Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
16
A Morning Swim
Hacking down the traffic-free autoroute to our hotel in Perpignan was a pleasure and was
enhanced by Jack's mood which improved considerably after he'd finished moaning about
my general ineptitude.
I did concede, with less grace than I probably ought, that he was possibly right on one
or two points but, not being in possession of a crystal ball, I couldn't be held responsible for
the unheralded surprises.
So with my mind happily distracted by the passing views I pretended to acknowledge
his opinions with great patience. The dogs were comfortably settled too. Biff was absolutely
exhausted but otherwise unharmed after his morning's work and had joined Sam in a power
nap.
Our journey took us along the A61 towards the A9 and as we rounded another corner
my eye was suddenly drawn to an incredibly spectacular view. I'd read about it but never
seen it. The scene that gradually unfolded was more evocative and majestic than anything
I'd imagined.
Silhouetted against the blue sky on a hill above the river Aude was a seemingly endless
number of towers interspersed with rows of pristine battlements. The sun's rays jumped and
danced in a dazzling display as they reflected off each tile of the slate roofs. It looked too
perfect to be true, almost like a scene from a fairy tale. This was Carcassonne, Europe's
largest fortified medieval city and today a very worthy UNESCO world heritage site. I
gasped in wonder.
I knew that Carcassonne is divided into two separate 'towns': the
Cité
and the
Ville
Basse
. These evolved as a result of the wars against the desperately devout and somewhat
persecuted Cathars. But the genesis of this quasi settlement was much earlier than that. The
rocky outcrop had been occupied by man since the 6th century BC, first as a Gaul colony
then as a Roman town in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.
Much later, in the 12th century, the castle was built by the Viscomtes Trencavel family.
The ruling families then progressively added to the construction which helped protect both
themselves and their city from invaders. However, in the early 13th century, Carcassonne
