The ship was docked and we were packed and ready for our road trip to visit my brother, Peter, in southern France. We were off the ship by 8:30 with a taxi to the airport to pack up our rental car. By 9:30 we were on the road north headed to Carcassone, France for the night. Our plan was to meet Peter the next day at the train station and spend the day traveling the back roads to his chateau in Bourran. Peter would be our tour guide for that part of the trip.
An interesting little side step on our drive from Spain was using toll roads in both Spain and France, something neither of us remember doing in a very long time. So, all was going well until we went through the toll booth at the border crossing. For some reason the police had the toll gates wide open and seemed to be waving people on, so we drove slowly through but DIDN'T take our toll ticket as we should have…big mistake. We continued on our way another hour or so and took the exit for the gorgeous walled village of Carcassone. And here came our troubles. Without our toll ticket we could not get off the motorways and into the town. The toll booths were automated so there was no one to whom I could explain our predicament. Only option was to see if I could find someone around. I headed off to what looked to be an office a little ways off, but that was also empty. Paul parked the car off to the side, and I went looking for anyone who might help us. I saw an older gentleman waiting near his car and after some language and hand signals (he had way more English than I had French) he got the jist of my problem and walked over to the booth to help me out; he pushed a button, spoke to someone explaining our situation and told me the amount of the toll to pay. So happy when the gate opened and Pk drove on over to meet up with me. And..yes, travel can be a bit stressful!
Our hotel for the night was right at the base of the walled city, Cite de Carcassonne, a medieval fortress dating from the 6th Century and restored in 1853. It is a lively and active city with shops, restaurants and museums making you feel as though you've walked into life from hundreds of years ago. It has two outer walls with 53 towers to prevent attack, its own drawbridge and ditch leading to a central keep. One section is Roman and different from the medieval walls. One of the towers was used during the Catholic Inquisition in the 13th century and is still known as the Inquisition Tower. Under Napoleon the fortified Cite de Carcassonne fell into such disrepair that the French Government decided it should be demolished. When that was announced in 1849 a campaign to preserve the fortress began, thank goodness!!! Plans were changed and renovations were begun creating the beautiful historical site of today.
But it was time for lunch, so we found a table outside and enjoyed a tasty meal before walking all around the beautiful cobblestone streets
Our last stop was at the Cathedral.
Later that evening we drove into the town to get some meds for Paul's cold and cough which was just beginning. Being the day after Easter it was a holiday in France and everything was closed, except one pharmacy. I stood in line behind a gated entry where 2 assistants took prescriptions or in my case, the best meds I could get with my hand signals, then disappeared to the back of the store for a bit before returning with package. Amazing how it all worked and in about 20 minutes I had some cold tablets for PK.
We met up with Peter the next morning at the train station in the pouring rain but we were excited to be off the autoways and into smaller tiny villages and back roads for the day. We stopped to take a look at Emily's favorite chateau, though I don't remember the name of it.
By afternoon the clouds were gone and we had beautiful blue skies on the rest of our drive.
One of the tiny one way bridges going north to Burron.
Just before getting to Peter's, we stopped to see the canal barges parked along the Lot River with a beautiful sun setting on the horizon.
Peter and Richard have been working on this large and beautiful property for several years and it's always fun to visit and see the changes they've made since our last visit, a year and a half ago.
We had lunch out along the arcade, what we should call a patio, and ended up spending our 3 days completely at the house. Why go anywhere else…it was so beautiful with great cooking from Peter and Richard.
This is the enclosed yard looking towards the front of the main house.
The view below is looking from our bedroom doorway.
One of the newest changes was the addition of more windows and doors. I think Peter told me they have installed over 68 new white framed windows to the house. I loved the "chapel" windows they'd used, not easy when you're adding a contemporary window to a 400 year old stone house. They find so many of their supplies on the French version of our Craig's List, not sure where the door had come from. When we entered this space there were several rooms which could easily become a small one bedroom apartment.
This is the second building on the property and the home of the up and coming vinegar business they are starting.
Peter's flowering petunia baskets are all around and look striking on the stone walls.
Yes, it is this large...
While we were there Peter wanted to move the jacuzzi tub into the master bathroom they'd just completed.
So, with Paul's help the three of them carried the large tub into the room and got it settled. It looked beautiful!
The photos below give an idea of the state of most of the rooms in the house before the creative ideas and renovations begin.
All the windows in these photos are new to the house.
After getting the tub in the room, it was time to figure out the directions for connecting it. They didn't have it working yet by the time we left, but I've heard from Peter since and it's working perfectly now!
Out last morning, we took a walk down to the river and this is the view looking back
To show me the size of this old sycamore near the side yard Peter gave it a hug to give the perspective of its size.
I got a couple photos of Peter, Richard, Jack and Cinderella.
and one of Peter and me.
After a wonderful 4 days we left Friday afternoon for our drive back into Spain. We were spending the night in Figueres to visit the Dali Museum first thing the next morning. But I'm sure next time we're back, we'll be amazed at the new additions to their chateau.
