Lees in France

Friday we took to the road heading west. This was our first road trip in France lasting over 45 minutes. We took the road less traveled and that made all the difference. (Actually we had google maps set to “avoid highways” until we realized it was going to take us FOREVER to get to our destination.) Every village we experience in France has an entry road lined with sycamore trees. It is quite impressive, beautiful and enjoyable to our eyes. We came upon a village whose tree entry was the longest and straightest we have seen yet! Wind turbines are strategically scattered on the rolling hills and plains reminding us of other trips out west to Kansas and Oklahoma.

We made it to Carcassonne midday and immediately took to the medieval streets looking for a late (American time) or normal (French time) lunch. Carcassonne Cité is a French fortified city, containing 53 towers, a drawbridge, a dry moat, and all protected by double walls. The Romans built this city on rock and roll or in 122 BC.

Written on the Carcassonne tourist website, https://www.grand-carcassonne-tourisme.co.uk/carcassonne/, “The legend of Dame Carcas: a princess, a pig, and a victory… According to legend, Dame Carcas, wife of a Muslim prince of Carcassonne, drove back Charlemagne’s Frankish army, using various strategies. She had a whole pig, which had been fed on the last bag of wheat, dropped from the top of the ramparts to show her enemies that the Cité still had plenty of provisions to withstand a siege. This pig was the deciding factor in Charlemagne’s decision to lift the siege, as he thought the residents were not going to give up. In reality, it was the last pig, and there was not actually anything else to eat! Dame Carcas decided too that the bells should be rung to celebrate victory, from where the name ‘Carcas Sonne’ comes, “sooner” meaning to ring.”