I
woke up a little after 6a this morning. I did not want to get out of bed. I had
to make myself. “I can sleep at home.”
Breakfast
was decent. I had a croissant with cream cheese on it, some cheddar cheese and
a fruit cup. All this wheat is making my knees hurt I think, but it is
difficult to avoid. It’s all they eat here. It’s also messed up my digestion.
But I won’t go into that!
After
breakfast, I drove to Puylaurens. I was early. I got there about 9a and they
don’t open until 10a. So, I wandered around the village. There is a river that
runs through it, well actually it’s probably a large creek. The village name is
Lapradelle-Puilaurens, or in Occitan Lapradèla-Puèglaurenç.
 |
| Puylaurens from the Village |
At
10a I went up to the fortress. Admission was €4. The hike was not that bad. It
was a little dangerous in places if you weren’t careful. [The French have no
problem letting you fall off the mountain if you’re going to be stupid.]
 |
| Beautiful Country |
 |
| Flowers Find a Way |
 |
| Puylaurens Courtyard |
I
spent about an hour there. There was one barrel, hmm, not barrel vaulted, a
different kind of vault. I forget what they call it, but it has four ribs that
come to a point in the middle.
 |
| I'm not an architect - Groin Vault? |
After
that I drove to Puivert. It was very interesting. It cost €5 to go in, and the
donjon was pretty much still intact. It had apparently been occupied since the
middle ages until the revolution by the same family. It was not altered
supposedly, so [it] is one of the most authentic and intact medieval castles in
all of Europe. I need to read up on it when I get home. They had horses grazing
there too.
 |
| Puivert Castle |
 |
| Chapel in Puivert |
After
that I came back to Carcassonne about 8p. I took the tour of the castle
(donjon) and ramparts. Unfortunately I missed the guided tour of the western
ramparts beause the last one I saw leaving was in French and I mistakenly
thought there would be one in English. Next time! It cost €8.50, and was worth
it. I spent about 2 hours there. They had a museum with stone work from the
walls, or other buildings nearby.
I
ate dinner at Le Trouvere. Their burger was mediocre, I was disappointed
because they used to be so good. It was on plain white commercial bun, which
hadn’t even been toasted. Meh. And their service sucked tonight. I might eat
somewhere else tomorrow. I want more Cassoulet!
I
got an icecream cone, gelato, (not as good as in Italy) and walked around the
lists a few times. I was going to wait until it got dark but I was very tired
so I came on back here.
I
took a shower. I washed my clothes in the shower, including my pants. I hope
they dry. They were incredibly difficult to wring out, even though they seem so
light weight.
Tomorrow
I am going to Montségur and Foix I think. I don’t know if I’ll climb Montségur.
I’ll have to see how my knees feel. It’s on the way to Foix though so I’ll at
least stop in the village.
