The Curse of Carcassonne!

I suppose the Tale of the Curse of Carcassonne should begin with last night's dinner.

Bob and I dined at the only restaurant open around here on a Sunday evening. It was a roadside steak house, although the name, in French, sounded much nicer. L'Etable a Roussette. Our first courses--duck pate on a bed of lettuce for him, and hot goat cheese on toast on a bed of lettuce for me--would have been as much as we'd normally have eaten for dinner at home. But this was followed by steak for him, lamb for me, a platter of local cheeses that we shared, and ice cream with local, fresh strawberries. Way too much food.

Today, still feeling stuffed from dinner last evening plus a full breakfast here, we set off to see Carcassonne, a Medieval walled city that is the area's main attraction. Our hosts recommended we take a longer route there so that, on the way, we could see Minerve, a tiny village set atop a rock in a riverbed. It has been occupied since at least 850 BCE. Because it's accessible only by a couple of narrow bridges, it's been a fortress and a place to be conquered ever since by forces that didn't like the religion its occupants were practicing (Kill them all.) to today's tourists (Charge whatever you can.)

Instead of following the route that our hosts recommended, we placed our fate in the hands of Jacques, our GPS system. He took us on back roads that were incredibly beautiful. Mountains, valleys, vistas, fields of poppies, wild iris. And drop-offs that would take your breath away, and did. Often, we went for miles without seeing another car, person or lodging.


Minerve was lovely, but by the time we's started out on another series of back roads that Jacques wanted us to take, I began to feel really, really sick. I think it must have been a combination of all the rich foods we've been having, the juggling of maps, and directions that Jacques kept giving us (Take your next left. Which one? Recalculating. Make a U-turn!) When Bob asked if I wanted to go back to the inn, I immediately agreed, and off we went over the mountains and through tiny villages with streets so narrow I feared for the paint on the sides of our rental car.

I don't know when  I've been so happy to see a room in a B and B. The photos do not do it justice. But a two-hour, deep-sleep nap may have done the trick. At least I'm beginning to feel human again. And--I don't believe I'm saying this--hungry. As for Carcassonne, it will have to wait for another time. Besides, I suspect that with all the bus loads of tourists they say it attracts, it's probably just a Medieval Disney World. He may have made me sick, but Jacques may have known what was best for us.