France--Part Two

We went for a walk along the river that runs through Carcassonne one day, hoping to get out into the countryside. There wasn't really any accessible "countryside" like we'd hoped for, too many roads and cars, but we did find a nice path through some vineyards:

There were also some incredible views of the old city from the riverside:

I hope this one gives a sense of how big the city is...it really is unlike anything I'd seen before:

And now for a few more pictures from inside the old city. (We did do other things as well!)

My little lightning bug:

(Darn reflector patch on the back of his jacket. I have about dozen photos which would be awesome, if not for David's illuminated tush.)

David, of course, found some puddles to stomp in:

(But seriously, how cool is it to stomp in puddles with that kind of a backdrop?)

Back home, we had bread, cheese and local wine for dinner almost every night. (Michael and I, that is!)

How's this for stinky cheese?

If you can't tell, the brie on the right is super dusty gray on the outside. The rind was...well...Michael called it diaper cheese. The cheese on the left, though, was awesome! I couldn't look too closely while eating it, but it was delicious. The region is particularly known for goat cheese, and we all ate a lot of that, but didn't take any photos. (Turns out David loves goat cheese! Such a funny boy. Won't eat ham, for example, but bring on the goat cheese!)

Our apartment had a washer and drier, (which we used almost daily, thanks to Ryan Air's lack of a baggage allowance), but it did not have a bathtub. So, David got to take his baths in the kitchen sink!

I think it's safe to say he enjoyed them :

And that's all for now! More to come :)