Category Archives: French Towns

Carcassonne, Friday 13th…

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Day 46, Friday, October 13, 2023.

Bob decided he does not want to drive on Friday 13.  I didn’t know he was so superstitious!  That works for me.  I am happy stay put for a bit.  We had originally planned a couple day trips from Carcassonne: to Albi to visit the Toulouse Lautrec museum and to Toulouse for a tour of the AirBus factory.  That isn’t going to happen now as I’m not feeling up to two long days of travel and sightseeing.  Too bad but it is what it is.  So I have a quiet morning and Bob goes exploring. He climbs the hill to visit the back side of La Cité.

He walks over to the cemetery we saw in the distance yesterday.  We both enjoy visiting old cemeteries.

On the way to La Cité he walks along a wall covered with a medieval style mural spelling out the name Carcassonne.  We saw this at the end of street when we walked to La Cité yesterday but didn’t look at it then. I was unable to find out any information about this, which is a shame. It is really quite lovely.,

In the late afternoon we both go for a little walk.  I find more gargoyles, well…actually Bob was the one who spotted these.

We go into Église Saint Vincent and… discover that we can climb the bell tower for just 2.5 euros!  I’m not wanting to do it today but I hope we can get back another day.  We have climbed a lot of bell towers on our other trips, but so far not a one this time.

The old city in Carcassone has a lovely big open square with a fountain and lots of restaurants and cafés around its perimeter.  There are lots of people sitting outside enjoying the lovely evening.

I had to get a photo of this huge old Sycamore tree.  I wish they would grow back home.  Our winters are just too cold.

Shop windows are starting to display Halloween items.  These creatures are all made of chocolate.  We have seen so many closed shops, restaurants and galleries.  Every block in this old part of town, which is frequented by tourists, has at least one or two shops that have shut down.  On some streets almost every second shop is closed. I am pretty sure this is because of Covid.  It makes me quite sad.

 

Carcassonne, France

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Day 43, Tuesday, October 10, 2023.

The first day after a travel day is often a stay at home day for me and I certainly needed that today. I have been dealing with a headache since we arrived in France and today it got a whole lot worse so I am happy to stay put.  Bob went our this afternoon to check out Carcassonne and find a grocery store.  Here is his first view of the medieval Cité, which we will be visiting while we are here..

Carcassonne, France                                                                                                   Day 44,  Wednesday October 11, 2023

I made an Osteopath appointment for this morning.  It is only a ten-minute drive but even navigating for that long is not easy the way I am feeling.  I feel most comfortable with a female osteopath and have had good luck with treatments that I have had on holidays in the past.  My osteopath today is very gentle, she says everything in my head and neck was ‘blocked’ and that I should start to feel better in a few hours.  We head home and I take it easy the rest of the day.

Canoeing on the Dordogne River, France

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Day 41, Sunday, October 8, 2023

it is our last day in Sarlat and we are going for a canoe ride on the Dordogne River.  It took bit of doing though.  The first company we drove to was closed for the season but they didn’t bother to put that on their website.  We see a sign on the road for another company, and it says that they are open.  We go there and yes, they are open, just not at this location.  We give up and decide to drive La Roque-Gageac and walk around the town. I notice another canoe company near the river and before we know it we are in a canoe on the Dordogne River.

It is a beautiful day, +28 C, and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.  We pass houses built into the cliffs at Cénac-et-Saint-Julien.

The river is calm with just enough current to make paddling easy.

It is so peaceful and…

we see swans in several places along the river.There is the prettiest green seaweed and I see fish, Lots of fish, little ones and then some really big fish with whiskers…catfish? They particularly like hiding in the seaweed.  I keep showing them to Bob but he doesn’t see them.  I think he thought I was making up all these fish I was seeing until he took off his polarized sunglasses and then he can see the fish too.  He even gets to see one of the really big ones.  

We are having such a great time!

We pass three bridges and three villages with castles on our two and a half hour trip. This is the bridge at Vézac.

When we stop for our picnic lunch just before Vézac, these three sweet kids come down to the river bank to play.  I give them a plastic container to use as they are trying to build a dam on the side of the shore.  The little girl in the blue dress comes over and speaks very quickly to me and when I tell her I didn’t understand as I only speak a bit of French, her big brother comes over and very slowly and clearly tells me that it was very kind of me to give them the container and she was saying thank you.  When we  got back onto the river they waved to us and called out au revoir!

