As we thought about ending our boat trip, we decided to turn in the boat Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning. We had to have it back by 9 AM anyway, so probably would have stayed in Le Somail for the night.
The lead picture above is the sunrising right over the canal on a beautiful, still morning. We stopped in Ventenac for lunch and a look around. The ladies were shopping for a bit, so
Jon and I took a break. This is not an uncommon event on the trip. Jon and I hanging out while commerce is being conducted. After lunch, we motored on down the canal and arrived at Le Somail about 2:30, checked in the boat, and headed for Carcassonne.
While we were in Homps, Caroline and Jeanne had found a nice B&B (of Chambre d'Hotes as the French call them) to stay in. It was a bit of an adventure finding the place to park and finding the B&B, but we finally got there. It was a good thing the proprietor spoke English, or we might not have ever made it! The B&B was inside the castle walls.
After settling in to the B&B, we headed off to find some sustenance and explore the city a bit. The old part of Carcassonne, or Cité de Carcassone where we were, was originally enclosed in a wall by the Romans in about 100 BC. It has been occupied by various groups including Visigoths. Because of its location near the current border between France and Spain, it was a strategic spot for defense. In the 1100s it became the stronghold of the Cathars, a heretical sect of Christians. It seems the main heresy was dualistic God, one good and one evil. The crusaders of 1209 besieged the city and captured it. It was eventually given to the King of France and was an important fortress for the French until the Spanish border was moved west to the Pyrenees. Enough history.
As we were wandering around we heard a
street band. Not sure where they were from, but I'm guessing English speaking countries.
They were OK and certainly energetic. The last song we heard was sung by the drummer, who was introduced as a Texan. It was made famous in the US by Roger Miller and has the chorus line, Dang me, dang me, take a rope and hang me, high from the highest tree, woman won't you weep for me. We come all the way to Carcassonne to sing along with a Roger Miller song <grin>.
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the walls.
Then I stumbled onto the statue of a
goddess that was incredibly well preserved over the centuries. It was almost life like.
