Our visit to Carcassonne was a great success and we
thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our short stay. The old fortified city of
Carcassonne had fallen into disrepair long before the 19th century
renovations and credit has to go to the people who put a lot of time, effort
and money into bringing it back to life. However, it is now a slightly
idealised version of a medieval city with pristine slate towers which the
purists dislike as inauthentic. The narrow streets are lined with an assortment
of gift shops selling the usual souvenirs; some more upmarket than others, as
well as bars and restaurants for the many weary tourists who, having pounded up
and down the cobbles, require some refreshment.
I am not averse to an idealised recreation of history and I
much prefer that the city has been preserved than to have been lost but it is
not to everyone’s taste. Many people must make a reasonable living catering to
the tourists who undoubtedly flock to Carcassonne and it would almost certainly
be prohibitively expensive to try to redo the work done in the 19th
century. Given the almost pristine recreation of the city architecture it was
slightly surprising that the local traders were not all dressed in costume! The
Disneyfication, thankfully, only went so far!
While staying there we enjoyed two very different, but
equally enjoyable, dinners. On the first night we booked into Le Barbicane, the
hotel restaurant with a Michelin star and an award winning sommelier. The
service, food and presentation were, as would be expected, great – Sean’s
asparagus starter, mimicking the towers of Carcassonne, was both visually
stunning and delicious. But it was Baptiste, who recently won Young Sommelier
of the Year in France, who was the star of the show. I freely admit to being a
wine illiterate; I drink it and if I like it I will drink it again. Baptiste
not only recommended our wines but carefully explained the grape varieties and
how they worked with our meal choices. He did not act superior but was
undoubtedly knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It surely can’t be held against him
that he looks a bit like a young Vladimir Putin!
The official entertainment was a pianist with a wide
repertoire which included, bizarrely, Land of Hope and Glory. I didn’t know
whether to stand and wave a flag or counter with a louder version of Flower of
Scotland! However, it was the unofficial and unintended entertainment that was
the real winner. There was a large party of Japanese tourists who had a very
attentive guide with them whose job was to make sure all their needs and
desires were quickly and efficiently catered to. At regular intervals one of
the party would call him over, pass on an instruction or request and the guide
would then trot down the restaurant to accost a waiter to demand the
instruction or request was carried out. The restaurant staff were very
professional but it was becoming more difficult as the evening went on to
disguise their irritation when they saw him coming! Their discomfort and the
guide’s devotion to duty were our entertainment!
The table beside ours was occupied by a young couple and
their toddler daughter. This did briefly cause us some dismay as they took
their seats as we perhaps anticipated some toddler tantrums as the evening
progressed but she was a real gem. She was dressed like a little model out of a
magazine but was incredibly well behaved. It was a delight to see her sitting
‘reading’ the menu with a very serious face and then brandish her cutlery in
anticipation of her meal! I wish I could say her parents were equally delightful
but, alas, I fear for their future as a couple! They spent the whole meal on
their mobile phones and barely passed a word between the two of them and only
sparingly paid attention to their daughter.
The following night we found, quite by chance, a little restaurant
down a lane within the city walls. It was very cosy and the window onto the
courtyard with ancient shutters and a vase of colourful flowers was picture
postcard pretty. I lay no claims to a special aptitude in French but I can
generally get by if the speaker is patient and speaks clearly and slowly so it
is one of my pet peeves while abroad that often the waiter will immediately recognise
we are British and bring the English menu. This was not the case in this
instance. The waitress took our order, carefully explaining, in French, any
dishes I didn’t fully understand. After she left the table I mentioned to Sean
that I didn’t think she was a native French speaker and he agreed. Only much
later when she asked Sean if he wanted mustard with his steak and I translated
it for him (he speaks no French) did she seem to realise we were English
speakers. She herself, it turned out, was English!
The food was plentiful and cheap although not haut cuisine. The
fish soup I ordered for a starter came in a bucket sized container and was
topped by half a baguette covered in melted cheese! Sean’s starter seemed to
comprise half a salad garden! Each subsequent course followed very quickly
until there was a real danger of a medical emergency caused by over feeding!
The cheese course consisted of supermarket style mini cheeses which the
waitress said we could take home in my handbag if we were unable to eat it,
although I think I may have quickly caused a public health outrage had I taken
the Roquefort in my bag as it was 24 degrees outside! Sean declined dessert but
I chose the crepe with Chantilly cream and sugar. Within a few seconds of
ordering the crepe it arrived at the table. It certainly wasn’t made in the
kitchen and didn’t spend long in the microwave to heat it up after it was
removed from its wrapping! The cream was the squirty sort out of a can! As I
said, this wasn’t haut cuisine but the food was cheap, edible and the courtyard
was picturesque. There was even live music from a Spanish guitarist with a very
haunting voice. All in all two good nights.
