Hotel Renaissance Castres

Hey all,
We were in Carcassonne the other day...

We got off the night train from Paris at 7 am. it was really dark and foggy, so we stayed in the Train station a little while before adventurin out to find our hotel... the hotel was said to be far from the train station, so we decided to take a walk and try to figure out the buses... we walked quite a ways in the fog, We were on a mission to find bus 12, that was the bus that would take us to the hotel... we walked ...

... We went to Casino (no mom it wasn't actually a Casino it was the name of the grocery store) and bought some things for dinner including a bottle of wine.
In the morning we woke up and got all packed and ready to go. The staff at the hotel were super nice and let us leave our bags with them so we could go to the medeival city for the morning before heading back into town. So we headed back to the city and this time took a horse drawn wagon ride around ...

Leaving Las Laous today was *************e was soo sad that even the mountains were crying. Grey cloud filled the valley and the moisture poured from the sky.

At the end of the lane was our road towards Foix announcing the rise to the Col de Peguere. Not as well known as the Col de Port, but much higher. We would leave 947m and rise to 1375m in a mere 3.5km. That means that for every 10m we rode forward, we would be ...

... 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 ...

... for the longer distance. On some, they even have AC outlets. On arrival, There is not much to see. I take the but to the medieval city. As we approach this amazing castle appears. Far more spectacular than anything I have seen to date. It is huge. The castle walls are long, in great condition and imposing as they sit atop of the hill. The castle is a series of additions with the original wall being of Roman origin. As the town grew and as warfare changed the castle walls ...

... to me by one of the girls. I was extremely careful not to touch ANYTHING except the door handle. When I was done I was horrified to find the door wouldn’t open!!! After a few moments panic I realized there was a button to press to release it, such relief! I felt horrible though, and my thongs were sticky for ages after I walked out. Yuck!

That over with we went for a wander around the town, checking out some of the shops and wandering along the walls of the fortress ...

... axes of fists ... good times!

The whole time all I could think of was A Knights Tale, hence the title.

Nothing much else to report, still loving it here, it truly has the most amazing relaxed vibe, it will be sad to leave but I am looking forward to traveling with Ian and Rachelle.

Not long to go now!

Holy **** - I love it here! It is so cool and has such a great atmosphere.

Everyone here is so friendly and it becomes like a family even though the guests are only here for a little while. Yesterday we spent the entire afternoon sitting in a river drinking bottles of Champagne which people had just bought from a vineyard next to the river ...

... was a lot of fun because the conversation was constantly switching between English and French for my benefit I'm sure. Seeing Laura's home and France was really neat and allowed me to see the interworking of a French family. After dinner Laura had planned for us to drive to the local village church for a Basque choir concert. The Basque region is located between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast. They are a ...

... There is always more to it. This 'path' started out like a cut-line littered with boulders. No problem. But soon it was huge rocks that required some skill to climb over or scamper down. Then it added more overgrowth, mainly in the form of thorny shrubs. Before long I had to cross a creek, then cross through it. It's important to note here that I'm dressed only in a shirt, shorts, and sandals. The thorn branches had caught ...