Day 2.
After a very comfortable sleep we started the day with some brekkie in the shady hotel garden. It was a classic, elegant affair with bread and jams and fruit in the cool courtyard. Feeling replete, we set off on our exciting expedition to the medieval city, which is about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. Which doesn't seem far, but today was Hotter. Than. The. Sun. So naturally I could wring out my shirt by the time we got to the top of the hill, but luckily the grandeur of La Cité and it's impressive buildings overcame any sweaty unease on my part. Andrew was dry as a bone, obviously...As it is absolutely the height of season there were hordes and hordes of tourists exploring this 12th century marvel, but the enchanting, dramatic city seems to cope with the hundreds of visitors. We spent a happy time wandering through the narrow, cramped streets within the city walls, and every corner is so bloody picturesque, I could have taken thousands of photies. Sure, it's very touristy in parts and most of the shops are full of tat, but you can feel the history emanating from every brick. Our wanderings took us to the old Cathedral of Carcassonne, now called the Basilique Saint-Nazaire. It has extravagant, beautiful stained glass - the rose window particularly magnificent - and our visit was accompanied by some people singing a hymn that gave the whole experience a haunting atmosphere.

Onwards to the main attraction of La Cité which is the Château Comtal, and we joined the lengthy queue for tickets despite the blistering midday sun. After about 30-40 mins queuing we got to the ticket counter only to be told there were no audio guides left and the west part of the ramparts were closed until two o'clock. How f***ing annoying!! I blustered a bit at the twenty-something employee who just a gave a very Gallic shrug, and so we bought our tickets anyway. Luckily the tickets are valid all day, so we found out we could come back later after 2pm. But seriously, how annoying! I was much more angry about this than Andrew.

What better way to blow off some steam than to go to a Museum of Torture?! The Musée de l'Inquisition is a small, excellent museum exploring details of the torture methods used by the Inquisition from about the 11th to the 15th centuries. We were greeted by a very jolly woman who heartily encouraged us to take photos in the stocks outside the entrance. Which was all good fun, obvs, and then the museum itself was pretty hard going. It was really well presented but God it's grim! Lots of families there though, strangely - I would have been horrified if I'd seen this as a 10 year old and had nightmares for weeks! I probably will now, to be honest...The most depressing thing is that torture still goes on in the world really, centuries later. We never bloody learn.

Following our harrowing visit, we had a delightful lunch in one of the restaurants near to the Castle. I relived my childhood a bit and had a crepe and an Orangina! It was bloody lush. From there we headed back to the Castle, and now there were audio guides available! Hurrah! First world problems, I know, but it made me very happy. The tour of the ancient castle was thorough and informative, and lots of the audio tour explained details of the restoration of the fortress in the late 1800s by an architect called Viollet-le-Duc (of Notre Dame fame). This was narrated by a guy with a very thick Irish accent for some reason, and a very shrill Kiwi lady. We spent quite a while on this extensive tour, and then roamed the ramparts pretending to be a guard on sentry duty. The tour was really worth doing, just to get a sense of history and context to this fascinating place. I'd highly recommend it!

Then, of course, it pissed it down. Huge, big, fat drops of rain drenched us for about 20 minutes. Wherever we go in the world, it rains! Darting from tree to tree we scampered back to our bit of town, and had a bit of down time at the hotel before heading back out again for dinner. The owner of our hotel had recommended a restaurant around the corner called À 4 Temps, so we decided to give it a go. It was SO NICE! The chef here is double Michelin starred, so the food was inventive, stylish and delicious. The lovely staff and cool ambience made for a lovely evening. The waiting staff were even smilingly encouraging of my s*** French! I rounded off the meal with a massive plate of cheese, so could barely breathe and had to be rolled home, but it was worth it.

More exploring to do tomorrow! Thanks for reading! AU REVOIR!xx