CARCASSONNE: Carcassonne was the next stop, after some serious train issues involving a derailment (not my train luckily), that I later found out was due to rampaging donkeys!! It took me over eight hours travelling when it should have only taken about two. All part of the fun though. Somehow I managed to get my way out of trouble with only very very very basic French! All because of donkeys!!

Carcassonne's famous carousel, it plays daggy show tunes! There are two parts to Carcassonne, the Cité Medievale where I stayed, where the castle is, and the Bastide Saint-Louis, the lower part of town.

Towers on the outside walls of the fortification

The Saint-Nazaire cathedral, which is both Romanesque and Gothic

These are some of the beautiful stain glass windows inside Saint-Nazaire, they date from between the 13th and 14th centuries

Here you can see the outer and inner walls of the fortification

The former bishop's residence (I don't think he renounced his wordly possessions to become a priest!), now a very fancy hotel

Walking along the ramparts

One of Carcassonne's drain pipes. Even the drain pipes are decorative!!

Me on Pont Vieux (meaning Old Bridge) in front of the Cité lit up at night. It looks incredible up on the top of the hill when you see it from a distance!