La Cite as Ever

One of the windows in St. Naraire

We went up to La Cite this morning.  It was my first trip up there since arriving in .  I suppose I just felt that all those stones weren't going anywhere, and I did not need to subject myself to all the crowds and overpriced restaurants, mediocre food and made in China gifts.  I did want to see the color of the new paint job, and it's always a good walk, with a nice uphill stretch, so the reasons to go outweighed the reasons to stay in.

Red, white and blue smoke

While crossing the Pont Vieux, some French Air Force jets flew over, releasing red, white and blue smoke trails. Maybe it's a holiday today?  It was definitely a WOW moment.  

Plants have taken hold in the Cite walls

The Cite is as I remember it, with the exception that more stores are open.  A few have moved.  Some are no longer in business.  Others are getting ready to close for the season.  I did find another purse that I think I have to have--it's robin egg blue.  I need another purse like I need a hole in the head.  My phobia about acquiring things kept me sane and I did not buy it, but I can hear it calling out to me, even from across the Aude.

We had a nice lunch on the terrace at La Table Ronde.  I especially enjoyed the terrine campagne (sort of a rustic pate).  What made lunch pleasant was the Spanish guitarist who played songs like the theme from The Godfather, and Autumn Leaves and Ne Me Quittez Pas, with all the flourishes and riffs I associate with Mediterranean music.  We ate outside at a leisurely pace--so south of France.

Waving banners on sticks

There was a mini-parade of people in costume with instruments and drums traipsing through the narrow streets, making announcements that I could not understand.  They did catch everyone's attention, but the yelling was too distorted, so I couldn't figure out what they were advertising. They certainly were earnest.

Drum wrapped in fur

I am not one of these people who turns up (or looks down) a nose at La Cite.  She provides many people in this town with bread and butter.  3.3 million tourists a year travel through those narrow cobbled streets, and that's not to be taken lightly.  I have the luxury of choosing when and why I climb the hill to visit her.  In a few weeks most of the tourists will be gone, and many of the establishments, having made their money for the year, will close for the winter season.  The streets will empty and the locals will begin using la Cite as the backdrop for local events--concerts, demonstrations, lectures and markets.  That's when Carcassonne's La Cite becomes a place where I can envision the stories of Dame Carcas, the Cathars, the merchants and the pilgrims.   

Stained glass in St. Nazaire

And the paint job?? The chateau was closed today, but I think I saw the results on a doorway by the visitors' center.  Stunning.

Weather vane?  Lightning rod?