Villages on the Canal du Midi

 Because the organization decided that it was not safe to row in the afternoons in the searing heat, we were able to take things a bit more leisurely. Normally, every minute of every day is accounted for - great because you have no time to think about the bits that are hurting, great that you don't need to make any decisions, everything is decided for you.

But this year we had the privilege of wandering around Carcassonne, Le Somail,  and on the last day, around Capestang. I'll talk about Carcassonne first.

Carcassonne is a hilltop town in southern France’s Languedoc area, and is famous for its medieval citadel, La Cité, with numerous watchtowers and double-walled fortifications. The first walls were built in Gallo-Roman times, with major additions made in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The double walls were so that Important Family could be safe in the thick walls of the citadel with another ring of stones again outside that. The Important Family was doubly protected.

The double walls also mean that the stone around La Citie holds all of that 42 degrees of heat very efficiently, and as we walked around on a tour, I thought I was going to expire. After 10 minutes standing listening to the information I peeled off and sat in a bar with my new best drink (so refreshing) of Perrier and 'syrop peche'. And when that didn't stem the neck canals, I moved on to another bar for a cocktail (thinking ice).

We were booked in for a wine degustation - high hopes when we walked into the bar and there was air con, but alas, we were to gather upstairs, on a balcony, in the afternoon sun. To Drink Wine. I peeled off again, more Perrier (are you starting to see where the toilet observations started? All that liquid, no need to pee).

La Citie was where the original Inquisition was, before the Spanish Inquisition. A Battle of Religion. Say no more. Actually I should be able to say more but as i have confessed, I peeled off and didn't finish listening to the tour. Sorry.

So here are a few shots of Carcassonne,  trying to capture the details of small corners, neck rivers, because the hugeness of it needs a drone.








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