Day 17
Carcassonne is a fortified city that lies on top of a hill. There are more than 50 fortified towers around the city. It is situated along the old driveway that used to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Carcassonne is one of the best kept mediaeval fortified cities of Europe. But so crowded! There were way to many visitors at the time that we were there as well. It’s a pity though, because it made that we didn’t stay a long time.
Our next stop was Toulouse. We didn’t stay here for a very long time neither. We went towards de Basilisk of St.-Sermin and the Jacobin church. You can also visit the Capitol, which contains the town hall and the theater.
Day 18
Today we passed by Rocamadour on our way to our final stop. You have to take the time to drive around this city so you can have a beautiful view over the entire city as it springs out of the mountain.
The city itself was crowded again. You need to park your car in a parking and then walk a bit to enter through the city gates. The most important building in the city is the church that’s actually built out of the mountain. Inside the church you can see the Black Madonna.
Day 22
Bordeaux is a city that lies near the Garonne. This city used to be the Celtic settlement Burdigala from which the Romans rebuilt in a trading city where ten thousands of people lived. During the Middle Ages the English were ruling the city. During that time, the harbor in Bordeaux was really important to export the Bordeaux wines to England and import English trading stuff.
In Bordeaux you can walk around the Place de la Comédie and visit the Grand Théâtre. A bit further away you can also find the Place de la Bourse. This is the town hall, but it used to be the bishop’s palace.
Day 27
Time for some fun and joy ;-). Near Poitiers you can find the Futuroscope. An attraction park that’s not quite like all the others. This park is built with theme’s like multimedia, cinematografic and futuristic audiovisual techniques. In the evening there’s also a Spectacle Nocturne (Lady Ö), a light and water spectacle with the fountains. This is truly an unique park in Europe, although I have to say that some attractions were a bit old fashioned. On the other hand other ones were really worth doing!
Day 28
After Poitiers, we left to visit Nantes. This was and is an important city for industry and economics as it lies next to the Loire. During the Roman ages it started out as a major city and during the Middle Ages it was the capital city of Bretagne. There’s a medieval castle inside the city as a proof of it’s importance. The city is also known for its Machines of the Isle of Nantes with the giant mechanical elephant that walks around the city. There’s also a botanical garden and a lot of parks inside the city where you sit, walk and relax.
Around the world in a lifetime 