and passing by a nearby hotel, a taxi pulled up to drop off some passengers and was quite happy to then take us on our way. He was quite amusing, as we drove over a bridge he pointed out to us his home - the view was of the castle and old city walls. He said the front tower was his kitchen. We then passed an old building with walls (concrete slabs) falling down and he informed us the it ...

... a family from Nottingham. In the morning, we drove back to Carcassonne. Carcassonne was a walled town that once withstood a seige by Charlemagne. It is terribly touristy and was really crowded by the time we left (at 11am) but as usual, Rick Steves provided us with a great crowd-busting itinerary. We strolled the ramparts and checked out a few of the shops, and headed back to our car for the drive to Provence.

... french baguettes FLAVOUR! FLAVOUR! WhooHoo we have something to look forward to :) Yesterday we toured Carcassone = a walled medieval city built in the 12th century. From a distance it looks like a fairytale walled city with towers, drawbridges, churches etc. Henry was quite enthralled with the original state of the structure. La Cite as it is ...

... it all, we moved on again. Beziers After we found the hotel, we drove into town. There is a cathedral here to be seen, but it was all locked up. It actually sits on top of a hill and looks more like a fortress. The town is nice, but we were only here for the evening, so we kicked back, drank a load of wine and then died for the night. Carcassonne Some say that this is the premier walled town in Europe, whilst ...

... on the corner. In the afternoon the square was covered with tables and chairs for eating and drinking. We wanted to find the old town...the citadel...so set off on foot in the general direction. Not very successfully. So we returned to the main square. We passed all manner of small dingy shops. They do not have the large window displays that we are used to in the west. Let alone the covered awnings of OZ and the neon lighting of everywhere else. Very basic here but ...