...early afternoon. The wind was going full force outside. Good thing our host, Suri, volunteered to pick us up.When Suri arrived at the train station, a mystery was solved. We were wondering if he was a man or a woman. All we knew was that he was an artist. As he opened his car door, I was a little troubled about what the apartment would look like. If his car was anything to go by, we were in big trouble. There were papers strewn everywhere, soda cans (yes, plural), and generally other types of trash. Oh boy!
The apartment was a big surprise. When Suri said he was an artist, he was not kidding. He re-purposed found objects and everyday things into beautiful decorative art. The whole apartment was decorated that way and he's not even done yet. Never judging a book by it's cover never ran truer. He was also very kind. He toured us around the apartment and showed us some of the things he was still working on. He saw that we were drinking lemon water so he cut up a huge lemon and put it in a pitcher of water for us. He also volunteered to drive us to the train station for our departure tomorrow.
After the house tour, we walked the one block to the medieval city and started exploring the castle. I wanted to cry. Carcassonne was something that Anj and I only read about and then we were there, exploring the keep, walking the ramparts, going up snd down the towers. It was wonderful! The main street has been converted into shops selling candies, ice cream, souvenirs and costumes. As you walk along the side streets, there are hotels, restaurants and mini-museums. We also were able to chance upon an old church that we didn't see in the map, or maybe we just didn't understand it? So we sat inside for a bit and said our daily prayers.
When dinner time came, we retraced our ateps to those places that we thought were interesting, only to see them closed. So, we went back to the main square which was lined with restaurants.. The restaurants' menus was pretty similar so you go where the French go or you go with your gut. :D We chose one that says they won an award or something this year and also has a recommendation on Trip Advisor. They weren't ready to serve dinner yet so we started with cold drinks. When they were ready, we ordered our meal and a bottle of their house rosé to go with. One other thing I loved about the place is that, compared to Paris, everything was so, so much cheaper. As in! We stayed until Anj couldn't stand the cold anymore then we headed back to the apartment to pack again and separate what was going on the walk with us and which ones will be transported ahead to Santiago de Compostela. Tomorrow, we head to St. Jean to get our credentials. :-D