Tag Archives: Languedoc Roussillon

Day 34 – Carcassonne

0km of 2285km so far…

Being in the city of Carcassonne I had to take another day off and explore it. I stayed in a hostel again mainly because of its superb location within La Cite.

The castle seen from the hostel

The castle seen from the hostel

It’s been a long time since I haven’t ridden the bike for a whole day and today I decided not to cycle at all. I left the bike locked in the hostel, as there were plenty to see at la Cite, where I was and the newer part was within walking distance.
My first destination was the castle of the old city, which was just around the corner from the hostel. The site is  very old, dating from the early Roman times. The first part of the castle was built around the 14th century and then it got extended several times over the years to how it looks today. There are two or three layers of walls in some parts and pleanty of watchtowers. The rest of the old city has a big church and many houses, which most of them now are restaurant and little tourist shops.

The entrance of the castel at la Cite

The entrance of the castel at la Cite

The castle's courtyard

The castle's courtyard

Walking along the walls

Walking along the walls

The view of the city

The view of the city

Within the church

Within the church

At midday I headed down to the other part of the city for some more walking and food. Despite all these restaurants serving cassoulet, I bought supplies from a shop and cooked something to eat in the hostel and had plenty of wine with some other travelers I met there.

Carcassonne's speciality and how to make it

Carcassonne's speciality and how to make it

The city of Carcassonne

The city of Carcassonne

La cite from the old bridge

La cite from the old bridge

Going up to the castle again

Going up to the castle again

Going through one of the many entrances of La Cite

Going through one of the many entrances of La Cite

Alleys within la Cite

Alleys within la Cite

Day 33 – Toulouse to Carcassonne

105km of 2285km so far…

After a whole baguette with nutella for breakfast, I packed my bike and joined the Canal du Midi from within the city. I was hearing a lot about this canal for a long time during my trip, so I was very enthusiastic about cycling it this morning.
Canal du Midi connects the Atlantic with the Mediterranean, going through many cities and villages. Along the canal for the majority of its length, there is a path for bicycles and pedestrians, so for about 20km from Toulouse, I was seeing many people cycling, jogging, walking and having picnics.

The canal within the city

The canal within the city

One of the many locks

One of the many locks

The path by the canal

The path by the canal

Since I woke up, there was a complete overcast and I hardly saw the sun during the day. Todays surprise was my first puncture of the trip. After 2200 km, a piece of glass managed to go through the tire and its inner protective layer. I stopped at the side of one of the canal’s lock to have a look and of course half way the repair it started raining. It rained a lot and I had to put my water proofs and ironically the rain stopped just as I started riding again.

The place I had the puncture

The place I had the puncture

pat pat pat.... for pate

pat pat pat.... for pate

One of the ports

One of the small ports

Canal crouse

Canal crouse

In total I cycled 50km by the canal, but unfortunately after that distance the tarmac finished, so I had to abandoned it. Cycling on the road and with a nice tail wind I was going faster and I knew I could make it to Carcassonne. On the way I passed through the nice city of Castelnaudary, full of old houses and churches.

Castelnaudary

Castelnaudary

Luckily I made it to Carcassonne the minute before the tourist information was closing, so I managed to get the information I wanted. As it was wet all day, I was considering the option to stay in a hostel again and after I realized where the hostel is located I decided to stay there and also take the next day off to visit the city.

The old city of Carcassonne

The old city of Carcassonne

105km of 2285km so far…

After a whole bagguette with nutella for breakfast, I packed my bike and joined the Canal du Midi from within the city. I was hearing a lot about this canal for a long time during my trip, so I was very enthousiastic about cycling it this morning.
Canal du Midi connects the Atlantic with the Mediterenian, going through many cities and villages. Along the canal for the majority of its length, there is a path for bicycles and pedestrians, so for about 20km from Toulouse, I was seeing many people cycling along, jogging, walking and having picnics.
Since I woke up, there was a complete overcast and I hardly saw the sun during the day. Todays surprise was my first punchure of the trip. After 2200 km, a piece of glass managed to go through the tyre and its inner protective layer. I stoped at the side of one of the canal’s lock to have a look and of course half way the repair it started raining. It rained a lot and I had to put my water proofs and ironicly the rain stopped just as I started riding again.
In total I cycled 50km by the canal, but unfortunately after that distance the tarmac finished, so I had to abandoned it.

The view from the hostel

The view from the hostel