Inter Hotel Espace Cite Carcassonne

... was ****in awesome... google it to see what I mean... the craziest part about it is that people still live there...in the city! it is about 3 km around the whole thing, it is super cute inside, there are cafès and shops, a church and many old old buildnig where people still live!<br>We walked back to the hotel later and relaxed, then we went on a hunt for the grocery store, to our surprise, the "casino" across the highway was the store, Casino is just the name for the super ...

... to walk to the medeival city...which it turns out we passed on the way but couldn't really see because of the fog. So we walked the 1 km (which I think was more) back to the city. It was pretty cool. Its a small city contained within its original medeival walls within the modern city of carcassonne. Within the walls are a bunch of little shops, restaurants, cafes, even a hotel, and there is also a population of 120 people that live within the walls. It ...

... of need to cycle was only going to make the chill worse. Putting on a few more layers under my now soaked-from-the-inside rain jacket I was a ready as I could be. <br><br>Gradually descending at a 2.5% decline the wind wasn't too fierce. But soon I gained speed as it grew to 3%, 4.5%, 7%, and finally 8%. Still I scoffed at the idea of lame cyclists who may approach the Col in this direction! But the length of the decline ...

... 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 ...

... 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&#8217;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!<br><br>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 ...

... bus office before it closes at 12:30 for lunch. The office which had lots of customers in it is now empty and my bag is in the corner, sticking out. I pretend as though everything is normal. I as k a question then pick up my bag.<br><br>The train station is a 20 minute walk. I have enough time to stop into a lovely, local restaurant. I have some melon with ham then duck. Very nice. <br><br>I take the train to Carcassonne. The trains are pretty nice for the most part ...

... to Narbonne, we found out that tomorrow (the 8th May) is a French holiday so we weren't sure if the locks would be open. It was another cracker day so we hung out on the deck with the rest of the crew. The locks in this stretch were all automatic which were actually easier than having to deal with the often slow grumpy lockkeepers. What we found amusing was that just like the humans, the auto lock shut down for an hour at lunchtime!! Only in France! By the time we got to Narbonne ...

... stricte conditiile. Peste vin de pays mai urmeaza VSDQ si AOC. Pe inserat am ajuns la Carcassonne, total intampator si neplanificat, un oras fortificat, parte din patrimoniul UNESCO. Am intrat in cetate cu intentia de a servi cina, dar ne-am plimbat pe stradutele inguste, printre alte mii de turisti pana ne-am dat seama ca se face tarziu si riscam sa ramanem flamanzi. Pe poarta fortaretei intrau in numere uriase oameni deosebit de eleganti ...

... dromi dans une auberge a l'interieur meme de la cite, ce qui fut tres impressionnant! Le lendemain, c 'etait deja le depart pour Toulouse, mais nous avons pris le temps de visiter la cathedrale et le chateau de la cite qui date, soit dit en passant, du debut du 12e siecle! En resume, on peut dire que de se retrouver dans une famille francaise nous a fait le plus grand bien du monde! Fannie xxx

I cant seem to remember where we left off, so... Madrid was so much more pleasant temperature wise. Even though it was still 37, the wind kept us relatively cool...OK so did the sangria, but that's Spanish life for you. We had a militant hostel stay, but the time spent out was well worth the few hours of dictatorial rule. We attended a bull fight. We wont dwell on this as Karen would rather forget it. There was ...