Today we headed out to Carcassonne,about a 45 minute drive from Olonzac.
Carcassonne is an historical city built on the edge of a small sandstone plateau .
Steeped in history,Carcassonne is perched on a rocky hilltop and bristles with zig zag battlements,stout walls and spiky turrets,from afar the fortified city looks like something out of a children's storybook.
The first historic evidence of Carcassonne City can be traced far back to the beginning of the 8th century B.C.It was a simple oppidum,(pre-Roman enclosed town)surrounded by an earthen wall,situated 2km to the south west on the heights of Mayreville,overlooking the Aude River.
We joined the throng to explore this amazing structure.Unfortunately,tourism has predominated internally and the town is full of restaurants and tourist paraphernalia .
We thoroughly enjoyed exploring all aspects especially the Saint Nazaire Basilica which was a combination of Romanesque and Gothic art.It was built in 1096.
After a thorough investigation we left to head back to where we parked the car digressing to have some lunch.
On the way back to Olonzac we called into Trebes ,which is on the Canal du Midi ,to watch some of the barges go through a triple lock system.
This is a sight to behold!
On returning to Olonzac we found most things closed ,we are stumped by the haphazard opening and closing hours of shops and restaurants.We are also over dog poo!
Our supplies were at an all time low so we made do and we are now getting organised to catch the train to Barcelona in the morning.
We have booked a hotel in the Gothic Section and we have booked tickets to see La Sagrada.
It will be a busy couple of days.