bonjour encore! although we are in siena, italy at the moment we realize that we are horribly behind on our posts. so let me take you back in time to a little medieval town in france called carcassonne. i don't know a whole lot about carcassonne. i never studied it in school so i will just give you my unbiased impressions. the city is awesome. it's like disney world for the big kids except the castle is REAL. the city is separated into two parts: the new town aptly named because it's -duh- new. then there is the medieval part of the city. it's completely surrounded by a moat and 2 layers of city walls. you'll remember this place if you grew up in the 90's and watched the robin hood starring kevin costner. yeah, they filmed it here. we walked along one of the outer walls, around the ramparts, and then into the heart of the city. our guide book said that one of the 4-star hotels had a private garden with incredible views. we took advantage of it's open door policy and made ourselves at home. the garden was immaculately sculptured and a terrace allowed for an amazing view of the chateau inside the castle as well as the old city. i'm sure that this is where kevin costner stayed when they were filming. after feeling like a movie star, we re-entered the "real world" outside the hotel. this place really makes you feel like a big kid. big towers, courtyards, and little cobblestone roads make you feel like you are in a real life fairy tale. we took advantage of this special place and got lost wandering the streets. after roaming around aimlessly we realized that we had actually seen it all. as we walked towards the exit/entrance, we saw 3 people setting up for something that looked interesting. we had no clue what to expect, but we decided to hang around. i sat in one of those slits in the wall where you can pour hot oil down onto your enemies. then the show began. disclaimer: i know this may sound dorky, but believe me it was cool. it was a guy playing an accordian singing into a microphone that was hooked up to a megaphone. as he was playing/singing, 2 other people identically dressed -think mimes without the face paint-were pantomiming the words to his songs as a sort of theatre/dance. it was really french.
it was a full day. we took a stroll from our hotel to explore the new town, and we ate dinner in a small town square. i inadvertantly ordered fish which turned out to be calamari. sweet jonathan traded me and i ended up eating a traditional french meal called cassoulet. it's a lovely mixture of white beans, lamb, duck, and duck fat. i know that last part sounds unappetizing, but duck fat is amazing. besides the food, the highlight of the evening was watching a dog thoroughly enjoy himself by swimming in the fountain in the center of the square. the french really love their dogs. i think i've found my home. until next time...which should be in about 2 minutes....sara
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