We met Fanny (our tour director) at 8:45 after breakfast in the hotel. We got our whispers (headphone device) and then walked for 10 minutes to meet the bus for the ride to Carcassonne about an hour outside of Toulouse. Fanny gave us some history of Toulouse and what to expect in the walled city we were traveling to. Toulouse is the 4th largest city in France and almost 25% of the population consists of students. After a quick rest stop and a hazy photo op stop, we arrived in Carcassonne about 11 AM. This medieval hilltop town has the longest city walls in Europe (actually it is a double walled city). The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and dates back to the 6th century BCE. Most of the walls were reconstructed in the 19th century. It was cold and raining a little when we arrived and stayed that way for most of our stay. You could see the Pyrenees Mountains from the area. We visited the basilica and listened to a quartet of Russian singers for a few minutes. Of course we had the opportunity to buy their CD.    We were on our own for lunch. Went to a touristy café and had a 3 course meal with too much food. It was more quantity than quality. The best part was dessert. It will definitely be a light dinner night. The city consisted of small shops all vying for the tourist dollar. We arrived back in Toulouse about 3 PM and walked back to the hotel from the bus drop off point after a slight detour to check out what we thought was a synagogue but wasn't. After relaxing for a while, we went and had wine, cheese, salami and bread at a small bar away from the main square that seemed to be a student hang out place. Couldn't believe the bill was only 10.60 euros. Have an early wake up tomorrow.