Middle-aged in the Middle Ages

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It actually was not part of our plan to end up here, although we'd already heard about Carcassonne and knew that it was quite the interesting place to visit. We'd also heard that this fortified city, which had successfully defended itself against roaming barbarians in the Middle Ages, had problems repelling the hordes of modern-day tourists, especially during the European summer vacation period. But since our tour put us directly on the path of this little jewel, we decided to join the invasion.

And we were not disappointed! Although the weather was somewhat overcast (the sun would only occasionally peek through the clouds), we entered the new part of the old city, that is the part of the city that was built as a kind of 'suburb' when it had been decided that certain people could not live within the fortified city. We then walked through the Bastide St-Louis on our way to the fortified the promontory.

Our assault upon Carcassonne