France Trip Update: Day 9-11

Published July 1, 2011

Day 9
(18) Chateau d’Angers
(19) Chateau du Roi Rene in Ponts de Ce

Day 10
(20) Chateau du Rocamadour
(7a) Church in Rocamadour (whose name eludes me right now)
(21) City of Carcasonne

Day 11
(22) Chateau Comtal (inside Carcasonne)
(8a) Church in Carcasonne (whose name eludes me right now)
(23) Chateau Peyrepertuse
(24) Chateau Queribus (seen from Peyrepertuse)
(25) Chateau des Ducs de Joyeuse

OK so here goes with a quick update.

Angers is a big fun castle and we did it quickly and outside of town saw a castle by a bridge which I quickly photographed. The road to Rocamadour was long and rough and it started to storm. So bad they wouldn’t let us pump or gasoline! We finally made it to a small hotel near the train station and after we got settled we saw a lightning blast so bright and heard a pop and the power went out for a bit. The next day was overcast and slightly rainy but we were able to walk the ramparts in Rocamadour and visit the Church.

We then drove to Carcasonne. The GPS must have been mad at me because it started to give me bad directions because it thought that 2 roads merged that didn’t and then started to put us in an endless loop! (I am not kidding). We figured it out and forced it to take us back on the right road. The bed and breakfast was fabulous! Like a villa – the rooms so nicely decorated and our hosts so polite and helpful. She didn’t want to be interviewed for the film but one of her neighbors is a scholar on the city and agreed to be in the film instead! She translated the questions and he answered in French – I understood about what he was saying but I will need to get it translated when I get back. At some point I think he was disparaging tourists buying snow-globes so I videotaped some of that just in case. I had an amazing meal of a local white bean stew that I am sure I will blog about more later.

The next morning we visited Carcasonne again but only quickly so we could get on the road to the Pyrenees. Mountain driving is tough but the day was glorious and we hiked up to the top of the mountain and not only visited one castle but I was able to see another via my telephoto lens! Our last stop for the day is a 16th century Chateau Hotel that so far has been my favorite (in terms of me owning a castle) and I ‘might’ have an interview in the morning.