On the road (3) A (hopefully) sunny September road trip to Spain COMPLETED - Page 41 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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We headed out of the city, bound for our next destination, the medieval city of Carcassonne. We decided not to take the toll road for once, as it wasn’t that far away, only about an hour’s drive and I thought it would allow us to see the countryside for once. Of course, isn’t it typical, the only time we make that decision is the first time we see any serious rain all trip? Still, I managed as best I could.
Fortunately, by the time we got to Carcassonne, the rain had all but stopped, although we both thought that it was still in the air, so went equipped with umbrellas. It was a lot cooler than the previous few days and we were feeling that. It was probably still in the low 70s, but the wind was definitely taking the edge off the temperatures.
We set off from the car park, noting that the first hour here was free, which we were impressed with, although I doubted we’d be spending that little time here. Mark’s parents’ had raved about this place and that’s why I’d pretty much made it the main attraction of today.
As we walked up to the entrance, we saw Le Petit Train, waiting to set off and we decided to have a ride around. It was a 20-minute ride for €7 ($9.10) each and it turned out to be excellent value. The tour took us the whole way around the rampants, pausing for some wonderful views at the back of the medieval city.
Look how close we got to the city walls! Heading into the city of Carcasssonne, the part that lies beyond the medieval city
Eventually, we went back to where we’d started from at the main entrance, having learnt a lot about the place on the way round, thanks to the historical audioguide available in a number of different languages. This place has only been taken twice in its entire history and, going round it, you could see why, as it’s exceptionally imposing to anyone thinking of attacking it. During one siege, apparently they fed a pig everything they had and then threw it out. Its insides split and the attackers decided to end the siege, as they figured there was no point, as obviously those inside had such good supplies. It’s a gory story, but it illustrates the point about how daunting this place was.
To give you some history to the medieval city, it’s on a steep bank above the River Aude and has been a key settlement since the second century BC. It was actually restored to its wonderful splendour in the 19th century by an architectural historian and thank goodness he did.
Next: the coolest tourist information place – ever!
I thought this was the most different thing I'd ever seen on a building of this age. Did you learn anything about it?
Looks like this was a great stop off on the trip!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I thought this was the most different thing I'd ever seen on a building of this age. Did you learn anything about it?
Looks like this was a great stop off on the trip!
: sorry we didn't - at least not that I remember anyway....
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Thursday 16 September – part four: the coolest tourist information place – ever!
Once we were back at the main entrance, we got some shots of the two of us with the tripod.
Then we headed inside, marvelling again at the magnificent defences. This is the Porte Narbonnaise, with the two external towers built in 1280. Its defences include two portcullises, two iron doors, a moat and a drawbridge.
As we entered the city itself, it reminded us of Mont St. Michel, with shops lining the main street and the place thronging with people.
We had a quick look inside the tourist information place and this has to be the coolest one I’ve ever seen. What a superb location!
We checked out a few shops, just seeing what they had and the prices, but to be honest, they were pretty much the same throughout the place.
We found a lovely square and this was the start of the restaurants area. We headed into the next square and it was just packed with places to eat. My goodness, so much choice! I wandered around, assessing which places I liked the look of and what the prices were.
Admiring the selection on offer!
There was another lovely area next door to this.
We made our way along some more streets, seeing restaurants and shops with every turn we made. You wouldn’t go hungry here. :
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Still, I managed as best I could. 
: sorry we didn't - at least not that I remember anyway....
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