It was a very early start this morning for this, our Autumn jolly to celebrate my birthday later this week.  We left James at home with a list and set off in the early evening to stay overnight at the Heathrow Sofitel, waiting up to meet Edward who arrived late from a Parliamentary reception.  All safely gathered in, we set our alarms for 5am.

The advantage to such an early start was that by mid-morning we were well on our way, on the autoroute towards Montpellier.

We had to get the Euro purse out quick though, for the peage!

We’re in Cassoulet country.  Someone is planning a sampling.

A small detour took us along the Canal du Midi, looking rather lovely in the early Autumn sunshine.

Soon, we were almost there. The medieval turrets of Carcassonne came into view and there was just time to take a quick snap.

We had elaborate parking instructions but in reality, it was all pretty sketchy.  A young man pointed to a space in a bit of scrubby grassland before suggesting that we might prefer the security of the hotel car parking area, complete with transfer for ourselves and our luggage – at a cost, needless to say. 

The parking area looked just the same and we couldn’t see any additional security, but thinking that we didn’t really want to be trucking out suitcases down through the streets to somewhere unknown, we agreed and piled into this tiny car to be driven through narrow streets, scattering an assortment of tourists along the way.

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We were soon making ourselves at home in our turret then, opening windows and looking out over the city.  It was a beautiful afternoon and we were eager to get our bearings and explore a little.

The narrow streets and picturesque alleyways were exactly as we’d imagined and though there were quite a few tourists about, there was plenty of space for all.

In the marketplace we stopped for a drink and a bite to eat.

Cassoulet of course!

Over the next couple of days, there will be time to explore this lovely place in more detail, but for now, we simply enjoyed the view and were glad to be here.

Even better this evening when everyone else has gone home and we seem to have the city almost to ourselves!