Origin: Castelnaudary, Maison du Cassoulet 24 Cours de la Republique
Destination: Carcassonne, La Demeure de la Cite 3 Rue Saint Jean
We decided to take the road today after reading about the poor canal trail condition on this stretch.
Fields of sunflowers, grains and grapes lined our ride into Bram, an attractive small town built in concentric circles. At the center plaza, we stopped and met Philippe who was cycling the canal with his 14 yr old dog in a burley-type trailer. (We will meet up with these two at least four more times in the hours and days ahead.)
Today was a scorcher and riding on the road (a stretch of which new gravel just laid as part road resurfacing) made it worse. In Villesquelande, we took a 2 hr lunch break at La Halte Romaine with three other groups of canal cyclists to wait out the mid day heat. We reached Carcassonne around 4:00.
The view from the pedestrian bridge of this hilltop UNESCO World Heritage Site. The medieval walled citadel was breathtakingly beautiful with its many towers and ramparts and patches of contemporary art-paint.
The initial walls were built during Roman times, the interior double wall and castle were built during 12th and 13th centuries. We impulsively chose a shortcut to reach the main gate...a narrow walking path up a steep slope and were assisted by a young man from Mexico and his French friend when the weight of the bikes and the two trailers looked to be too much for us. So grateful for kind strangers.
Inside the medieval walled city, we walked our bikes slowly through the crowds of tourists to our lodging La Demeure de la Cite.
Kristin and family arrived at 5:30, we explored the interior walls, streets, basilica, had dinner and enjoyed cones of homemade gelato, talking with the gelato makers about their business.
Too little time here in this amazing place. So nice to be continuing this segment with Kristin, Benny, Korcho and Sinta.
Destination: Carcassonne, La Demeure de la Cite 3 Rue Saint Jean
We decided to take the road today after reading about the poor canal trail condition on this stretch.
Today was a scorcher and riding on the road (a stretch of which new gravel just laid as part road resurfacing) made it worse. In Villesquelande, we took a 2 hr lunch break at La Halte Romaine with three other groups of canal cyclists to wait out the mid day heat. We reached Carcassonne around 4:00.
The view from the pedestrian bridge of this hilltop UNESCO World Heritage Site. The medieval walled citadel was breathtakingly beautiful with its many towers and ramparts and patches of contemporary art-paint.
The initial walls were built during Roman times, the interior double wall and castle were built during 12th and 13th centuries. We impulsively chose a shortcut to reach the main gate...a narrow walking path up a steep slope and were assisted by a young man from Mexico and his French friend when the weight of the bikes and the two trailers looked to be too much for us. So grateful for kind strangers.
Inside the medieval walled city, we walked our bikes slowly through the crowds of tourists to our lodging La Demeure de la Cite.
Kristin and family arrived at 5:30, we explored the interior walls, streets, basilica, had dinner and enjoyed cones of homemade gelato, talking with the gelato makers about their business.
Too little time here in this amazing place. So nice to be continuing this segment with Kristin, Benny, Korcho and Sinta.
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