FB9: The end of Southern France, Carcassonne

I pushed very heavily to get Carcassonne, specifically Cite de Carcassonne, as it is properly called,  onto the trip itinerary.  We planned this trip before Portugal and Spain.  I wanted Miles to see an awesome walled city.  It is still every bit as awesome, even after the castles on that trip.

After two hours of driving, from Nimes, we arrived at the drawbridge.  We parked and used a shuttle to get our luggage to our hotel, the... Best Western?  Yes, one of the very few hotels within the walls of the castle is a Best Western.  It was the only one with rooms left when we booked.  Their lobby is in one building with a few rooms and they have other satellite buildings in town with other rooms.



At this point, we were hungry.  We sat down at a restaurant that the hotel recommended.  They served us water with a logo that looked oddly familiar...



We walked along the streets of the town in a circle, stopping and looking in shops along the way.  We glanced in the Saint Nazaire church, which had funky creatures carved into the sides.  Inside,there was a beautiful stained glass and a quartet with incredible voices.  Unfortunately, they weren't singing Phish songs, so we didn't stay for long.



One store was selling a boardgame that I had introduced to Miles before the trip.  It was fairly appropriate to sell it here.



We ended up at the tourist office, and I noticed that there was a haunted house in town.  Miles was very excited about this.



It was twenty minutes long, divided into rooms with effects, and then the doors would open and we would move through corridors to the next room.  It was just Miles and I(Jeremy was too scared) and a couple that only spoke French.  One room had growling noises.  Another had a glass floor that vibrated and showed a video of us falling, a few workers jumped out with ghoul masks, and the ending was a video with a story, all in French with no subtitles.  Miles was a little scared, but at the end, they introduced the workers who dressed as ghouls.  Miles really seemed to like that.

Next was inside the Chateau Comtal, the inside of the innermost castle, and a walk around the walls.  By this point, it had started to rain.  Luckily, we had brought jackets with hoods, as it looked like rain clouds were headed our way.  We slowly made our way around the castle and one side of the walls.  It had a beautiful view and varying towers along the way.



After dinner, we walked along the walkway that was in between two sets of walls, just outside the inner city.  There were some beautiful views to be had and Miles and I had a glorious water bottle sword fight.  Miles disarmed me and I declared, "I surrender."   A woman walked around the corner at that moment and said, "Never surrender," with a smile.  It was extra funny because so very few people here speak English!  Tomorrow, we drop off the rental car at the train station an hour away, and then take a 5 and a half hour train ride to Paris.