Christmas season in Carcassonne (Le Magie de Noël, The Magic of Christmas) is so fun and festive, with a month of Christmas markets, music, events, lights, and vin chaud (mulled red wine.)

Happy New Year 2020 from Carcassonne!

Nîmes, just two hours away by direct train, is a wonderful day trip from Carcassonne. Its main attractions are its 2000-year-old Roman monuments, (among the best-preserved in the world) all within about a 20-minute walk from each other and from the train station. And it’s a very elegant town, with medieval lanes, polished stone sidewalks, and classy shops and restaurants.

Another fabulous day during Karen and Tootie’s visit, this time on the Canal du Midi. Tootie and I biked the canal from home to Trèbes, about an hour-long bike ride, depending on the number of photo stops. We met up with Karen and my Carcassonne friend Carroll at Le Moulin de Trèbes (“The Mill of Trèbes”) for an absolutely amazing lunch on the restaurant’s beautiful terrace. The restaurant sits right next to a lock on the canal, so we had bonus entertainment of watching boats “rise and fall” as they went through the lock. The whole day was a marvelous experience.

Karen and Tootie were here for five days last week, and it was so much fun to share Carcassonne with my Colorado friends!
On their first day, we visited Château de Pennautier (15 minutes from home) for an English-language guided tour and a superb lunch.

Last Wednesday, July 24, our friends Michael and Errol played their great music at Carcassonne’s lake, Lac de la Cavayère. What a gorgeous place to have dinner and see fabulous music with friends! I went with my dear friend and French tutor Claire, her sisters Alice and Jeanne, and Claire’s daughter Maëlle.

Last Saturday, July 20, my friend Joëlle suggested that we and her friend Danielle go to an outdoor concert. She kept the venue a surprise until we arrived, and what a beautiful surprise it was.

The concert was held in the little amphitheater behind Chateau Serres, about an hour’s drive from Carcassonne, near the Pyrenees. The concert’s theme was 300 years of music, starting with the Renaissance, and the trio (oboe, bassoon, and guitar) played about 10 different pieces. The setting was so beautiful it didn’t look real.

Last Sunday July 14 was our first ever Bastille Day in France, and it was absolutely magnificent. In all of France, the grandeur of Carcassonne’s fireworks display is second only to those in Paris. And Jeff and I were so fortunate to be invited to the home of our good friends Heidi and Pierre Marandon for a fête magnifique.

To celebrate my birthday yesterday, Jeff and I went on a bit of a treasure hunt along La Cité (the medieval walled city) and in the Bastide Saint-Louis (also known as La Bastide, or the lower town. Bastide translates to fortified, or “walled” town, it’s across the river from La Cité, and it was built in the 1300s.)* Here’s a little bit of a photo walking tour for you.