Languedoc

After two nights at Chateau de la Prade, with a wonderful dinner of salmon and vegetables on our last night, we left yesterday morning by 9:30.  We stopped at the local market in Bram, brimming with everything from fresh vegetables to shoes, flowers, and live goats.

We got on the peage and drove west.  We stopped at the overlook of Carcassonne, a medieval fort, added onto for centuries.  There has been a settlement on the sight since 3500 BC, over 5500 years!  We have visited Carcassonne before, but we had never seen it from the south. 

We stopped in Narbonne, a city we visited a few years ago, and Papa was anxious to return.  

This time, the parks in the center of the city were no longer under construction, and they were 

green and beautiful.  The market was open.  We enjoyed our return to Narbonne.

We drove a few miles north of Narbonne to the Oppidium d'Enserune, which was a settlement on a hill, occupied without interruption between the 6th century BC and 1st century AD.  The most interesting thing about the Oppidium was the agricultural field below, which was known as the Swamp of Montady.  In the 13th century, the swamp was drained, and ditches were dug to allow water to flow to the center of the circular depression.  Underground pipes were laid for miles, to drain the fields.  The 13th century drainage is still functional and in use today.

From the Oppidium, we drove to Puicheric, to the Chateau de Puicheric, our B and B for two nights. Dominica and Philippe couldn't have been more welcoming.  They bought the Chateau 

just four years ago and have done extensive work, with much still to be done.

From their website, "A thousand years of history in stout walls and a tower, and an inner courtyard with 16th, 17th, and 18th century facades.  Indoors, 18th century painted ceilings and frescoes.  Most of the original castle was destroyed in 1355 by the Black Prince.  All that remains from that period is the tower and the walls.  The castle has since been altered and gradually rebuilt, with each period adding its particular "stone"... It was occupied by nobility until the Revolution, then by the Reverdy family until 1990. Comprehensive alterations (raised roofs, new interior walls and tiled floors) were undertaken in the early 20^th century."  Chateau de Puicheric is a delightful B and B!