We pass ‘pirate’ tourist boats…

Beynac-et-Cazenac is another town built into the rock hillside…

and now we have passed Castelnaud-la-Chapelle.  We are nearing the end of our trip. But first we pass two of these strange half built bridges.  It doesn’t look like they plan on completing either of them although the bridge with a road bed is on both sides of the river and just has one section missing.  We wonder why.

Here is the last of the three bridges that we pass on our trip.  Our pickup point is a kilometre past this bridge.  We pull in and a short time later two vans come to pickup us and the canoes. We spent the time waiting for our pick up visiting with some people from Australia and Switzerland. We are so glad we were finally able to find a canoe rental company that was open for business.  Although I must say that both the employees we dealt with were rather rude and certainly not very pleasant.  This is the first time we have encountered anyone on this trip who wasn’t pleasant and helpful.  It didn’t matter though, we had a wonderful afternoon on the river.

When we arrived back in La Roque-Gageac Bob wants to explore the town but I am tired and sit in the shade at a little park while he goes exploring.  I draw a few of the people sitting around me while I am waiting.

I think it was a good thing I didn’t go with him as there was a lot of uphill walking.

Bob climbed up towards the troglodyte (cave dwelling) fort set in the cliffs 40 metres above La Roque-Gageac.  It is the remains of the 12th century fort that is still standing. The strong defensive position of La Roque-Gageac and this fortress meant that it held an important strategic and defensive position in the area.  Seems that there was an awful lot of fighting and defending one’s home way back then.Another view from the streets on Bob’s walk, and of the ‘pirate’ tourist ships.

On the way home we detour to visit Domme, another of France’s prettiest towns.  We hit detours and it took a bit to finally find it, but the view from this town was amazing.  We watched several hot air balloons flying high above the valley.  On was very very high, much higher than I we thought hot air balloons usually flew.  It was probably twice as high as this one! We bought some refreshing sorbet and just enjoyed the view before heading home to Sarlat to pack.  Tomorrow we are on our way to Carcassonne.

Market day in Sarlat-le-Canéda, France

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Day 40, Saturday, October 7, 2023

Saturday is market day.  We woke up to the sounds of vendors setting up their tents and tables.  This is the view from our window. After breakfast we go check out the market.  The streets are crammed with vendors…

There are fresh fruits and vegetables.  These little radishes are so yummy, and very reasonable, just 1euro for a big bunch. However there are many more vendors selling a variety of meats and foie gras.  I’m afraid we weren’t tempted by these stalls.

These are duck and goose livers, and other items that I do not even recognize.  The chickens and I think perhaps grouse all still have their heads!

This is the old church that is now an indoor market.  You can see the big doors open behind Bob.

We try out some street food…

and after a stroll down another street…

We head back to our apartment for lunch, perhaps not the healthiest, but it sure was good.  We saved the beans for our dinner.

We wander through the Cathedral Saint-Sacerdos, and I find these beautiful reflections from the stained glass window. We visit the Hotel de Maleville which has an artist’s studio on the top floor attic.

The stairs up to the attic have seen a lot of use.

The attic roof is ‘shingled’ with fieldstone’s.  These ‘Thackstone’ roofs are very steep.  This shape distributes the weight throughout the walls.  Once a thackstone roof is installed, it does tend to stay in place! Here is a peek at the underside of one of these roofs.

Here is what these roofs looks like from the outside.  The Gisson Manor is composed of two different buildings linked by a hexagonal stair tower. This manor’s origins are in the 13th century.

The artist, Adrien Kenyon, https://www.adriankenyon.com/ who works in this unique studio makes collages, and has an interesting sense of humour.  The collages are unique, and large.

He doesn’t mind people taking photos and just asks to be given credit for his work.   Here is another beautiful old building, the house of Etienne de La Boétie.  He was born in Sarlat on November 1,1530 and died on August 18, 1563.  He was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet and political theorist who died when he was only 32.

We find another building with artist’s studios and there are two rooms full of works similar to these.  I lost the artist’s card so don’t know her name, but I wonder about being able to draw all those tiny circles.  Some of the artwork is a 90 x 60 cm or larger.  

Another studio has a variety of work, some interesting, some not so much.

Time to go home, but first here is one more of Sarlat’s medieval streets.

Gouffre de Padirac and Rocamadour, France

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Day 38, Thursday, October 5, 2023

Today we are visiting the Gouffre de Padirac which is about 1 1/4 hours east of Sarlat. This cave was opened to visitors in 1899 and now receives 800,000 visitors a year.  A gouffre is sinkhole or pothole.  Well, this is one heck of a pothole!  

We climb down several flights of stairs cut into the rock and exit this first staircase to start descending the metal exposed stairs on the side of the gouffre.  We are going way down there.

