The beauty of an afternoon train is being able to have a leisurely morning in the city you are leaving. It was market day in Arles so we got a good start and headed there. The sights and sounds and scents never cease to amaze me! Stall after stall of the most vividly coloured fruits and vegetables 
and unending selections of cheeses and meats and breads. 
We were able to pick up enough food to keep us going on our upcoming train trip! And we finally had a baguette sticking out of a backpack! Now we were truly French! 
We stopped into a sidewalk cafe across the street for breakfast and coffee. I'm not sure how I'm going to readjust to a life that doesn't start every day with a fresh croissant and an enormous bowl of cafe au lait...and unlimited time to sit and savour it all!
I took Mom and Dad on an abbreviated tour of Arles and revisited the Van Gogh sights and browsed the little shops for some souvenirs. The sun was shining and it was already a warm day. 
We went to the train station a couple hours ahead of departure to get our tickets to Carcassonne to discover that the train was "complet" - full!! Seems it is the end of some vacation in Carcassonne and everyone was travelling back today!! That was not how I had it planned but, flexibility, Kim!! There was a train later in the afternoon with a change and layover so we quickly grabbed tickets for that and settled in to wait. We called our friends in Carcassonne to tell them the change in plans. (Liz and David are from Kingston and have been living in Carcassonne for the final months of their year long sabbatical. We spent some time with them in Aberdeen in the fall.) An hour later we got a call from Liz saying she and David were on their way and would be picking us up at the train station in Arles and driving us back to Carcassonne (a two hour drive each direction)!!
The Van Den Kerkhof Goldstein family is one of those families everyone would like to have in their lives. Their kindness and generosity is incredible and it comes as second nature to them. We were escorted to our room to find a huge basket of food from the market and little gifts that Rachel had lovingly prepared for us. Martin provides the comic relief needed in those times when things don't go as planned and Liz and David have been the role models to inspire these two young people. We are truly blessed to have them in our lives.
So we saw more French countryside and had a lovely drive with conversation (in English!) and laughter. The landscape changed dramatically again with craggy hills and mountains off to the west and the south. Sloping hills of vineyards dotted the land and it was a wonderful mix of colours and textures. The sun was beginning to set so the mountains and sky had a soft pastel glow...and my camera was in the trunk!
We entered La Cite through the front gate and I had another one of those "moments"! After teaching the legend of the old lady of Carcassonne and seeing photographs of the dramatic setting, to actually be there was quite overwhelming! 
We walked across the drawbridge and through the main gates (portcullises up!) 
and were immediately transported back into the 12th and 13th century. Narrow, narrow cobblestone streets lined with shuttered shops of every kind. 
An amazing candy store that would be the delight of any sweet tooth!!
Can't wait to explore tomorrow!
