Tuesday May 21, 2019

Blue Skies This Morning

We sleep in a bit this morning and Carol is happy when she returns to the room with a coffee that they let her make in the breakfast room. The breakfasts at the hotels in France are generally extra at about 10 Euro per person and do not look great. Besides the money, we are getting pretty filled up on our one main meal of the day and do not need the calories of a big breakfast. A pastry and coffee is usually more than enough to start our day. For Carol, the coffee is very important and thus that is why she is smiling at the moment. To start our day, we return to the old cite because Carol wants to get a bag to carry some of our board games in, that says Carcassonne on it.

Old Cemetery

We first make a stop in the cemetery just outside the old walls. There are many family tombs here from the 1800’s and 1900’s. We find the many ceramic flowers and small carved stone plaques, with pictures in them of the deceased, very interesting. From the cemetery, we enter the old cite and walk around in search of the perfectly sized and priced bag until voila, she finds it. Mission accomplished, we walk back to the room, and drop it off, before heading down to the lower town. The day has been mostly sunny but there are some clouds on the horizon which worry me. Carol, the optimist, says we are buying our boat tickets anyway so we go to the booth near the canal and buy two tickets for the 1430 boat.

Along Our Walk

It is only a little after 1200 so we find a Boulangerie, buy a loaf of bread, and walk along the canal in the opposite direction of the boat tour. It is turning out to be a beautiful afternoon and we find a nice rock to sit and eat our French bread on.

Carcassonne Lock

Then we make our return walk back, and arrive by the boat dock a little after 1400. They at first tell us the boat does not leave until 1430, but then another lady says we can board now. We get a nice seat right in front and watch the many boats now plying the canal go in and out of the Carcassonne lock. You can rent boats and cruise many canals in France and the Canal Midi is one of the most popular. Our friend, Kelly did just that last fall.

We Are In the Lock

Our time to depart comes and we immediately enter the Carcassonne lock for our turn. It is much different being in the lock than observing it from the shore. The water drops, the doors open and we sail out the other side.

Canal du Midi

As we sail the tree lined path, we learn the history of the Canal du Midi. It was built by Pierre Paul Riquet and authorized by a royal edict from King Louis XIV in 1666. The purpose was to shorten the journey from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.

Tree Lined

The Canal du Midi goes from the Mediterranean through Carcassonne to Toulouse, joining the Garonne River there and then another Canal goes from there to the Atlantic. The Canal du Midi portion took 15 years to build. The whole system is roughly 240 miles and has 116 locks. The locks are open from 0900 to 1900 every day. This feat not only made France more prosperous but provided a way to move goods more safely and efficiently. It also was nice for them to not have to pay Spain and Portugal a tax to go through the Straits of Gibraltar.

Lock Filling Up

We go through one more lock called St Jean before turning around and heading back. This canal, like the one that George Washington did in DC and other early ones started out as a towpath. That means that men and mules pulled the boats along a shoreside path. This all changed with the invention of steam and other engines. The day could not have turned out any better for this trip and we are glad we made the decision to do it today instead of yesterday. On the way back through town, we make a short stop in the free Fine Arts Museum to take a peek. While not having any of the big name artists works, they have some nice pieces from some hometown and area artists.

Coypu

Walking back from the museum, we cross the old bridge again, and I notice movement in the water below. There is a Coypu swimming across the river. Our boat guide had just mentioned this animal and now we see one. It looks similar to a muskrat but more beaver size. I even manage to get a picture although he is swimming away from us. We get back to the room around 1715 and get to rest our feet before we have to head out to dinner.

So Pretty

We are eating in the lower town as we did not like the more tourist oriented restaurants we saw in the old cite. Our choice is Le Ble Noir, a Creperie with a very friendly and nice owner. We get one with duck breast and one with bacon, potatoes and a Roquefort cream sauce. They are both good and then we have the dessert crepes which are even better. I will just have to let the pictures do the talking here.

Carcassonne at Night

After returning to the room, we go out after dark to experience the walls of the cite lit up at night from the old bridge and also up closer by our hotel. The extra walking is worth it as the view is beautiful and awesome. We walk back through the quiet streets and should sleep well tonight. It has been a very good day.

Expenses
Hotel Espace Cite 76.98E
Carcassonne Bag for Carol 2.50E Cash
Bread for Lunch Snack .95E Cash
Canal Midi Boat Tour 17E Cash
Creperie Le Ble Noir 44.50E
Walked 10 Miles