When we reach the bottom…we look up…way up…

and then down…and surprise…more stairs. Once we are inside the cave there are even more stairs…

We finally reach the floor level of the cave, after descending 543 stairs!  But wow!  It was so worth it and non flash photos are allowed everywhere except during the boat rides, so I am happy.  Yes…there are lakes and two boat rides 103 meters below the surface!

I took this photo after we disembarked from our boat ride.  The lake that we rode on is called Lac de la Pluie, because it is always raining. We had light rain falling on us on that part of the boat ride.  Can you imagine continuous rain? and at 103 meters underground!

Our walk continues past amazing rock formations …

that are enormous…

with incredible shapes and colours…

only to arrive at the beautiful Lac des Gours with crystal clear reflections.

At the far end of this lake we can see the river below with an old boat.  I don’t think the public is allowed in that part of the cave.

At this point we are given the option of returning the way we came or we can continue to another part of the cave that requires climbing more steps…lots more steps!  Of course we choose to continue further into the cave!The displays here shows some pictures of cave exploration…not for me..it looks cold, wet and exhausting and rather frightening as well. In all, 42 kilometres of galleries have been mapped by speleologists but there are still more areas that have not yet been explored.

There is a warning that there are lots of stairs, and wet, slippery sections…that isn’t going to stop us.  So up we go… And there is another lake, twenty metres above the river!  Mind boggling!  Lake Superior (Upper Lake), is crystal clear and an incredible aqua colour.  The round tan shaped formations on the right hand of the photo form a dam that holds the water in this lake.“A remarkable stalagmite lies above the lake. It is nicknamed the Pile d’Assiettes (Pile of Plates) because of its surprising resemblance to stacked-up china. It is a typical high-roof stalagmite formed when such a structure exceeds several tens of metres in height. Drops of water fall to the ground at great speed and explode, depositing limestone in circles and giving rise to very flattened formations.”  ~ https://www.gouffre-de-padirac.com/en/salle-du-grand-dome   We are standing beneath the Grand Dome, which rises 94 meters above us.

This diagram shows how high above the river Lake Superior is, and the incredible dome that rises above it.

There are still more steps, many more steps…

and many more amazing formations…

that are enormous. Bob is in the bottom of this photo to give an idea of their size. I am quite relieved that we do not have to climb these steps!

This is a magical underground world!

More formations, just because they are so wondrous…

and I am amazed by their colours. It is difficult not to include all even more photos.

We need to descend way down there!

We continue to walk by so many rock formations…I have run out of words to describe how amazing they are.  Édouar-Alfred Martel, the discoverer of this cave said that these are “Marvellous areas that can only be lived in by fairies.”     

We need to go way down to where that light is.

Finally we can see the dock for our return boat ride.

But first we still pass by even more formations.  The roof on the bottom right protects us from water drops as we walk past this one.

All too soon we are back at the boats.  Honestly, I would have been happy to just turn around and trace our steps a second time…but there are no washrooms down here!  This boat just arriving is the one we take on our return journey.

We sit right at the front, so we will have a great view of the Grande Pendeloque (Great Chandelier) which is a 60-m-long series of calcite formations that seems to hang in the air above our heads, but no photos are allowed on the boat trip.

We reluctantly make our way back to the exit.  One last photo in the cave.

We decide to take the elevators back up to the surface from here.  We are going to visit Rocamadour this afternoon and it also has lots of steps.

It is less than a half hour drive to Rocamadour, which is a famous pilgrimage site and a  UNESCO World Heritage site.  It takes a while to figure out where to park but we finally find spot near the top rather than the bottom of this cliffside village. This it our view while having lunch.

We are disappointed to discover that the ramparts are closed for restoration.  We were looking forward to the views from the ramparts,  so we start on our way down towards the church and chapels.  Part way down the winding path, this cave marks the end of the Stations Of The Cross.  Turns out we are starting at the end instead of the beginning.  

One of the fourteen Station of the Cross.

I did mention that it was a winding path, and fairly steep.

Looking up towards the ramparts, with the afternoon sun looking low in the sky because of the steep angle.

The trees and hillsides are covered with ivy.  The grounds are not terribly well kept here.

Finally we enter the Sanctuary… 

and walk past many plaques engraved with thanks for prayers answered.

Some of the churches and chapels are built right into the stone cliffs, which are visible in the back of the 850 year old Basilica of St. Saviour.

The Black Virgin in the Notre Dame Chapel.  A group has arrived for a private mass so we don’t stay long.  This is the second Black Virgin we have seen on our travels.

