Carcassonne is a woof woofing good time

Dear Reader,

I met my first Pyrenees dogs in the wonderful hilltown of Carcassonne, France, which is still one of my favorite places in the world. Carcassonne is a classic ancient city in the south of France in the Midi-Pyrenees close to the Pyrenees Mountains and also close to Provence. It is a hot dry climate for half the year but can get quite cold in winter. For those of you who remember a commercial a few years back with a volkswagon racing through cobbled streets lined with walls, that was filmed in Carcassonne.

Carcassonne has the classic position for a hilltown, high up on a promontory overlooking the modern city and the canal du midi which you can cruise on a canal boat all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. I've always wanted to do that but haven't gotten around to it yet. The hot dry climate is perfect for growing grapes and the area surrounding Carcassonne makes some truly wonderful full bodied hearty red wines called Fitu and Minervois to name a couple.

The food is a perfect compliment to the wines. If you've ever had a true French cassoulet, this is where it comes from. The cassoulet, which is a piping hot casserole consisting of white beans, tomatoes, confit de canard (duck cooked for two days in it's own fat) ham, and a bunch of spices I'm not sure about, is a very filling and hardy dish for those cold winters. But I can't resist having one in Carcassonne no matter what time of year it is.

The other delight that you must try in Carcassonne is their aperitif, Eau de Vie, which is similar to the Italian Grappa but much more delicate. They serve this little drink before and in between courses at meals to help burn a hole in the stomach to make room for more food. I've always admired the way that the French have eating and drinking all figured out. It burns as it goes down but it really does work.

All this talk doesn't even begin to describe the beauty and wonder of this ancient city which was in existence when the Romans invaded. In fact, the inner wall (the city is surrounded by two walls separated by a dry moat) was built by the Romans. The Romans knew a good thing when they saw it so they settled there and also knew a good place to plant grape vines so they started the wonderful wine produced to this day.

During medieval times the outer wall was built complete with moat and the rather small Chateau complete with drawbridge was just inside. The views from the outer walls of the countryside are lovely, especially on a clear day looking south towards the Pyrenees Mountains. One can just see them off in the distance.

There's several stories about the name, Carcassonne. One version is that the name Carcas was already in place when the Romans arrived. Others claim that the Romans named it. But my favorite story is about Madame Carcass who sonned (rang) the bell after a long siege by none other than Charlemagne and his vast army. According to the tale, the city had been besieged for months but the people would not surrender and Charlemagne couldn't get past or over the two walls so he was starving them into submission. This was common practice until cannons were invented. The people inside, hungry and desperate, were down to only one pig. Madame Carcass made the bold suggestion that they fling the pig over the wall at the feet of the enemy. This would show Charlemagne that they had so much food they could afford to give away a pig and not be hungry. It worked and when the army left Madame Carcass sonned the bell and the name Carcas- sonne came into being. It's probably not true but it's a nice story. I do know the city was never conquered after the Romans came.

In the early nineteenth century the city was almost abandoned and had fallen into ruin. The French government hired a famous architect to repair and restore Carcassonne. He had some fanciful ideas about what medieval cities looked like, something like Grimm's Fairy Tales, so he put his ideas into Carcassonne. The result is what the locals call the ridiculous "pepper pots" on top of each turret. These are conical shaped roofs which became popular during the sixteenth century in the building of the great chateaux in France, particularly along the Loire River. I like them. They make you feel like you are in a fairy tale indeed.

The inner city inside the walls is quite small considering how interesting it is. There's not a whole lot to see in Carcassonne besides a torture museum, the small cathedral, the chateau and the ramparts but that's the beauty of the place. It's a place to relax and savor, to be enjoyed and rest up before and after other rigorous touring elsewhere. Typically, like most hill towns which have some fame, the crowds of tourists arrive in the mid-morning and leave again before dark. Before and after they arrive and leave again the town is quiet and very peaceful. It's a pleasure to stroll, climb the ramparts and look at the views, and, of course, taste wine.

The main place or square is very lovely and lively with several restaurants and bistros around it, outdoor tables and lights strung overhead. Close by is a very pleasant wine bar where you can buy by the glass or the bottle and sit at a picnic table in the grassy garden protected from the tourists by a stone wall. The garden is quite large and over the wall one can see the cathedral which is elevated and part of the ramparts. We sat there for one entire afternoon drinking wine, two bottles, and playing with their beautiful collie dog.

At night the entire city is illuminated so it pays to stroll out through one of the gates and walk a bit of a distance away for a view. One night in March when John and I were celebrating our anniversary we walked outside the walls and strolled downhill a bit to the vineyards and looked back at the golden city and there perched directly above was the Hale Bopp comet again. We had seen it from the airplane and every night of our vacation but this was something to see. It was so clear we could see the tale. Well, I can't guarantee you will see a comet as this one comes only once every 70 years but the rest is never changing, I hope.

On our first visit to Carcassonne we were lucky enough to get a room at one of only three hotels inside the walls. This one has rooms with windows built into the outer walls with views of the hillside and the new city below. It is a very cool place. I love it. We've stayed there at least three times and I guarantee that if you go, you must get a room inside the old city or don't stay there at all.

Just a few yards down the street as we were walking along two huge furry dogs, one white and one black, came woofing at us, big tall pointy ears flopping and tales wagging. I'd never seen dogs like these anywhere. Their eyes are partially covered with fur and the fur rather resembles very shaggy mohair. Their long legs and paws are also covered with the shaggy hair and the tails are fringed. I guess they had expected to scare us off but instead we welcomed them and they became our pals after that. Every time we walked by their place, which is a nice little restaurant that serves breakfast of all things, they would rush out to greet us and and get a good petting. They are very frisky dogs and need lots of running and jumping. I wondered how much they got inside a small walled city.

The next time we visited Carcassonne we saw the dogs again but this time their ears had been clipped and they each had a metal bar holding the ears in an upward position. I was shocked by this, not understanding why people alter their dogs' appearance but they seemed alright. Both were as boisterous and loud as ever. We had breakfast at their restaurant every morning because John was craving eggs and they make a wonderful omlet. During each meal the tourists would start to appear on the street outside and that was their signal to go and give chase. It was hilarious to watch these two giant woofing dogs run outside and scare the living daylights out of unsuspecting tourists. Once they screamed or tried to shoo them away, the dogs would happily return to the restaurant with tales wagging to wait for the next round of tourists.  It was very funny and I was glad that we were friends or else we might also have been their victims.

On our last visit to Carcassonne we saw only one of the dogs and I think he was being punished for bad behavior because the owner wouldn't let him go outside. I heard the other dog running around upstairs so maybe they had both been bad. But he couldn't just sit there and watch us eat and not have any fun so he ran up to our table and grabbed a baguette which he ran off with. Rather than eat it, he lowered his nose to the floor and growled at it like a toy and slobbered all over it and then brought it back to our table and deposited it. Oh gross! I told John that he was meant to throw the baguette so he did and sure enough, doggy went after it and brought it right back. This game went on until the baguette was a disgusting soppy chewed up piece of bread and the owner came into the room and shooed the dog away. She apologized to us and we smiled sincerely hoping she didn't know we played along with it.

We just seem to have that effect on people and animals of all kinds. As soon as you get to know John and I you want to misbehave. It's a gift and a curse but I wouldn't trade it away for anything in the world.

Bon Nuit