The Fireworks at Carcassonne

Waiting patiently for the fireworks to begin...only 4 hrs to go!!


Fading light as evening moves on.


The street lights switched off and La Cité lit up for the beginning of the show. Let the show begin.

Yes...here are the fireworks at the castle I have been promising to do for you. Every year at Carcassonne at 'La Cité' they have a spectacular firework show....L' Embrasement de la Cité.......un feu d'artifice.
At least 70,000 people attend each year...so you have to be there early to get a good view of 'La Cité. It was a glorious evening, so we made a picnic and set off to claim a 'good spot' at around 6.30pm...the fireworks did not start until 10.30pm!! but hey..... A good book and a bottle of vino and we were set...voila!
It lasted 25 minutes and was absolutely amazing...especially when the Castle appeared to be on fire. I didn't have my tripod so the picture of the Castle ablaze is not so sharp as it could have been as the exposure took longer because of the lack of light and after a few glasses of wine there was probably a little bit of camera shake!! Salut!......but you can get the idea......the atmosphere or should I say ambiance was lovely...all good natured fun and laughter around us and no rowdiness or drunks spoiling the event........marvelous.

After the event the crowd just quietly and VERY slowly melted away into the night....and a lot went to La Place Carnot.....including us....a big disco going on. We stayed for a short while and headed for home after a very special evening...after all we had school the next day but we had done our homework!

Carcassonne Car Rally

Last Sunday Mike and I went to a veteran car rally in Carcassonne. It was fantastic!

Here are my photographic impressions of the great cars of yesteryear.

The interior of the back of this veteran car, for example, has been decorated out with old lace making it look very feminine and very pretty.






This was the oldest car at the Rally...the craftsmanship in the wooden spokes is amazing. The engine was absolutely immaculate and was the 'most poured over' vehicle at the show and rightly so...it was stunning!

Close up detail

Just a few more pics for the enthusiasts! Then the fireworks!

And here are some of the other great cars we saw at Des Voitures Anciennes

Bonsoir, we are off to the square to listen to another band called the 'Djibili Gang' - a mix of African and Turkish music...should be fun!

I loved the red Pontiac...Mike loved the white Mercedes.
They were all in such good condition, obviously a labour of love to keep them like that and probably quite a few 'vintage car widows'!!

The restaurant garden

The restaurant garden is very pretty from the end of April onwards. Shaded sitting areas, pretty lime green table-cloths and ambient lighting, make a perfect setting for lunch or an evening meal.

Fleurs sur la blacon

As promised I have posted a couple of photos of our balcony with my new plants. It is very small so I can't have too many pots and we need room for a couple of seats so we can drink chardonnay in the evening, n'est pas!
The garden centre was very tempting and I think very soon there might be a few more additions....I am sure I can squeeze in a couple more.
We do not have a garden so this is the next best thing. At the back of the apartment we have a lovely view of the restaurant garden and it is also very good to eat there too!

Fleurs sur le balcon