Notre Vie en France

 I am so tempted to post all our photos because this was such an amazing place.  But I'm restraining myself. As we approached the drawbridge I said to Gary, "it's just like Disneyland's castle, except it's REAL!!" These first photos are the entrance and the town within the walls, but outside of the castle (Chatêau Comtal). There were a lot of shops and restaurants within La Cité (we had a pleasant lunch in the courtyard of one of the latter) and at least 2 museums of the Inquisition featuring instruments of torture (which we did not visit). There were a few shops with really beautiful artisan wares (jewelry, pottery, art, linens), but there were quite a number pedaling tourist junk, and many of the young children we saw carried swords and shields à la Crusades chevaliers. We were completely baffled by at least three (!) shops turning a  photograph of one's iris into a work of art.  Who knew that would be a thing, especially in a place like this?! We then t...

 Gary and I took a 90-minute train ride eastward to Carcassonne, noted to be the most visited site in the south of France. With good reason. In 2011 at the end of her semester abroad in Grenoble, Zina and I took a train across the south of France en route to Bordeaux, and along the way I looked out my window to see in the distance a striking citadel (fortress) sitting atop a hill, complete with cone-capped towers and a wall enclosing a medieval town.  It looked quite magical in the late afternoon sunlight and I thought to myself, "I want to go there!!" We disembarked at the edge of the ville basse (the town below the citadel) and wandered a bit, with the aim of seeing the Saturday morning market which was indeed impressive (and huge). In addition to produce and local cheeses, meats, and specialty products like honey, nuts, and olives, there were an enormous number of stalls selling clothing (of all kinds, including bras!), kitchenware and gadgets, and just about anything you...