Carcassonne Crochet Retreat :: Part 2

A few weeks ago I posted a blog all about my recent crochet retreat in the south of France (the post is ((here)) if you missed it), and I really enjoyed sharing the project that I designed and taught to the guests during our week away. We stayed in a really lovely four star hotel right in the heart of the old walled city of Carcassonne, and the week was a perfect mix of crochet and leisure time, and of time spent indoors and outdoors. Four days of the week we were based in the hotel retreating with our yarn and hooks, and two days were spent out and about on organised excursions.

Carcassonne is a very, very very old medieval town and there is much to learn about the life and history of a place that spans across many centuries. 

The history is more than a little bit mind blowing - in fact, Carcassonne has about 2,500 years of it and has been occupied in different ages by Romans, Visigoths and Crusaders. It's a walled citadel built high up on a hill, and you can see in the above photo that it's constructed with two sets of stone walls. 

The outer walls and towers are incredibly well preserved to say how ancient the town is, and over the years there has been a fair bit of restoration carried out to keep it in such good condition.

The walls are around 3 kilometres in length with 52 huge towers, and this is about the only thing I can remember from the ninety minute guided tour we had of Carcassonne.  We had a wonderful young French lady tell us all about it and she was extremely good at explaining the intricate layers of history that surround a place this ancient. It's just that my memory doesn't really hold onto that depth of information any more, but if you are at all interested, then Wikipedia can fill you in.

I just loved being there to soak in the ambience, and to appreciate how lucky I was to see such a famous and historical town with my own eyes.

There are four entrance gates which allow you to pass through the impressive stone walls and enter the old town inside. On the morning that we arrived, our coach dropped us outside the walls, and we walked through the main gate (pictured above) to reach our hotel - I'll never forget the >>wow<< that I felt seeing the old streets for the first time.

It was almost impossible to photograph our hotel because the streets were all very narrow and the buildings tall, but you can see part of it in the above photo on the right hand side. It was a gift staying in such a central location (I think there are only two hotels inside the walls), and at every opportunity I spent time walking around and soaking in the atmosphere.

The above photo shows the main square which was just a few minutes walk from our hotel, and the place where we went most days to eat lunch (and dinner too). Oh my goodness, it was such a pleasure! I mentioned in my first post that we were exceptionally lucky with the weather and during early October we were treated to temperatures in the high twenties. Imagine that?! For this sun-loving soul living in the cool north of England, this kind of sunny warm weather is the stuff of my dreams.

I can tell you that I really, really enjoyed my food in France. Lunches were a relaxed, leisurely affair and I especially enjoyed eating outside in the sunshine with a cheeky little glass of chilled rosé wine to help things along. A had some amazing salads (hello, warm melty goats cheese) but I think my two favourite and most memorable lunches were the above French onion soup (it tasted absolutely incredible, and I had it twice)....

....and snails! I've eaten snails before, many years ago in Paris when I was on a student art trip, and they are an interesting thing to put in one's mouth. In all honesty, I think perhaps I enjoyed mopping up the melted garlic and herb butter with my crusty bread a little bit more than the actual snails themselves, but it was a wonderful culinary experience for sure.

Carcassonne is an extremely popular tourist destination and I can imagine that in the height of the summer season it would be insanely busy. In fact, that's just reminded me of something else I remember from our guided tour - the numbers. Apparently there are only 47 residents living within the old city walls, but the town receives almost three MiLLioN visitors every year. That's rather a lot, isn't it?!

Luckily for me, October was a perfect month to be there and it was possible to really enjoy the unique atmosphere of the old streets without the crowds.

I absolutely loved walking around the streets - I abandoned my map pretty early on when I realised that I actually couldn't follow it (I kept getting lost no matter how hard I tried). 

I discovered that it was more fun to just meander along random streets, turning corners here and there and allowing myself to relax into the "lost" feeling. Eventually I would end up either back where I started (quite literally walking in circles), or popping out between buildings and suddenly recognising where I was.

On the day of our guided historical tour, we decided to leave the high old walls behind and descend down to the lower and newer part of Carcassonne. It took about half an hour to walk....

....and we discovered that the new town was just as delightful and full of character as the old town.

We arrived just as the morning market was coming to a close which was a bit of a shame as we only caught glimpses of a few stalls....

....but it was as beautiful as you would expect.

The lower part of Carcassonne has a huge town square complete with a fountain and a multitude of places to eat and drink. I find this sunny outdoor lifestyle so appealing and enjoyable, and at times I felt like I was existing inside a film or a travel brochure. It was pleasure overload!

It was a stunning afternoon (around 28 degrees I think) and the walk back was slow and hot. We crossed over the wide river....

....then began the slow climb back up the hill to the old walls. It was lovely though, very scenic and a really nice balance to the rather intense days of indoor crochet concentration.

Our second day of excursions took us by coach to another beautiful medieval town called Mirepoix.

There was no agenda here, just the opportunity to spend some hours pootling and enjoying the place.

I'm not really much of a shopper (although I do quite like browsing), but many of the guests really enjoyed all the little independent boutique shops here in Mirepoix. All along the ground floor underneath the arches there was a mixture of shops and cafés...

....lots of things to see and tempt you to part with your Euros.

I am much more of an outdoor tourist and would rather spend my time looking at trees and buildings and views than the inside of shops.

Mirepoix had some very beautiful and picturesque streets...

....and some delightful refreshment opportunities too.

I enjoyed a morning coffee, and then later on....

...a really incredible hot chocolate. You see that glass full of whipped cream?

Yup, alllllllll that cream went into my hot chocolate and it was possibly one of the richest, sweetest and most indulgent drinks I've ever experienced.

