Sandwell

It's Tuesday morning and our hardy crew is in a holding pattern waiting to get into the locks. One of the locks right after Carcassone lost power so there was quite a canal traffic jam.

We pulled into the busy town of Carcassone on Sunday night. Right after we docked, Fiona and I headed in for provisions. Right after returning Fi heard a splash. The lady on the boat tied up next to ours fell into the water while cleaning her Windows. (Hope she had her tetanus shot) Fiona grabbed her hand and called out to Mike and Jiggs who pulled her out of the canal. As you can imagine, no one on our boat has any plans to wash windows!!

Yesterday was Monday . We all had a good look around the lower town, also called the Ville Basse. where we were moored in the harbour. . La Cité or the Citadel of Carcassone -which is how the medieval fortress is referred to - sits high above the lower , main commercial town. It was a pleasant stroll up from our boat, through town up to the Citadel which is the largest and best preserved medieval fortress in Europe. It is considered a masterpiece of military architecture with its various walls, moats, ramparts and protected entrances. The original buildings on the site are from early Christian times. Carcassone was in its heyday during the Middle Ages. It was a Cathar stronghold until the King of France threw the Cathars out at the request of the Pope. It was also, notably, a centre for the Inquisition and there is a torture museum which Mac, Steph and Helen visited. It all sounded very gruesome.We visited the main castle area where the local nobility and higher ups lived. Lots of bas relief and Christian sargophaguses (sarcophagi?)
We also took a look at the main church- the Cathedral St. Nazaire with its beautiful stained glass. It was a pleasant visit and we returned in the evening to dine at one of the many restaurants in the Citadel. We had some traditional French fare including cuisse de grenouilles ( frogs legs), lapin ( rabbit) and some fish from the nearby Mediterranean. Also a bit of local wine. Just a bit.......
Probably the highlight of our visit to Carcassone was our after dinner stroll back to the boat where , looking back, we were treated to spectacular views of the Citadel all lit up.

This morning our Captain sounded revëlleé pretty early. We took off so fast I thought someone had stolen the boat. But Jiggs really wanted to get in line for the locks. So it was all - well most hands on deck.

More to follow in the next blog. Must go and help with the "bumper boat" opérations. Poor Jiggs , the thrusters keep quitting on him.
Love HeatherxxLäs mer