In this spot, in 1166 the perfectly preserved body of an early Christian hermit who died in 418 AD was discovered… St. Amadour.

However, there is also a small chapel and a patron saint for Rugby!  We were not expecting that.

A view of the valley from the sanctuary.

We start walking back up the hill to our carpark.  We decided not to go all the way down to the Medieval village at the bottom of Rocamadour.  It now consists of lots of shops selling tourist souvenirs and restaurants.  It has been a long day and we are ready to go home.

I loved this little red leaf stuck on the side of this rock.

There is a little church in the hamlet of L’Hospitalet on our way to the carpark but it isn’t open so we head home.  We were both a bit underwhelmed by Rocamadour….it didn’t have the presence that we were expecting…although we are not really sure how to explain why.

Sarlat le Canéda, France

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Day 36, Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Bob is out early exploring the streets of Sarlat and he comes home to tell me how interesting this medieval town is. We both go out in the afternoon for a walk. Sarlat Cathedral, just around the corner from our apartment is a Roman Catholic church.  It is a national monument and was established in 1317!  We hear its bells chiming several times a day. It is a nice wake up call at 7:05 am when the bells chime for several minutes.  The ringing of the bells at 7:05 am and 7:05 pm each day is called “Angelus,” and that it is an ancient pattern of bell-ringing that is a call to prayer for Catholics to pray a particular prayer.  This is the back of the church, with several ancient sarcophagi, which I discovered is the plural form of sarcophagus.

We climb the steps behind the church and I notice a light shining through the stained glass window, although the church is closed at the moment.

At the top of the steps behind the church we find this Lanterne des Mortes, which means Lantern of the Dead. Lanternes des Mortes are small stone towers. “Pierced with small openings at the top, a light was exhibited at night to indicate the position of a cemetery, hospital, or leper colony. These lanterns were originally constructed to warn passers-by of the danger of infection, as well as to illuminate cemeteries where it was feared that repenting souls, ghosts, and criminals could hide. Later, they were also erected at the intersections of important routes and roads.”  ~Wikipedia

Bob checks it out but there are no repenting souls, ghosts or criminals about.

We continue to explore the old narrow streets.

This very large dog just quietly watched us peek through the gate, even when I called to him he didn’t move a muscle.

Someone cemented a little piece of art onto the wall on one of the side streets. It makes me smile.

Everywhere we look the old buildings are crammed together, often one on top of another up the hillsides.  This one looks a bit castle like.

This charming little stained glass room is on the roof of the Présidial, which was built in the17th century.  At the time it was a sort of Court House where a Royal Officer would hear complaints and make rulings.  

I have mentioned that I love peeking in windows and courtyards whenever it is possible.  I don’t think this is being renovated, it just sits empty.  

A block or so away a renovation is definitely taking place. there even was a box with old dishes sitting on the sidewalk, free for the taking.

There are so many old houses boarded up and for sale.  I think we could probably buy one quite reasonably, but the renovations would be terribly expensive. If they are historic buildings, which they probably are, there are many restrictions on what renovations are able to be done and how they are done.  Guess we will pass on owning a little piece of Sarlat.

Most of the yards in this area are very overgrown and unkept.  Tidy gardens are not the norm here.

This narrow street ends in an abandoned overgrown yard and building with a lot of ‘stuff’ lying about.  Kind of creepy but just before the broken gate leading to this are doorways to apartments with new mailboxes and doors.  I wouldn’t want to be walking home at night here.

I don’t know what it is about French doors, but so many of them are very very old, and have peeling paint like this one.  But notice, it has nice new hardware…just not a new paint job.  There seems to be some sort of pride in having a very ancient looking door.

I forgot to take a daytime photo from our apartment window but this is the view when it is dark.

Sarlat le Canéda, France

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Day 34, Sunday, October 1, 2023

Our first day in Sarlat, Bob goes for a walk to check out the neighbourhood and I am quite content to watch the world go by from our window.  There is a knock at our door and when I answer it there is a box of local goodies from our Airbnb hosts.

In the late afternoon we go for a little walk through the narrow cobblestoned streets.

This is a Medieval town and most of the buildings date from the the 15th century and even some from the 13th century!

This old church is now an indoor market.  We will have to return when it is open.

This statue of three geese is a reminder of the importance of the local fois gras industry.

Some of the shops are already starting to decorate for Halloween.  This clown is particularly creepy.

There are always interesting doors in French cities and towns.

What to do when you want a garden but don’t have a yard.

