Legends and Cars of Carcassonne

Monday, May 6th, 2019

The winds had blown the clouds away and we woke to bluer than blue skies. Perfect for our planned outing to the medieval Cité of Carcassonne.

Carcassonne is a French fortified city in the Aude Department, Occitan Region.

As we left our village this morning, we had to yield way to this vintage automobile. 

We followed him all the way into Carcassonne. We headed to the parking lot and as we strolled into the Cité entrance there was the same Peugeot. More on that later. 

The Dame (La Dama Carcas) was waiting to greet us at the Narbonne Gate.

Laury suggested we take the tourist train ride around the property. 

And away we went ... we travelled between the inner and outer walls providing long views over the lower town, plus up close views of the castle. 

For those of you that want some history ... here is an excerpt from Wikipedia 

“Inhabited since the Neolithic period, Carcassonne is located in the Aude plain between historic trade routes, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognized by the Romans, who occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire. In the fifth century, it was taken over by the Visigoths, who founded the city. Its strategic location led successive rulers to expand its fortifications until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. Its citadel known as the Cité de Carcassonne, is a medieval fortress dating back to the Gallo-Roman period, and was restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1853. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.^[1] Consequently, Carcassonne relies heavily on tourism but also counts manufacturing and wine-making as some of its other key economic sectors.”

There is also a legend about Dame Carcas ... do you see the pig flying out the window in this postcard? 

Some info found on the internet ... FinestFrance.com 

According to the legend the Emperor Charlemagne sieged the city in the hands of the Saracens.

The Saracen King Ballak was killed and his wife Dame Carcas led the knights.

The siege lasted 5 years. Food was scarce. There was only a pork (pig) and a sack of wheat.

Dame Carcas had the idea of ​​stuffing the pork with wheat and throwing it out of the city. 
Charlemagne believed that the city still had provisions because they could sacrifice a pork fed with wheat. So he raised the siege.

Dame Carcas victorious rang all the bells of the city. One of Charlemagne's soldiers then told him 'Carcas sonne' ('Carcas rings').

That's how Carcassonne was baptized according to the legend.

We wandered thru the narrow cobble stoned lanes lined with the requisite tourist souvenir shoppes, selling everything from swords, knights in shining armour gear, anything and everything in “Violette”.

The weather cooperated and we found a sunny table in Place Marcou for some lunch. 

I think if Laury had seen these first, she would have opted for this carriage ride tour.

As we were leaving, we found that our vintage Peugeot friend was here for a car show.

 What more could Monsieur Honey ask for?