France, part 3

One week after we arrived in France, we went north about 190 miles to Aveyron. We stopped for lunch in Carcassonne - we wandered around La Cité, a 12th century fortress that's formidable and beautiful as you approach it, and just a bit touristy when you get inside.

After lunch, we continued on to our new gite - just 5 minutes outside the charming metropolis of Rodelle (population - I don't know - maybe 30?) Here's the view from our balcony - Rodelle is the town you can see off in the distance, just barely. The house down the hill from us had chickens and roosters wandering around, a gorgeous garden, and a old French man - we didn't approach him close enough to find out if he was the kind grandfatherly type, or more the coot who waves his cane at you yelling "You kids stay out of my garden!"

Here were our nearest neighbors:

So naturally, as soon as we unloaded the cars, we became hicks. I wish I'd thought to give SA some hay to chew on.

Later, Grandpa took SA for a walk through the field below the house:

We were in Aveyron primarily for a wedding, but managed to see one or two of the local sights - we went to Bozouls, a town built on a very scenic sinkhole:

Then we made it to Laguiole, a town famous for its knives. Plus, apparently, they're quite fond of cows - really, the whole surrounding area is cattle country. Before we left, a busload of French tourists stopped - I was heartened to see that French tourists can be every bit as crude as Americans around depictions of bull genitalia.

To be continued....