Carcassonne and Nimes - Day 8

We had the best breakfast in our entire trip at the Radisson Blu in Toulouse. There were plenty of choices in the big breakfast spread but alas we have to leave and continue our journey to Carcassonne. This is the dreamlike medieval fortress city supposedly the setting for the fairy tale, Puss in Boots. The movie, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves was also partly shot here. It was raining when we arrived and this added to the dreamy atmosphere.

We entered the walled city through a drawbridge, passed some shops and made a beeline to the St. Nazarire Church to take refuge from the rain.

The interior of the church was rather dim but there are some pretty stained glass windows and sculptures.

Out in the open again admiring the many medieval shops.

Some houses have pretty balconies.

There is a chateau, the Chateau Comtal withing the city walls and this was Nottingham Castle in the movie, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.

I had my lunch in one of the arrow streets here.

A nice pose(r) on the way out.

Some parting shots before we made our way to Nimes.

Nimes is famous for its Roman antiquities. The first is the Maison Carree (Square House) right in the town which used to be a Roman temple and is now a museum.

We walked through the town along streets lined with shops

and we arrived at the square where the emblem of the city (a crocodile) is prominently displayed.

Beyond the square is the Arenes, the Roman amphitheatre that is one of the best preserved in the world.

We had an audio-aid guided tour of the arena, all eagerly listening to the heroics of Spartacus.

From Nimes, we continued onto Avignon.

Ronald Kowk