A Night with My Knight in Shining Armour!

#Carcassonne#L'ostaldestroubadours#Aude

We decided to make a return visit to Carcassonne.  

Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude Dept. of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

The Cité de Carcassonne (the medieval fortress) was restored in 1853 by the architect Euegne Viollet-Le-Duc.

In 1997 it became an Unesco World Heritage Site and receives over three million visitors a year.

We arrived early afternoon and wandered thru the narrow cobblestoned lanes of the old city.

            

              

              Here is my knight in 2013 in Domme...

          

As it was July ... it was busy with many other visitors also checking out the sites and many shoppes that lined the streets ... that sell everything from tapestrys to the usual tourist souvenirs such as swords and shields for the children.

Sweet tasting treats to sweet smelling sachets ...

                    

                     

Oh my we found the same restaurant where we had a "Magic Night" in 2003!

We looked for it when we returned in 2005 and never found it  ... and left thinking it no longer was in operation! Part of the problem we didn't remember the name and we both had different ideas where in the old city it was located.

Fast forward to the internet and search for restaurants in Carcassonne ... and here we are!

Restaurant L'Ostal Des Troubadours 

5, rue Viollet Le Duc

La Cité 11000 Carcassonne 

Tele: 0468478880

Email: lostaldestroubadours@gmail.com

Still great ambiance, live gypsy / folk music and great food and wine. 

Under new management since early this year by Shiona (previously a waitress at the same restaurant for 18 years).

The owner greeted us with a friendly smile and some chatter ... we told her our story of our "Magic Night" in 2003 ... the wonderful roasted chicken on the wood fire, great ambiance and the surprise of "live music" when the sweet voice of Manolita started to sing.

    Then ... "2003"...

    And now ... 

    Monsiuer Honey minus his beard ...

    but still with his killer "sparkling" Baby Blue eyes!

You can enjoy tasty grilled meats cooked over the open wood fire ... I chose a steak tonight that was served with grilled potatoes also prepared on the open fire. Delicious! 

Monsieur decided to have the Cassoulet which is a traditional dish of the region; he was not dissappointed . 

Our table had views from the window overlooking the Remparts, the walls encircle the medieval city.

(I didn't get any pics from the window sometimes you have to put the camera away and be in the moment).

Although there were no trumpets playing tonight this trumpet vine was in full bloom...

I have read that portions of the 1991 movie "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" was filmed in the old city.

Late in the evening the moon shone brightly over the old city ... views from our room.

          A "Fairy Tale" ending to our French adventure!

P.S. There still are a few more postcards to be posted.

Friday Night Fade ...

It's Friday night in Southwestern Ontario, we've been home for four days now and still suffering a bit from jet lag! 

If the theory or the "they says" are correct  we should be back to normal by Sunday night.

As the saying goes for every hour in time change it takes a day to recapture that hour!

Not too long ago Monsieur Honey said "I'm starting to fade."  

Life is quickly returning to normal or should I say we are getting back into our routine ... me with laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning, etc. and Monsieur Honey has had to tackle the gardens or should I say the "Jungle" and the cutting of the lawn  ...

Not so much the weeds (we had a great neighbour who found time in his schedule to weed our gardens ... Thank you Mr. Carl) but the massive growth spurt, everything is so lush and supersized. 

It is always great to go on a vacation / adventure but it is always wonderful to come "Home"!

We will be catching up with our children and their families soon, oh how I have missed everyone especially the little ones "our eight grandchildren" and we will reconnect with the balance of the family and friends over the next few days.

It is only 7:22 pm ... and I am fading and feeling the need to get into bed, close my eyes and get a good night's sleep!

I still have many more "Postcards" to write and post ... will hopefully find the time and energy over the next few days to share the rest of the stories about our European adventure.

Saint - Hilaire Abbey

Saturday morning we left Olonzac ... we had a rough idea of what we would like to do for the day!

As you can see from the photos Mother Nature had not blessed us with a "Sunshine" day!

We headed south to the tiny commune of Saint - Hilaire in the Aude south of Carcassonne. 

After checking out the village (tiny as it is)  we toured the Abbey... a Benedictine Monastery.

The Church ...

     

           

The Church houses an important Romanesque work of art ...

The marble Sarcophagus of St. Sernin built in the middle of the 12th Century by the Master of Cabestany.

It was carved from a single block of Pyrenean marble.

It is so narrow that it probably was not used as a stone coffin but rather a high altar.

The Gothic cloisters... Circa 1330

The Abbott's Home ... a private room for the head of the Abbey.

This room was polar opposite to the other buildings at the monastery ... "Luxury versus austerity"!

The lounge dates back to the late 15th century and is decorated with an opulent painted French style ceiling that was restored in the 19th century when the walls were painted with the Abbott's coats of arms.

In between the beams on the ceiling various scenes were painted depicting medieval characters, daily life and even some with inappropriate / sexual undertones...

                    

The fountain in the lounge made from Caunes Minervois marble...

La Cave ...The Cellar ...La Bodega 

Where the monks produced the wine used for their religious services and / or their own consumption.

It is stated that the Benedictine monks of Saint Hilaire created the first sparkling wine "Blanquette" in the world in the year 1531.

There are some stories that Dom Pérignon while on a retreat at the Saint Hilaire Abbey may have left with the secrets of how to make sparking wine ... later inventing the process to make Champagne.

                     

Inside  the "Cave"...

The building that housed the jail and the Gaurds house ...

    

The refectory (dining hall) pulpit  ...  Used by the monks for readings during mealtimes ... This room has high ceilings with great acoustics. 

When we purchased our tickets for the tour we were instructed to climb the steps and sit in the chair ... Sing a song, recite a poem so we could hear the echoes!

No I didn't get my makeshift microphone out and start singing Patsy Cline's "Crazy"...

           

After the interesting tour we travelled to Carcassonne for an enjoyable afternoon and night.