Day 16 – Carcassone, France

Today was physically challenging, primarily because Ubers don’t really exist in Carcassonne, it’s almost impossible to get a taxi, and public transportation takes longer than just walking in most places. We got up and packed our bags to bring to a luggage storage – many smaller train stations don’t have a place to stash your bags, but carrying around giant backpacks for hours while trying to sightsee is not ideal. So what is a tourist to do? Luckily many shops will store your luggage for you – for a price. We paid 39€ to store six bags at a place that was theoretically a four-minute walk from our Airbnb but was actually 18 minutes.

This brings us back to the transportation issue – when we called for a taxi to take the bags to storage, we were told it would be at least an hour. So we hoofed it. And then, we hoofed it back because our Airbnb was right next to the old cité, which is where we spent our day.

By then, it was almost 11am, and we were all getting hangry – Katie and me in particular. To help stave off the crankiness, we stopped for ice cream and croissants as we walked back to the castle.

Our main activity of the day was wandering through the Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne. Its history stretches back to the Neolithic Age, but the history we know of starts in Roman times when it was an outpost for the Roman Empire. Over time, the city was built up and fortified as it traded hands many times until, finally, the city was ceded to the Kingdom of France in 1247.

Once we walked into the walled fortress, we headed for food. There are many, many restaurants and souvenir shops housed in the remains of stone shops and houses from Carcasonne’s earlier days. We split for lunch as Addie, and I searched for a vegetarian-friendly place to eat. We ended up at a quaint restaurant called Le Petit Puits where we feasted on pasta with tomato and garlic sauce, parmesan cheese, and a simple salad. I enjoyed a glass of red wine – I have yet to be disappointed in any wine we’ve tried in France. Dessert was yogurt with honey, which is quickly becoming a family favorite.

After lunch, we explored the Carcassonne Cathedral, built in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 14th century after being damaged by war. The stained glass windows were impressive, flooding the interior with beautiful light.

From there, we went to the Château Comtal (built in the 12th century) to explore the interior of the building and towers and walk along the ramparts. It was super fun until it wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, there were so many amazing things to see, like frescoes, sculptures, and architecture from medieval times, and gorgeous views of Carcassone and the Pyrenees in the distance. However, the citadel has 52 towers. By the end of our walk, we had climbed over 20 flights.

Naturally, such a physically demanding hike through the Château called for smoothies and crêpes! We had just enough time to grab both before our scheduled taxi drive to pick up our bags. Sadly, the taxi we called for did not arrive, so we had to split into two taxis. My driver was not happy about taking us anywhere but the train station, and after yelling at me, that’s where he took us. From there, Addie, Priscilla, and I walked to pick up our bags about 11 minutes away. We were most of the way back when Kendra, Evan, and Kate caught up to us, and we all trekked to the train station with plenty of time to spare.

The ride to our next destination, Toulouse, was quick – just over an hour. Addie and Kate played war and talked about their summer camp experiences from last year; Evan spent his time reading his latest Rick Riordan series – The Trials of Apollo, while the adults tried to catch some sleep.

The taxi situation didn’t get much better in Toulouse. The driver didn’t want to take us and insisted it was a close walk – just five minutes. We persisted, but only three of us could squeeze into the car, so I took all the bags, Addison, and Kate, in a cab to the Airbnb while Kendra, Evan, and Priscilla walked the 20 minutes to us. They stopped for groceries while the girls helped me carry all the luggage to the fourth-floor flat.

Our big surprise of the day came when Kendra called out from the shower for me to “Please come right now.” She had discovered a gecko perched on the wall in the bathroom. There were mixed reactions, ranging from disposing of it to Kate wanting to keep it as a pet. The solution was to let it be so it could find its way out of the apartment.

While folks unpacked and showered, I made dinner – pasta three ways (pesto, bolognese, and butter with salt), salad, and a baguette with butter (and more red wine!). Dessert was brownies. We’ve settled in for the night, listening to the rolling thunder and patter of rain on the windows. Evan is back to reading, and everyone else is resting. I am excited to see what tomorrow brings as we explore this new city!