Printing, Posting and Plane Trees: My Last Visit to Carcassonne

My second trip into the lower city of Carcassonne was really an errand trip.  I had written a children's story I wanted to submit to a fiction contest and I needed to get it printed out so I could send it off and meet the contest deadline. It was a fiction short story contest on the theme of 'holidays." It seemed pretty aappropriate theme. :-)

We met as usual outside the front of La Muse and Kerry was there with Homer so we had a chat as we waited for John. 

We discovered that the chapel right next door to La Muse was open, as the caretaker was working there. She let us in to have a peek and I was stunned at the beauty of this little space. Such amazing art crammed into a small church.

There was a little confessional box at the back of the church.  I loved the blue walls.

There were statues and icon art everywhere you looked.

Jenn and I took pictures of each other at the entrance as we realized we had very few pictures of ourselves while we were staying at the retreat.

Driving in on this last Thursday of January, we could see evidence of snow on the mountain roads. It was January 30th and I couldn't believe we would be into February in a few days.

The pictures were taken through the car windows and so they are blurry. 

Our first stop was at the railway station as I had to get my tickets for my trip on February 7th to Genova in Italy. 

John went in with me to help interpret my request. Luckily I had researched the trip and had all the changes written down. It was an interesting trip involving changes at Narbonne, Marseille, Nice and Ventimiglia. I was hoping I might get some great glimpses of the Mediterranean as we travelled along the Cote D'Azure. After much discussion I finally got my tickets and I want to give a  big thank you to John for his help. 

Next, I got dropped off at the Internet cafe in order to do my printing.  Also I had a poem to submit online to another publication.  One thing the retreat did for me besides get me writing, was to start me submitting my work for publication.  This was a big step for me.  I don't have a problem creating work, its the next step, that of submitting it, that has been a block for me.

The Internet cafe was well equipped and I had a coffee while there. 

We had problems with the printing and getting files to show up, as the formatting was an issue. Fortunately the people in charge of the Internet cafe were very helpful and figured it all out. 

While I had access to a computer I also did some YouTube work on my PamelaSunshineTV channel as there is only so much you can do from an iPhone :-)

Then I put my story and cover letter into my envelope and headed off to the Post Office.

Just outside the cafe was this impressive memorial to the lost soldiers.

As I mentioned in a previous blog this area was active in the resistance movement. 

From the statue I spotted this impressive building.

It was a pleasure to be out in the streets of this beautiful city and once again take in its archtecture. Looking up as I approached the centre of town I spotted a plane. :-)

I passed beautiful flower shops and a boulangerie.

I was still surprised by how narrow the streets were.

The doors and details I happened upon demanded attention.  It really is a beautiful city. 

I loved this bell and the arches. 

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More lovely flowers.

The sculptures placed on the corners of buildings always surprised me.

After posting off my story and some gifts I had for my grandchildren from last weeks visit to the castle, I popped into the Sunshine Cafe to see my friend from Peterborough. I'd told her two weeks before that I would be back. I was pushed for time so I just had a piece of her delicious carrot cake. I ate it as I walked through the streets. 

Soon I was in the market square and heading for the station to meet John and the others.

I took a detour to see some new streets on my way out of the city centre.

The pink decor in this Pattiserie was retro fifties and quite a surprise. 

And there were even more shutters, I just love shutters.

And wrought iron was everywhere too.

Now this struck me as funny.  It really is 'relaxed." Not in the way they meant I am sure. 

I didn't realize there was another cathedral in Carcossonne. It was right on the street, packed in between the buildings.

Nearing the edge of town I saw these signs and a balcony that was colourful and matched the window`.  I loved the colours and the artsy feel. The laundry pegged to the line caught my eye, real life in Carcassonne.

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A pigeon was perched on a tangled vine.

Finally, I got a last pic of the narrow streets. So pretty.

I had to walk past the Canal Du Midi on my way to the station. I noticed a banner about the canal and replacing the plane trees that had once lined its shores. 

I had a conversation in French with the man in a booth there. I had read about how the trees, (Arbres plantanes) were  being decimated by a fungal disease that spread through the root systems. 

Because the trees along the canal had been planted so close to one another to provide constant shade for travellers on the canal, they had been particularly vulnerable to the disease.

Between 2006 and 2010 the French Waterways Authority had been forced to fell 9,000 of the 42,000 plane trees that were "emblematic if the Canal Du Midi."  They know that the disease will infect the remaining trees. 

 Now there is a huge replanting project underway. I was so happy to be able to buy a book of beautiful postcards to support them in their efforts. They are replanting with a disease resistant species and hope to restore the canal, a national treasure, to its former glory and maintain their classification as a UNESCO  World Heritage site. 

Here's one of the pages from this beautiful collection of photographs so you can see how it looks with the existing trees lining the canal. 

