It’s been like spring here in Carcassonne – 75 degrees today! I couldn’t resist enjoying a chicken sandwich from Kristin’s Pâtisserie on a bench by the River Aude, and then taking a short bike ride along the river.

Pont Vieux (the old bridge) is 700 years old, and a 2-minute bike ride from our house. It’s the bridge I walk or bike across many times a week – every time I run errands or take French lessons in La Bastide. (La Bastide, also known as the new town, dates back to the 1200s. It’s not the walled castle city – La Bastide is the other main part of town, and Pont Vieux connects the two.)