Carcassonne: 30x30 Outfit 5

 Capris: J Crew Factory / Top, Headband: J Crew / Shoes: Clarks

The old walled Carcassonne is something out of a fairy tale. I was certain I'd find a princess inside. Or at least a damsel in distress. You can see the medieval fortresseed cité from afar from a belvedere along the auto route. 

Once we got inside the cité's double walls { they're serious about that fortress part }, we had a crêpe lunch at a delightful medieval café, which I'm positive I photographed, but Mr. Camera seems to've had his own lunch.

Afterward we toured the old castle...

...where I taught the Husband how to pose while I took a turn behind the camera...

...and then we explored the ramparts with their superb views...

...complete with 52 towers, which I used to play out my fantasy of being a princess locked in a tower. Except my Prince Charming took photos of me rather than rescuing me. How romantic. And my princess wave wasn't even very good. Whole lot of good that time working at Disney did me.

  

We also explored the city, where citizens live in darling homes with very green shrubbery and gardens...

 ...and quaint little shops line the curvy, mixed up streets. 

I even got the Husband into one of these. 

I've been waiting for this moment for years, people. He put his finger to his chin and said in his best Frenchy accent, "Is zees vat you've been vaiting for, chérie?" Ha! I kid. He never calls me chérie. I'm still waiting for that one :) 

Can you imagine living in such a place? Storybook living, friends. Too bad tourists would drive you a bit batty in the summer.

When leaving we headed to Nîmes, a city of ancient Roman ruins. By the time we arrived, we were really tired, so we took a nap and woke up at 10pm. Fortunately for us, people in Europe eat late { a lot of places don't even open till 7pm } so we were able to find a delightful pizzeria where I got white cheese with the best tapenade and tomatoes I've ever tasted and the Husband got a curry pizza. No photos, because we forgot to take the camera. But it was scrumptious, I assure you. Turns out tapenade really is better by the Mediterranean. We even learned that it originated in this area of France. Yet another reason to love la Douce France*:)

Linked here to The Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday {to a Medieval Village}

P.S. Do you see all those vineyards in the photos above? It's so neat to see all the variation in the landscape and vegetation here, from the lush green Normandy to the vineyards in central and southern France and we're starting to get into olive groves as we move further south and closer to the Mediterranean! This will be my very first trip to the Med and I'm sooooo excited!

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* Douce France = Sweet France

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