Carcassonne to Bolquere...

We rose this morning in a much better mood… although drinking that bottle of wine may have been a terrible idea given it was a 6.30am start this morning but I managed to force in breakfast, something I’m not very good at until I’ve smoked at least twice and had coffee. I was met at breakfast with an array of Happy Birthday chants from the boys in lycra… only premature by a week!!

We left not long after them which made a nice change, on track to catch them at the first stop in Limoux. We thought we’d stop in at the Medieval City to take a few photos and then get on our way. Almost at Limoux and I suddenly wondered where John’s bike box was so I called nice car boss to check… the response ‘oh it’s in the baggage room in the hotel’ I promptly hung up!! Eejit! Just as we started to think we’d nailed this support lark, the boys throw a spanner in the works!

42 won todays ‘fanny of the day’ award.

We figured we’d be as well doing the supermarket run in Carcassonne and catch them up in time for lunch in Axat. We found a nice spot in the sunshine with a picnic bench, hung out the washing and prepared lunch. Today we decided bread would be better in loaf form, already sliced and easier to eat. The baguettes prove (a) too big for our gobs (b) too hard to chew and (c) they don’t keep well. Lunch is becoming more and more difficult to vary and there’s only so much you can put in a sandwich. The cooked chickens go down well, when they’re not dry and managing to find the odd quiche is a bonus.

The climb this afternoon was pretty and the overhanging cliffs meant that the road was lorry free. I’m kind of glad we don’t have too much height with the trailer else we’d not have fit either! Really pretty but narrow roads. We stopped for a coffee at the top of the hill – no idea what the town was called but they were banging out ACDC when we got there.

We got to our hotel in Bolquere, after fannying around with the trailer into a car park a few metres away, it was decided that it would fit outside the hotel, albeit taking up at least four spaces. A fifteen point turn was performed by nice car boss while Ary and I tried not to giggle and finally we were settled in for the night. Dinner was delicious, stew of the veal variety with potatoes and caramel tart for afters. We weren’t permitted ice cream with it though… not quite sure the lady hadn’t had some tips from Fawlty Towers. Still, she put our stuff in the fridge and we had a clean bed and a hot shower in a midget bath and alas still blankets on the bed. I hate blankets. Give me a duvet every time!

Today’s shot is of Campbell who spends an inordinate amount of time taking selfies. He’s the social media guru of our group and takes photos of himself at every opportunity. I think my new favourite hobby is catching him at it.