Saturday, May 31st, 2014
The forecast for the last day of the ride was a continuation of the strong winds of yesterday. I had already decided against riding to Carcasonne, given that we had already arrived, somewhat anticlimactically, at the faux Mediterranean town of Narbonne the day before.
Overnight I had a change of heart - the wind was still strong, the temperature low, and the sky threatening rain. So David, Noreen, me (and Simon it turned out) took the train to Carcasonne. Trevor went to the coast and then took the train, Ann started cycling but withdrew after being buffeted by the wind. The rest cycled.
Here's what we missed! Trevor, Fran and Mark were the only ones to actually see the Mediterranean close up.
The sun was shining at the station, but it was still quite cool.
Half an hour later we were in Carcasonne, and I again re-acquainted myself with the Canal du Midi - here, the port of Carcasonne is just opposite the railway station.
There we quite a number of boats in the port, but I wouldn't call it full...
We walked up to the Cite where our hotel for the final night was located. This is the old bridge that leads out of town to the castle and tourist complex above the river.
And here are David, Noreen and Simon, my fellow "wind wimps".
The Cite complex is very interesting, even if the restoration somewhat contrived. Inside, it was buzzing with tourists from everywhere.
And when the sun finally came out, it was just as lovely as I recalled from 18 months ago.
I went for a walk and found the usual suspects at a bar in the middle of the walled town. After an altercation with the waitress at an adjacent bar, I managed to get a beer, shared with the Aussies, Trevor, Dennis and Chris (pictured). It was a toss up for who was the biggest flirt with the waitress.
One more dinner, and tomorrow we depart early for our various destinations. Here are Tony W, Simon, Graham, Chris, Dennis, me, Noreen, Trevor and Tony D enjoying a touristic restaurant inside the Cite. It was getting cool, and the guys adjourned to a nearby bar to watch the final of the French Rugby league between Toulon and Castres.
A bientot cher lecteur.
No comments:
Post a Comment