Here is another selection of shots from the wonderful medieval city of Carcassonne.
Within the extensive outer walls is a small town built around a central citadel (see pictures 1 & 2) this is the only part of the city that has an entrance fee and was the only part of the city we didn't visit because when we arrived it was only twenty minutes til closing time and although my son could get in for free they wanted to charge me full price even though there was no way of seeing everything. So that's something for the next time I guess.
Around the walls of this citadel there was a nicely laid out vegetable garden and then there is a network of narrow cobbled streets and beautiful buildings. One benefit of arriving late in the day was that the streets were largely deserted and so very few people to clutter up the shots.
Today's two pictures are similar views of the town of Semur en Auxois in Burgundy. These pictures were taken on our last day of touring the region because later in the day we were involved in a car smash on our way back to the gite.
This was a lovely town with the citadel overlooking the town and the river below. The narrow streets and medieval buildings are a real delight and the street cafes and patisseries serve up some real treats. One famous local treat is Gateau Mont-Auxois which is a light and delicious cake. I bought one to take back to have as a dessert that evening. Later on having crashed the car we were all sat in an ambulance waiting to be taken to the local hospital to be assessed. At the last minute I remembered that I had left the keys to our gite in the car and told the medics that I needed to get them. I found the cake on the floor of the car next to the keys and returned to the ambulance keys in pocket and cake in hand. The paramedics laughed as I approached and one somewhat incredulously commented to his colleague "il a sauve le gateau!". I have to say it was worth saving! Fortunately no one was badly hurt and after our checkup we were allowed to go home...
