The night was interesting. Nina definitively had more issues with the wind than I had. The wind kept up at about 40 km/h all night – just about what our tents “ok for” rating was. I think I agree. It was about as loud as to be expected in a tent, but no structural issues or weird out-of-shape-ness.

We wrapped up in record time and were on the road by 9:30 am. To have a good half-day in Carcassonne, we allowed the routing via toll roads – which was about 50 km longer but an hour faster. Turned out that the quickest way was a bit roundabout via Toulouse.

Good thing about toll roads are the excellent rest stops though. We could take our lunch on a quiet one just next to the canal du midi and be at the campground first thing it opens for new arrivals. We debated going to the old town first, but the camp was in a premium location apparently within walking distance of the attractions. It definitively had the views. We were all prepared to pay through the nose, but in the off season, prices were reasonable for a prime location. Good thing that we went here first. Soon it was almost filled with Spanish Easter holiday makers fleeing a spell of rain on the costa del sol. We got an excellent spot tucked away from the road but close to the facilities. Judging by the neighbours, an area reserved for families with toddlers!

Given that we had absolutely no plan to even be here a week ago, and mainly went because … well … you know, Carcassonne … gamers … you get the point. Given that, we were pretty chuffed with our first pick for sightseeing. Of course the old city (cité de Carcassonne) is mainly a large tourist attraction. But maybe due to the stubborn occitane spirit it has managed to stay just this side of the “Rüdesheim” point of disneyfication.  

It was also a good test for the “kraxe” – the backpack-like baby carrier. It works, and Number 3 wholly approved of both the “throne” mode as well as the easy opportunity to stretch his legs from time to time.

We learned that we have to adjust our biorhythms a bit, though. Trying to find food at 5 pm falls right in the dead zone between the 3 pm end of lunch and the 7 pm start of dinner time. We still managed to scrounge something together – a bar with a super chill garden area near the wall had enough tapas to get us through. We even struck up a bit of a nice conversation with the next table over traveling with toddlers.

By the time we hiked the easy 30 minutes back to the camp, we were set and happy to add a day to recharge and refocus. 5 days straight on the road is quite enough, even without the little one. So we hopped by the reception and checked in for another night – the great little spot and clean facilities more than justified the 20% mark-up over our other campsites so far. Or maybe it was the promise of an actual French meal out, with some more time to plan it right …

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