Bonjour!

The seemingly endless jet lag and lack of wifi until today have stalled this blog—but not for long! I am still figuring out how to add the correct accent marks to the French words so please forgive their absence for now.

We arrived in Toulouse Friday night, then traveled to Carcassonne Saturday afternoon. This medieval ville is a fortified French town in the region of Languedoc and Roussillon.  High on a hilltop is perched the older, Cite de Carcassonne, a fairy-tale like castle, settled as far back as the sixth century BC by Romans and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Below the Cite lies the ville of Carcassonne, a bastide and beautiful walled city in its own right.

Carcassonne’s lively energy is evident in the many colorful cafes and bistros that crowd its place, or plaza. Lured by the smell of intoxicating spices coming from a tiny Morocan restaurant which was closed, we curiously peered through the window to see bright orange walls and about four small tables. The owner, Nibil, noticed us and came out to enthusiastically invite us in through the back door. Once inside, he introduced us to his wife, the chef, who creates all the Moroccan dishes with fresh ingredients daily. Excited to share his love of food and people with us and as a sign of friendship, he offered us a small glass of Moroccan white wine. We promised to return for dinner one night this week. Meeting the real people who live here and getting the behind-the-scene tours is what life is all about. I’ll take lots of photos!

These photos are a snapshot of this pretty ville.

The markets are closed today and tomorrow for a holiday so I can’t get my fix until Tuesday. More on food and the fabulous dinner we had last night later…