As usual, I was awakened by the smell of baking chocolate croissants. Although our hotel is a very old house and just a tiny spot to sleep, it has a certain charm. The location is great. We are surrounded by cafes and shops and the usual churches. It’s a block from the Seine.
It’s raining today in Paris. It’s raining hard! We flew out of Orly, the airport that used to be the major hub before Charles de Gaulle was built. It took only 30 minutes to reach the airport.
We checked our bags fearing there would be stairs to the plane. The train to Carcassonne is 2+ hours after we land. The train station is not far from the airport.
The information person at the airport told me we could take a team and then a bus or just a bus direct to the train station. I figured the direct bus was enough adventure. We got to the train station easily. The bus was empty and the driver spoke English once he knew that I did. I am not sure if that means my French was marginal or acceptable…probably just that the French are so picky about pronunciation that I didn’t fool him with my few questions.
Of course it was raining in Toulouse just like in Paris. We sat inside a Starbucks in the station to wait for our train. There was also a Mc Donald’s. Just like home. Ugh!
The train track was posted 15 minutes before departure and we were able to get on board. No one ever looked at our tickets. We rode to Carcassonne past vineyards and towns. It was an easy scenic hour. There were taxis at the station to take us to our air B&B. Chris and Kathy had already arrived and had a nice open bottle of red wine waiting.
The house is a cute small IKEA perfect place to get set for our trip. Kathy Ginny and I walked a short distance into town to buy a few items for breakfast as well as cheese to go with wine. We chose a nearby restaurant for dinner. Dinner was just exactly what we wanted with choices to suit us all.
We had a very scenic walk after dinner with a view of the beautiful walled city lit up.
The Adventures of Anne 