Arles

It's over a 3 hour drive from Carcassonne to Arles if you take mainly backroads. Wine country is beautiful and there's lots of wineries. Some of them serve food but they're all off the highway and you can't tell when they're open. 

Our Carcassonne place was like an old-fashioned motel. Six units with doors to the outside. People in the other 5 all had dogs. It was small but very cute and had a great shower. I chose it mainly because it's a very short walk up a hill to the city.

As for Arles, it was a big mistake to try to book someplace the day before arriving. Most hotels are expensive and I wanted more room anyway.  Looking for places at midnight drove me insane so I waited for the morning to book. First I had chosen a studio apartment and paid the deposit but didn't realize it just had 1 foldout sofa. No bed. I contacted the agency and asked if I could switch to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment and that's what we got. The apartment is in an ancient building right on the river. We could have parked in front but it cost $3 an hour so the owner told us to park across the Rhone bridge because all parking is free. It's just a short walk across the bridge back to the condo.

The house is amazing but I counted and it's 22 spiral steps to my level and more to Nicole's.  Also, I missed the fact it has no ac or washing machine. There's a laundromat close by so we're hoping to do laundry once and not have to do it again.

Our bridge over the Rhone

Livingroom 

My bedroom

Nicole does not share my belief that it's our duty as Americans to eat at a McDonald's in other countries. We went only because it was easy to get to from the highway before getting to Arles. It was full of screaming children. Who would've thought it. They did have an interactive ordering screen so we ordered but it didn't accept a credit or a debit card. We had to go to the cashier and pay in cash. Someone delivers the food to you. If we had been able to pay by card, the only human contact would be to say Merci to the person who delivered it. We might have the same system in the US but I haven't been in one for a long time. (I use the drivethru).

The condo has 3 floors. Kitchen and livingroom first floor and bedroom with bathroom on the next two floors. The stairs going to the third level seem to be leftover from the 5th century and there's no rail. I went to see it but I'm never going back. Nicole feels like Rapunzel in her tower.

We didn't want much for dinner so we decided on a tapas place. We ordered enough food but it was all incredibly rich. Pork with a honey sauce, patatas bravas, croquettes,  and a delicious artichoke dish. As we were leaving,  two police cars and an undercover car stopped in the street,  blocking all traffic.  About 10 officers got out of the cars. They seemed to be going to the bar across the street from the restaurant.  We didn't want to watch but we looked back and saw our server go out and kiss one of the cops. I'm guessing she called to complain about the fact no one else who works there does anything.

Today we're going to tour Arles before going to Laverie Speed Queen. We're going to pack a suitcase with dirty clothes and roll there. Pictures to follow.