Journal Entry: Puylaurens & Puivert

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.