I walked on to my ride at the station and John drove us all to the supermarket for our last grocery shop while at the retreat. I couldn't believe I'd  be off in a week. 

The sun was just starting to go down and I had to take another picture of the magical light in the French sky. 

Then it was off home to La Muse.  Just over one more week left. I was sad to say goodbye to the city of Carcassonne. The next time I would be here would be to catch the train to Genova in Italy. 

The following Thursday we planned to visit Lastours, the home of the famous Four Cathar Chateaux.  But that my friends is another story.

A Day Out In Carcassonne: Art, Alleys and Antiquity.

I began my writers retreat at La Muse Inn on Janurary 9th.  It is about 35 minutes away from the city of Carcassonne, up in the Black Mountains.  I was travelling by train and John kindly offered participants the opportunity to sign up for a ride package.  This meant you got picked up from the station and taken into town or sight seeing once a week.  There were two trips to Carcassonne, one into the Cite, which is the old walled castle, and one to Lastours, where the four Cathar Chateaux were high on a mountain top.

I was excited to go into Carcassonne for the first time.  It has very narrow streets and passages.  It was quite different to my experience in St Malo and Dol.  

We were dropped off at the station and I walked straight down the entrance to the town and came upon the large market square.I was surprised there were so few stalls. 

It was a magnificent square and the market seemed swallowed up in the vastness of the space available.

There were lovely lamps on every corner and a huge marble scupture in the middle of the square.

We had been given a map by John so I started exploring the streets. 

One thing that stands out to a Canadian eye is all the fantastic doors, windows and shutters, as well as balconies one sees in Europe. It has been suggested I should do a calendar of my door pictures lol.

And of course they come with all kinds of intereting handles and door knockers.

It was great to see so many art galleries in the city.

And here is another one down the street.

The architecture in Carcassonne was so beautiful and of such a variery of styles.  Also you had to keep looking up as there is so much to been seen on the upper levels.  That's where the bells are. lol

The stone work was also incredible.

There is a tap in this ornate concave structure. A public water supply from the past?

Here are some of the windows I had to capture with my phone camera.

Some with shutters and some without. :-)

And this one with the flower pots was very high up.

Down at the outer walls of the ciry I found this wonderful arched gateway.

It lead to another beautiful open area with a long avenue of plane trees.

These plane trees can be seen all over France.  I first saw them in St Malo.  They used to line the Canal du Midi, offering shade to those who travelled across France on this magnificent Canal.  

The plane trees were struck down with a fungal desease that was transferred throught the roots of the trees, and because the trees were planted so close together along the banks, and in these avenues, many trees have been lost.  

The unusual appearance of the branches is due to a treatment called pollarding.  

I had to take a picture of the cool Citroen car parked outside a cafe. Such a symbol of France.

This building housed the cafe, and it looks ancient.

Everywhere I looked I saw shutters, open and closed.  I love this concept and don't   understand why it was never adopted and kept alive in England, or Canada for that matter.  

Art, art, everywhere you look.

At the end of the Rue du Verdun, I found the Musee Des Beaux Arts.

What a beautiful space.

Outside was such a tranquil courtyard.

Inside was also calm, with the high decorated ceilings, classical pillars and sweeping staircase.  It was the home to sculptures.

Here is the elegant courtyard.

At the end of of Rue de Verdun was another huge square. Across the street stood a colourful old school building, sectioned off into the girls side and the boys side. The good old days.

Next I found the Post Office and got some prepaid envelopes so I could send Beth her birthday card. With that one and only errand run, it was lunch time and I wanted to find somewhere that wasn't too touristy to eat. As I wandered down the Rue des Barbes from the Post Office I saw a little place that was packed with what looked to be locals.  There was no sign on the cafe, but it looked inviting so I went in.

I was surprised that the lady spoke  such good English, and was invited to sit down at the window table.  She handed me the menu and when I picked it up I was so surprised to see "SUNSHINE" written on the bright yellow sheet.

I felt right at home.  As many of you know, I perform for kids as Pamela Sunshine. This was too funny and made me smile.

I told the lady my story as I ordered my smoked Salmon panini.  

As we chatted I asked her where she was from, and it turned out she came from Peterborough, a town about forty minutes away from where I used to live in England. The synchronicity I keep experiencing here is quite startling.

After eating I had to hurry to the train station to meet with John and the other laidies from the retreat. Once again I passsed the lovely Canal du Midi and got some quick shots of the boats moored there.

John took us all to the grocery stores and the bakery to stock up on supplies for the coming week.  

Soon we were off on our way back through the beautiful countryside to our mountain getaway.

The river runs right through the villages in the valley.

Even the villages have the avenues of plane trees.

Back to the chapel of Labastide. It is just opposite La Muse

La Muse is a long building with an amazing history.

We are situated in the perfect location for walks into the mountians, and Jena and I did some exploring.  But that my friends, is another story.