Carcassonne and Lourdes

We arrived back in Berzo on Sunday evening after a long but good trip to Spain and France. After we visited Barcelona, we drove about 3 hours northeast to the UNESCO city of Carcassonne, where we spent a rainy afternoon walking around the medieval city. The hilltop on which the city lies was first occupied by a proto-hill fort in 600 BC overlooking the valley of the Aude and the ancient routes linking the Atlantic with the Mediterranean and the Iberian peninsula with the rest of Europe. It then became an early Roman settlement (Carcino, 100 BC) and was held by the Romans until the Visgoths conquered the area in the 5th century, followed by the Arabs in the 7th century. It was also deeply affected by the 13th century black plague and then land swaps by the Spanish, French, and Papal courts. It was during the medieval period that a second wall was added by Louis XIV outside the Roman walled city, making it an almost impregnable fortress of towers, bastions, and a large moat. The city was jammed with tourists who were arriving by the bus-loads. I visited here back in 1972 with my Mom while on a bus trip to Lourdes and I had such fond memories of it that I really wanted to return. This time, however, it was so crowded that it was almost not enjoyable until evening set in and many tourists left, leaving a partially deserted city. We were spending the night at the Best Western (only one of two hotels within the city walls), so we ended up with some "quality time" walking around. We had dinner at a small, quaint restaurant where they grilled some meat dishes in an fireplace right behind our table - that was cool! Greg and I had a "Cassoulet", which is a local speciality, and a type of casserole made with beans and a meat (duck for Greg, pork sausage for me). It was one of the tastier meals we had on the trip. We drove to Lourdes the following day in our very cramped little (key word little) Skoda Fabia sedan. Lidia and Rachel were squashed in the back seat along with Greg's duffle bag, which they affectionately termed "Bubba". He became a third passenger, as they had to strap "him" in to keep "him" from falling over on them. I don't think any of us will ever forget our long, ardous, 9 hour drive back to Barcelona from Lourdes! Lourdes - we arrived early afternoon and after settling into the hotel, Lidia and I visited the grotto. Surprisingly, it wasn't very crowded, even for a Friday afternoon. First, we circled the grotto area, then we lit candles for our friends and families and in thanksgiving for all our many blessings. We also visited the basilica and filled up several bottles with Lourdes water to bring back to both Italy and the U.S. Tomorrow, my bedroom set will finally arrive at the house, and next week Lidia's mattress will be delivered. After that, we'll do some final strategizing on what work to have done on the lower level of the house over the winter so when we return next year, it'll be ready (or darn close) for us to live in. That's exciting! We are here in Berzo through tomorrow, then Greg, Rachel, and I leave for our final road trip - to Prague - while Lidia stays behind to spend time with our cousins.