Canal du Midi - Third Day

We decided that since we only had about 45km to go the next day we would not get up until 7:30.

Roger in the window of the hotel

Across the street from our hotel

Hotel in Castelnaudary

The next day dawned bright and dry with some clouds, but no rain.  The town was quite refreshed-looking after last evening’s deluge.

We started of down the canal again, on a mostly dirt path, but reasonably smooth and wide.  After a couple of hours we decided to stop for a cup of coffee at a small restaurant adjacent to one of the old lock keeper’s houses, just outside the town of Bram.  It appeared to be run by a man, his wife, and their daughter.  Also there were a couple of fellow bikers also having coffee, who we had met at the hotel the night before. 

Canal after Castelnaudary and before Bram

Tom and Gerard after Castelnaudary and before Bram

 We fell into conversation with the restaurant family, who proved very congenial.  The daughter was writing the menu de jour on a blackboard and we found ourselves deciding to stay for lunch.

This proved a great decision, as we once again enjoyed an excellent meal, artfully presented.  Mine was a monkfish, with frites and sauce au poivre – excellent!



Chef at Bram talking to Roger

David's plat at Bram

David's dessert at Bram

Tom's plat Bram

Tom's dessert at Bram



Gerard's plat at Bram

As we proceed east along the canal, the trail began to deteriorate.  It became narrower and narrower, with cobbles and roots in abundance, slowing progress to a crawl.  At one point, I was in the lead and had arranged to wait for the others at the second lock farther on.  I could see no one as I struggled on, at times on a narrow track incised into the dirt by past riders,  The grass and brush was sometimes chest-high, slowing progress on my laden street bike to 8-10km an hour.  I had to be constantly alert to steer around rocks, roots, and mud puddles from the previous night’s rain.  The puddles required care because there was no way to tell their depth or what hazard they might be concealing.

Upon reaching the agreed-upon canal lock, I parked the bike and took a couple of pictures while waiting for the others.  After 10-15 minutes, Roger appeared and we compared notes on how bad the terrain was.  Tom and Gerard had left the trail a ways back and taken to the near-by road.  We were nearing our next stop, the walled town of Carcassonne, so Roger and I decided to stick with the canal trail. 

As we came into the outskirts of Carcassone, it was apparent we were not near the old walled town.  We left the canal for the town streets and located a tourist office so we could find our chambre d’hôte.  Using a map obtained from the very helpful lady in the tourist office, with markings showing where we needed to go, we soon located our resting place.  It was just below the old walled town and even included a swimming pool!  53km for the day.

Walled town of Carcassonne from our Chambre d'hôte

After cleaning up and changing we walked up the hill into the old walled town.  Very impressive, but a bit touristy.  We ate at the Maison d’Escargot, chosen as much for the charming young lady waiting tables as for the speciality of the house that, in the event, no one ordered.  Especially good was the strawberry dessert – marinated strawberries with whipped cream.

Dinner in Carcassonne