Etap Hotel Carcassonne La Cite

I have many favourite sayings. One of them goes something like this; "everyone brings joy to this house, some by coming, some by leaving." Of course there is the flip-side to that. Some places I'm happy to see, some places I'm happy to leave. I suppose, as a traveler, leaving should always bring joy. I mean, if you're not moving anywhere, then you're not really traveling are you? Of course leaving some places bring more joy than others.

I have been known, on ...

... me that this isn't the first time holes have been patched and gutters dug. Its a losing battle, but it must be waged.

At times I've spent hours alone in the garden, happily picking away at weeds. The last couple days her and I have helped a friend of hers, Terri, tend his plot of land that previously housed a vineyard ...

Animals. This place is filled with animals. The goats roam free, grazing where they please. Sweetie the dog, constantly close by, a sucker for attention. The cats spend their days eating, napping and cleaning themselves; but I guess that's what cats do. I've never understood the appeal myself. A rooster and four hens; egg layers that have all but ceased to lay eggs, destined for the oven soon, I suppose.

But no animal deserves more ...

... civilized patrons milling about and sampling wines, I felt a little bit like a hobo. Lucky for us Tabby knew the girls working there, and knew the wines very well.

We tasted three wines, and listened to Tabby explain why we tasted them in the order that we did, what to taste for, and some basic wine theory. I have only a rudimentary understanding of wine, and I would be lost to explain the information she imparted on us, but it was a real pleasure to listen to ...

... 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 ...

... thats for sure. The only thing I missed was getting rid of the smoke smell from burning the fields and having the bon fire at Kwantu!
We had some time to waste still until our train left to head for Venice...so we found an internet cafe and spent some time in there, and then made our way to the train station. We got on our train to Venice which had a few stops and transfers to get there...but eventually we'll make it there!

Talk to you from Venice!

... round spired towers as inspiration for his castle. As it was a French national holiday it was rammed full of people but it was very beautiful with narrow streets and old buildings. Back at the hotel we all had a short nap before returning to town to visit an Italian restaurant for dinner. For some reason the food came out at hugely different times, for example the girls had finished before I even saw my mains! 2nd May - Carcassonne We all woke up late and checked out of the hotel ...

... don't like arriving in new locations in the dark at rush hour, so not funny, in fact downright terrifying at times. So we had a run in, my sat nav and me, I ended up pulling over asking it outright "exactly where are we?" Smart **** sat nav gives me an exact grid reference and then grudgingly tells me where the nearest village is and what the road number is. I consult my friend the French road atlas and ...

... city and found a little town square with a concert going on. So we found a little cafe and shared a bottle of wine and listened to the music. It was truly a great way to experience the south of France.

... poverty. She was also regarded as the goddess of chance which comes in handy in a place like this. We played some roulette, some black jack and some slots. We won some, we lost some, but having a microscopic amount to play with compared to those whose elbows we rubbed we somehow didn't make it on Fortuna's good list. Perhaps we left before she had a chance to decide but we didn't want to leave her with a bad impression either. All of ...