Sarlat to Carcassonne

Thursday 24 the September

Sarlat to Carcassonne

We had an interesting dinner for our last night in Sarlat. We found a restaurant on the main square. Nearby was a female organ grinder who was pumping out Piaf songs as if her life depended on it. So we took a table and asked about the local specialties. We each chose something that was a house speciality – duck, lamb, beef. The waitress brought mine out first – lamb chops, on a sizzling block of granite and placed it in front of me, but I was horrified to see that the six chops were raw and asked for them to be cooked some more. She said that you cook them yourself! That’s why the plate was sizzling! Karol and Michaell had duck and that too was cooked on a sizzle plate. Different but nice. Dick had beef which the chef actually cooked. We each had a dessert, but half way through his, Dick had an alarming allergic reaction. There didn’t appear to be anything in his dish that he was allergic to, but Karol did ask the waitress who said she had used the same spoon to dish out all the desserts. There may have been something nutty on the spoon. He and I went home and by the time we got back to the hotel he was in a very bad way. Luckily he had an EpiPen, which really helped. He was OK after a while but we were all a bit concerned.

In the morning we set off for Carcassone and drove straight through to the Medieval City. It is an entire castle, church, houses, shops, restaurants that have been restored to reflect its grand past. We had a WOW moment as we approached – haven’t had one for a couple of days. We spent a few hours wandering around the castle, the ramparts, and the basilica, which has some of the most beautiful stained glass we have seen in France.

In the basilica (yes, a pilgrim stopover) a quartet of Russian tenors was singing – wow! The sound these four men made filled the whole church and we had to sit down and listen. We loved them so much we bought the CD.

We stopped at a pharmacy on the way to the hotel and tried to purchase another epipen, but were informed that Dick needed a prescription, and found a doctor nearby who would see us later in the evening. Back to the hotel, quick dinner (even in a hotel in the Zone Industriale we had a fabulous meal – Dick and Michael had cassoulet – local speciality of white beans, sausage and duck, while Karol and I had chicken with seasonal fruits – delicious). We went back to the doctor who prescribed the anapen and then to a pharmacy. Karol has been amazing as our interpreter – we are very fortunate have her!

We went back to the old city which was lit up and looks just beautiful. The castle from a distance is spectacular.

This is our last night in France. We have been thrilled all the way and have been amazed by the beauty of its cities, towns, villages and countryside. The food and wines are fabulous. The churches are incredible, and the chateaux are what I thought I would only see in Fairy stories. Vive La France!