Forward - it goes back!

We went down to Carcassonne through the Pyrenees. This castle had been on my sightseeing list for years, but I didn't expect to visit it in winter. But what does winter mean in times of global unreliability... no snow in the mountains and warm sun in the valley.

If you drive to Centre ville in Carcassonne, you are still not in the Cité - the mighty fortress that completely surrounds the medieval city. Here, too, all the known peoples have mingled, fought and reconciled; Romans, Goths, Franks and Saracens. And then in the time of Charlemagne came Count Bello, the ancestor of the Bellonids. Not that I could find out much about him - I just found the name funny and would have liked to be a castle maiden 'Bella'. Instead, I had to summon all my courage to cope with the 2 overweight bull terriers in our Airbnb. Probably the only breed that doesn't even look cute as puppies... OK, before I get tarred and feathered by all the dog lovers, I admit that I was under a prejudice for years. Bull terriers are peaceful and playful and the only thing they fight against is their reputation (just read it ,-).

The next day we set off on a long ride from the West French to the East French, namely to my dear friend Jean Marc in the north of Provence. I like being in his hidden house among the holm oaks and enjoy Jean Marc's hospitality. This time there were mushrooms. In the middle of January we went mushroom picking together; a pleasure with a lot of garlic.

After 2 nights we moved on. Another long drive over Grenoble, through the 2 km long Tunnel du Fréjus (!!! avoid at all costs or pay 50 EUR :-o(, past Turin (bad memories) to Moncrivello. Here we had a really great room with a good breakfast at a perfectly organized Paola as a stopover (clear recommendation). The weather was homey and gloomy. My wanderlust was suffocated by the fog and the next day's stage was rolled out until we went tired and with sore bottoms in search of snow in South Tyrol. We found what we were looking for in our beloved Pustertal.