Carcassone

We got in to Carcassone late at night, and saw the city early the next morning. It was a little rainy and cold, so we didn't exactly discover every corner, but we did see the main attractions. When we came in there was a group of silly boys dressed up like the men from Monte Python and the Holy Grail, with a guy riding a pretend horse while another guy clapped coconuts. It was pretty funny. There were lots of people dressed up actually. It was like a Medieval comic con or something. The castle itself was pretty cool with good views of the city. Lots of it was extensively restored, so it's not a ruin like most of the castles we've seen. I'm pretty sure Robin Hood hung out at this place. I was really impressed with Carcasonne because it's not just one castle but a whole city preserved with walls and everything. Also I liked how it's one of the places that actually saw siege and battle many times in its history, and the 'murder hole' and archers lookouts are still there. I feel like now I can really imagine what the three musketeers were up against at the siege of La Rochelle too. What an education about castles and ramparts and living in the 1600s!

     On our way there we also drove through Nimes to see the Roman Amphitheater for a minute or two just to take a look. 

    We got in to Barcelona by train from Perpignan and met Michelle and Jake at the hotel right in the lobby. After cleaning up in our super nice room we went out on the town and are a delicious dinner at a little Catalan restaurant, but the portion sizes were ridiculously small, so we had a dinner #2 at a pizza place along Las Ramblas. After walking the whole stretch and finding the Columbus obelisk, we called it a night and headed home. I think we were offered marijuana 3 times. Even though those guys were a little sketch my total impression of Las Ramblas and Barcelona was really good. It's clean and upbeat, and has a lot to see and do. The crowd is young, and the food is good. Most importantly, I felt safe pretty much all the time in the main part of the city, which is more than I can say about some we've been to. I'd like to go back and do a more in depth visit someday.