Fasthotel Carcassonne

... walked... 1 hour later we were so close to the hotel that we just walked the rest of the way... it was about 5 km... not bad!!! <br>We got to the hotel and they let us check in right away (9am), it was sweet... we checked in and then walked to the medival city (that we passed but couldn't see in the fog), the city was about a kilometer away, we walked up to it and WOW, thats all &gt;I can say... if you are ever in the South of France or passing through, you NEED to go there ...

... down next to me for 1 second...it was pretty entertaining haha. We asked at the train station where our hotel was but they could only tell us that it was too far to walk. So once it became light out we decided we'd go do some exploring. We were looking at a map and then some nice guy who didn't speak french passed us and ended up saying we should go to Tourist Information where they would be able to help us. Luckily it was only about 20 feet away...but ...

... 1.2m on average. However, the start of the hill was a whopping 18% grade pitch which spells O.U.C.H.!<br><br> By far the hardest climb either of us have ever done. Pitch so steep that the front end of the bikes kept lifting of the pavement while we cycled. Not that we cycled much. After 3 weeks out of practice we were both stopping about every 20m or so to catch our breath. Talk about slow progress! Gravity pulling us ...

... every place where we have stayed for only one night. Claude and his family were very nice and we were very welcomed in their home. We took a group picture and then began the short jaunt to Carcassonne. We were their in 45 minutes. The view from the highway was spectacular!! I would have loved to have gotten a picture from there, but alas, I did not. The city started as a ...

... Unfortunately when we got to the end of the wall I found myself 6ft up and struggling to find a way down! Particularly on a windy day wearing a knee length dress! I think I left some of my dignity behind at the Carcassone Old Town &#8211; some in the public loo and some on the wall! <br><br>We found some awesome biscuit shops and also had possibly my last French crepe. This time I went for the Grand Marnier which had sugar, Grand Marnier and orange juice. Yum! <br><br>After exploring ...

... She married a fisherman 50 years ago and moved to France. We talk a few minutes as she rests (it is at the top of hill on a hot morning). She leaves, satisified that I can speak Spanish, and says &#8220;goodbye handsome&#8221; in Spanish. <br><br>I love the pastries in France. On the way to the bus, I pick up croissants of chocolate and of apples. Yum! The bus is only E1 anywhere within the vicinity of the main town Perpignan. A train would be closer to E5. No baggage service ...

... had to the foresight to book the hotel on the bus route to Trebes where we were due to pick up our boat that afternoon. He earnt even more brownie points when the local bus actually pulled up right outside the canal port. We had learnt by email earlier in the week that we had been upgraded to a bigger boat for free, we were a little nervous that due to its size it might be harder to drive. Mechanics were still fiddling with the engine so dumped our gear on board. We were very ...

... at sat nav "what the blo**y hell are we doing here, it's in the middle of nowhere" I waved the map book at it, threatened it with vile electronic undoing's and asked it to go via a larger town, that way I could pick up a road that made much more sense. Did it ever whinge and whine once I drove my way. Anyway to cut a long story short after a couple more exasperated stops I finally managed to get ...

Monday July 14th, was Bastille Day, a French national holiday, that recognizes the storming of the Bastille (a prison), in 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Brian's co-workers had been encouraging us to visit Carcassonne to see the "City of Fire" fireworks After being told that the usual 1 hour car ride would become about 7 hours after the fireworks, we decided to see if we could get a train ticket instead. To ...

... is easy on the eyes so we explored to our hearts content. The birthday lunch was indeed spectacular. All 7 courses! If you were on a quest for tiramisu you might not expect it on such a hoighty-toighty menu but it is available and much to our surprise it is topped with gold leaf. But that is Le Louis for you. It makes you think you were in Versailles. Ooh la la! Our lease on Monaco was all too short and it was time to speed back ...