Tuesday September 18, 2007
Now that we’ve been at Fraisse for a couple of nights, there are a couple of things on which we need to comment. First of all, the church bell chimes the hour and halves all day and NIGHT! It’s a lovely bell, but they could shut it off until, say, 0900. But even if they shut it off, there’s a problem that can’t be shut off. The roosters! They start at the first hint of dawn, which is apparently 0500. There are two who sing to each other from 0500 onwards. Could the chickens not keep them shut up until a civilized hour?
Also, a comment about the Poubelles is necessary. Now the French have some very polite words for things that in English don’t sound that great. For example, decheterie is a garbage dump and poubelle is garbage. But for this trip, the ladies in the back seat who collect our garbage are now known as the Poubelles. They’ve been doing a great job of keeping Dennis and I neat and organized.
This morning we headed off with the Poubelles to Carcassonne, the best example of a medieval city probably anywhere. There are complaints that this city has become way too commercial and it is full of tourists all of the time, but there is a reason for this. It’s an amazing city. There are very few full time inhabitants inside the old city and most of them are involved in the tourist trade.
Escaping the throngs, we headed south to Limoux, a city known for its Blanquette. The drive followed the path of the Aude River as it wound its way north. It was lunch time when we reached Limoux, but it was also quite cool and drizzly, so we opted for a restaurant on the main square and left our packed pique nique for another day.
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