After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel at Rennes les Bains, and a walk around the town, we headed north in convoy (coach, my car and the Sims van) to drive to Carcassonne. We stayed in touch for most of the way until we got to Carcassonne, when the coach headed off to the bus car park, we took a detour though the centre of town to get to the car carpark and somewhere along the way we lost the Sims 9-seater! However, we all managed to find each other again, and headed off on foot to explore Carcassonne La Cite. We were amazed to see how many people were there on a weekday; on the main streets in the old city, we literally shuffled shoulder-to-shoulder until we found a side street that we could escape into. However, as usual, Carcassonne was magical; the trick was to imagine what it would be like with all the people gone.

An unexpected highlight of the trip was the English-language tour which many of the group did with a tour guide in the afternoon (a bargain at 6 euro). She gave us many interesting details about the city, and I must admit that I could have listened to her voice for hours, no matter what she said!  Her patience in dealing with Asher’s questions was admirable.

When everyone was “touristed-out”, we jumped back in the vehicles for the final leg to Moissac, where we were met at the house by Nico and Miyu, who had prepared a wonderful welcoming feast. Everyone found their rooms and then relaxed into the house.

Later in the evening, Yann Brabant arrived from Lille with his brother, and two sets of 6-bass pans. He will stay tomorrow to tune the pans brought from Australia. The party started after he arrived, and continued till the wee small hours.