Stocked

The time had come to leave Collioure, a place we will remember with great affection and would recommend to anyone for a peaceful stay in a beautiful spot. I must admit to a feeling of regret at having to move on.

Our journey to Carcassonne involved two rail trips, beginning with a twenty-minute jump-off at Perpignan (returning to one of the stops on our French trip four years ago). We had an hour and a half to wait before continuing on to Carcassonne, so stopped off for breakfast in a café near the railway station. A further hour on the wonderful French railway system saw us arrive in Carcassonne. First impressions as we walked along Rue Georges Clemenceau were not good. It was narrow, and had a generally run-down look and feel about it. We'd arranged to be at our apartment at 2:00 pm, so had some time to pass in a little bar on the way. A guy there came over to ask if my X100 was a Leica, and we had a bit of a chat about photography before walking on pulling our cases behind us until finally meeting our host on Square Gambetta.

The apartment was a big disappointment after our wonderful chateau in Collioure, and our host was too cursory when it came to showing us round and giving us information. It wasn't long before we left and called into the tourist office for a map and some advice. We needed lunch, but had already found that everywhere was closed until evening time, and that our best bet would be to head for the world-renowned Cité instead. It was only in the tourist office that we learned that the bus which goes up to the Cité stops very close to our apartment.

We missed one bus and had a forty minute wait for the next, during which time we decided we'd take a taxi if one came along. None did. The bus ride only cost €1, and only took fifteen minutes. We had originally thought of visiting the Cité tomorrow, but here we were, a day in advance, entering the extraordinary pretend mediaeval structure through the Narbonne Gate a day early. We quickly found a restaurant and had lunch (cuttle fish stew for me – not to be recommended – and cassoulet for Carl). We did the round of the fortress as the weather got worse and the rain set in. I have to say that our poor impression of the lower town was reinforced in the Cité. It's all terribly commercialised and isn't at all what we'd expected. The blip shows a waxwork advertising the Museum of Horrors (or something like that), and the juxtaposition of rather tacky advertising and souvenir postcards rather sums up the generally disappointing Cité in our experience.

It was quite a wait for a bus back down to the lower town, by which time all we felt like doing (even though it was only 7:30 pm) was call it a day. A quick flick through TV channels and that was it.