The very old and the quite new

A big day today.  We were out early to get to the medieval town at Carcassonne that we missed yesterday.  It sits on a hilltop and is pretty vast.

Already there were masses of people there so after a while walking the streets, taking some photos, and soaking up the atmosphere, we queued for 45 minutes to get our tickets to walk the Chateau and the ramparts.  It was a long walk, up and down many steps, but amazing views and again an insight into life on those times.

Then it was back on to the motorway east to a massive viaduct at Millau.  This is a fairly new bridge miles above a gorge.  Quite spectacular as you will see from the photo. There were gorgeous blue skies to see the view from and the drive up there through the mountains was stunning too.

This trip, like others was on a toll road. You collect a ticket at the start, and then when you exit there's a toll both to collect your money, depending how far you have travelled.  We've paid around 7 euros each time, so not that cheap.

For our onward journey, we decided to avoid motorways and take the country roads.  The countryside was truly beautiful in the sunshine, but the roads can be narrow, windy, and often have quite uneven surfaces.  We passed through dozens of little villages with just a few houses, their church, boulangerie and not much more - very picturesque.  We could only average around 60 - 70 kph due to the state of the roads but it was worth it to see the rural sights.

Interestingly, we were mostly seeing rich green pastures, but with no animals grazing and no crops growing.  Must still be too cold at this time of year.  Not sure how they generate income!

In Albi for the night.  This town was a revelation and not what we were expecting.  The centre is also very old, but it was immaculate.  Some of the old towns have an air of decrepitude and look slightly grubby, but not this one.  We wandered after dinner and saw so many quaint little lanes populated with lovely little shops.  Not the crowds here either.

Got up early the next morning to visit the Cathedral St Cecile which is the biggest brick building in the world.  It is quite austere, but imposing from the outside, but inside was just amazing - so ornately decorated and well worth a visit.  Allan bought a souvenir book, so it must have been good!