Cassonne, the Fortress

We found the bridge that lead to the old village and crossed it. It was a pedestrian pathway and was beautiful. There was a small river underneath and old lampposts everywhere. I wish that I had a camera.

I followed the small line of human ants and walked up the stairs into the castle. The small ant trail turned into a huge funnel of people. They were stopping in the middle of the street to take pictures, as I walked into a few and maneuvered around some others, I made it to the drawbridge. There was someone playing harp and about twenty people videotaping.

I made it past the drawbridge and suddenly felt claustrophobic. The small village had tiny streets (expected) but there were overflowing with people. It was the largest tourist trap I have been in, in a long time. I immediately clutched my bag as anyone could easily have opened it (well if I didn't have a bike lock on the zippers, but none-the-less, I clutched it). I saw a stairwell that led up and took it to get some air. It lead to a guided tour, but it was in French, and cost money. I decided not to pay for something that I may not understand and went back down.

There were souvenir shops (armor, swords, magnets, postcards) and restaurants. That was it. Really...that was it. I don't know why I thought it would be different, perhaps because it was recommended to me. Apparently it is a big thing not just in France but in Europe. I was not so impressed. I wandered a bit, tried to find a view of the city and was ready to go. I bought a crepe, there was a huge line so I figured they were good and they actually turned out to be the best buy! Anyway, after that I decided to investigate some more, there had to be more than just these cheesy rip off shops and food.

I found a store that let you pick a bottle and a type of vinegar and fill it up. It was super cool and they had like 20 different kinds. I wanted to do this, but knew it would be impossible for me to carry around, so I passed. There was a beautiful church in the middle of the village. It was huge. It had magnificent stained glass windows and statues of saints. The souvenir coin machine and art for sale took away for the beauty a bit, but I still enjoyed this church the most. After the church, there was nothing else interesting, just more of the shops and food. I decided to head back to town, early...really early.