The last evening in Carcassone was so incredible I half expected a rainbow with a unicorn any minute. As the sun set behind us, the amber light on the fortress walls became more pronounced each time I looked up. About a hundred jackdaws (crow-like birds with a sweet song) were swooping around, trying to decide where to stay for the evening. The swifts darted around the turrets catching dinner, and soon the bats came out.
After much discussion today we are moving on to Spain! We’ve never been there so we are really excited! We have a 4 hour drive which will include a border crossing, which we believe will be fairly straightforward.
Once again the sun coming up in the morning behind our fortress was striking. And now the plum trees are in full bloom. It looks like I used a filter on this picture, but I did not.
We didn’t stay long in the other side of the city, across the river. It looked like a French suburb of sorts, and I wondered aloud if our lady from the shoe store lived over there. The river is called the Aude, and runs 224 kilometers from the Pyrenees mountains, moving fast through Carcasonne, then on to the Mediterranean Sea. The park next to the river was beautiful, with people fishing, birds chirping, and a lovely wooded area and playground.
There are so many types of trees here I’ve never seen, of course, and I was lagging behind trying to identify them with my nerd tree app. This pine cone was the size of a softball and was so dense it was actually heavyyyyyyy! Mike said I can’t bring it home haha, but he estimated it weighed more than a baseball.
I was so worth another trip up to the fortress/church/castle, because the sun was out! So here’s a couple of repeats with better lighting.
The gargoyles really showed up against the blue sky.
Everyone who didn’t go out in the rain the day before was there now, and shops and restaurants were really bustling!
It’s really too bad how much cigarette smoking there is and how they allow it in public areas. There was a big courtyard with like 5 restaurants around it. People were enjoying food and drinks, but always always there are many people smoking and Mike has no tolerance. Even the workers at the restaurants will stand outside on break and smoke right by the front door.
So we had pasta and sauce at home and relaxed. It looks like there will be a vote in the Senate on Thursday, so hopefully when we head back to France, things will be smooth!
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