In the afternoon we were taken to another small town to visit a textile museum - this was mostly focussed on natural dyes, spinning and weaving techniques. It was interesting to learn about the importance of textiles in the region and see some of the very early spinning and weaving machines in action. 

There were many times during the week when we really enjoyed the beautiful little walled garden at the hotel. It was such a peaceful oasis and a lovely place to spend time.

Often we would find ourselves drawn there in the lull before heading out for our evening meal, enjoying the last of the sun and the company of lovely crochet friends.

I have to be honest and say that as much as I really loved teaching and being a part of the group, it was quite an intense experience and usually by the time 5 o'clock rolled around I was ready for a recharge. I would often head out by myself at this time to soak up the beauty of Carcassonne...

....and I think these quiet, early evening strolls were some of my favourite times.

It was impossible not to fall in love with Carcassonne, it was just so ridiculously beautiful!

I found that by the end of the week I really, really didn't want to leave. 

I loved being somewhere that was so unique and picturesque and I absolutely LOVED the dry, sunny, golden warmth. I mean, of course I'm sure I would have enjoyed it in dull grey weather too, but the gift of a hot, blue-sky week in October was appreciated so very much. Did I mention that I didn't want to come home?

After seven wonderful days I had no choice but to get on that plane and fly north back to England, and look, we brought the sunshine with us! London looked amazing from the air and although I still had some long hours of travel ahead, I was full of gratitude for the week I'd spent in France.

Well, I really hope you've enjoyed seeing a little more of my French trip - I've tried hard not to waffle too much and believe me when I tell you I'm only showing you a fraction of the photos I took. Haha - you've had a lucky escape!

The retreat was organised by Stitchtopia craft holidays which is part of a much larger travel company, and I can't recommend them highly enough. Everything is very well organised and each group is led by an experienced tour manager so you feel very well looked after. 

Hopefully very soon I'll be able to share news of my 2023 crochet retreat, it's exciting to think that I've got something so lovely and pleasurable to look forward to next year. A week of sunshiny crochet and beautiful views? Yes please!

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x Carcassonne retreat post : part 1 x

 

 

 

Comments

[Jools]

We play the game Carcassonne at home as a family (its a really good board game) and plan to visit the actual place one day. It looks just as lovely as I imagined.

[Textile Buying House]

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[SUNTECH]

weaving machine, also known as cotton looms, cloth weaving loom, the earliest loom was the squat loom (called the waist loom) that sat on the ground.SUNTECH is a worldwide enterprise of making and developing advanced weaving machine.

[Mackie]

Snails taste amazing! Great architecture too, lovely post!

[Avatar maker]

Not only you I guess everyone loves to be there. Thanks for sharing the beautiful and explanaory article.

[Textile House]

We fulfilled International Standards as a Textile Sourcing and Inspection House. That's why we are the leading Textile Buying House.

[Louise]

Oh my gosh that is the place of my dreams. So gorgeous! My 3rd great grandfather and his parents came from a little village that reminds me of Carcasonne. It's called Chalon-sur-Saone in the north east of France and lived in an apartment like in those twisty streets you walked around in Carcassone. One day I hope to visit there myself. Thank you so much for sharing. It looks like the most marvelous week!

[Rebecca]

It's so funny because I was in Mirepoix just around the same time you were, and we visited Carcassonne - some of your photos could just be mine!

http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.com/2022/11/trip-to-france-day-8.html

http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.com/2022/11/trip-to-france-day-6.html

[Angela]

The history is sooooo interesting! Thank you for sharing Lucy!!

[Debbi Robertson]

Have you tried "programming" your dreams so you can keep your Carcassonne-ian holiday alive for a spell? I'm oftentimes able to do that, and it's always such a treat! I hope the transition back to the your real world is gentle. And as always, thank you so much for letting us into your Attic (and beyond!).

[pam favill]

Brought back lovely memories its been over 20 years since I was there

[Tineke]

I was there when my youngest was fully into knights and castles, so I had intense days running after happy kids. It is stunning, the surrounding cities are beautiful
too. I can imagine, 5 days of full-time teaching asks for quiet walks afterward. It is a good place to live, just like the other side of the Pyrenees. History, lovely people, good food, culture, and warmth.

[JayCrafter]

Hello, Lucy,

Thank you for sharing more photographs of Carcassonne. It really is a beautiful medieval town. I am sure it will remain in your thoughts for many years, as it has in mine.

Thank you and thank you again and for taking time to share your life blog with us all.

Warmest wishes,
Jay

[carol partridge]

its like a fairytale place, isn't it. Glad you enjoyed your visit, even if you were working. I always enjoy looking at the places you have been and love all your photo's. Thank you for sharing and taking the time to put them on your blog. Much appreciated, Lucy.

[Winwick Mum]

What a stunning place! I love old walls and buildings, and wonder what they would say about all the people who have lived there ... I wouldn't have wanted to come home either! :) xx

[Sally Spragg]

Ooh that looks and sounds like a gorgeous place and it was combined with crochet! So glad that you enjoyed it all!

[Kay]

Wow, it looks absolutely beautiful. I will certainly be adding this to my list of places that I would like to visit.

[Simon]

Carcassonne really does look hauntingly pretty, and all that history🏰 must add to the atmosphere amazingly! I'm not sure any aerial shot of London can be called "amazing", especially after where you just came from - I know where I'd rather be! I was struck by the amount of colours in your photos, will they be inspiring a blanket any time soon I wonder?! Thanks for sharing your trip with the rest of us👋😀

[LynW]

Sitting here in Napier, NZ on a very wet rainy day, the history and character of your lovely workshop sat well with me too. Bit far for me to come over, but I can indulge my fantasies can’t I? Beautiful places in Europe [and New Zealand].

Enjoy your home, Lucy.
Regards
Lyn