The Fontaine Sainte-Marie is nestled in a natural grotto not too far from our apartment.. This 12th century fountain was used until the 18th century when the water became polluted from nearby streets and stables.  

We walk back home under a street festooned with flowers.  This is going to be an interesting place to stay.

Montrésor and Sarlat le Canéda, France

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Day 33, Saturday , September 30, 2023

We leave for Sarlat la Canéda in a heavy fog.  It is quite beautiful , but not the easiest driving.

Before too long the sun is shining and we are driving through farmland that looks a lot like Alberta. 

Then we drive through a beautiful forested area.

We stop for a visit and lunch in Montrésor which is listed as one of France’s 140 most beautiful towns.  The church is small but interesting.  The church was built to house this white alabaster tomb for three family members.  The stained glass windows and the carved wooden stalls all date from the 16th century when the church was built.

We walk along the river which has interesting information plaques and great views of the Château de Montrésor and the village.

Loved the reflections in the river.

There are some very large, very old trees along the way.  Bob is standing on the bridge just behind the tree.

Many of the houses are built right into the stone cliffs.  This little shop is an example, the ceiling and back wall are all natural stone.

I loved this sign in the window. It says “Turn off the TV and look at the sky.”

I also love peeking in windows and open gates whenever I have the chance.  You never know what you might see.  I wonder what happened to the owner of this little bookstore?

This gate looked interesting…

and it hid this tiny garden complete wth a chair, a bottle of wine and a very interesting statue.

The half-timbered houses date back to the 15th century!  In the background are the towers of the Medieval Keep of the Château de Montrésor.I loved this carved lizard, which is the symbol of Montrésor.

The Château de Montrésor is a medieval castle with a Renaissance mansion built in the grounds.  We decided not to tour the château and soon we are back on the road to Sarlat.

The canola fields are just starting to turn yellow here, much later than back home.

I have a chance to sneak a few sketches of people waiting for a bus at the gas station when we stop to fill up.  There hasn’t been much opportunity for this so far this trip.I notice that the leaves are staring to turn colour…winter is coming!

The hillsides are dotted with charming little villages.

Our bnb in Sarlat is right in the heart of the old town.  On the Airbnb website it says “Come and discover the entertainment, restaurants, shops, the famous market of the city with its local products, surrounded by the walls and history of the city of Sarlat. All at your feet.”  It should be interesting, we have never stayed right in the heart of an old city before. The circled windows belong to our apartment.

 

Tours, France

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Day 25, Friday, September 22, 2023

Today we explore Tours.  Our apartment is within easy walking distance of downtown. First stop is the Tours Train Station which is one of the prettiest train stations in France. The architect is the same one which designed the station which is now the  Musée d’Orsay .  I can see the resemblance. The inside is decorated with tiled pictures of French towns and chateaus.

We pass a little patisserie and buy couple treats for our tea time.  So far I am able to have the odd gluten treat with no ill effects, although I am sensitive to gluten at home. They were delicious!

We visit the garden behind the Beaux Arts Museum and see this phenomenal tree!  It is an enormous Lebanon Cedar with a height of 31 metres, a width of 33 metres and a trunk with a circumference of 7.5 metres!  It is a magnificent tree.  

I love big trees, and this one is one of the biggest I have seen.  It has enormous cones, and long arching branches, some of which lie along the ground.  Pictures do not do it justice.

There are flowers and lots of benches.  The device just above the red flowers is used so that the gardeners can sit or perhaps lie down and weed without having to walk in the flower beds.

This is Fritz the Elephant.  He died in 1902 in Tours.  Please take moment to read about his tragic death.  He was stuffed and is on display in the gardens. https://graphicarts.princeton.edu/2017/05/26/fritz-the-elephant/  

St. Gatien Cathedral is very ornate.  

The decorative work on the outside of the church is very delicate and beautifully carved.

This interesting coffee shop/art gallery was under part of a building and open to the street.

Tours has horse drawn wagons!

These medieval buildings lean out over the street.  Each floor extends a bit further out than the one below.  Note the interesting carvings on the grey building.  There is just so much to see everywhere.

This photo has an interesting story.  We were having tea and I noticed that there was a large duffel bag sitting unattended on a bench some distance from us.  It made me rather nervous.  We have seen signs to be aware of abandoned bags or other unusual activity.      Several people walked by and looked at the bag, but just kept walking, until this fellow walks by, turns around and sits down beside the bag.  He sits there for about 5 minutes, then casually stands up, looks at the bag, picks it up and quickly walks away.  Pretty sure the bag wasn’t his.  Tours is a university town and Bob figures someone just forgot their bag, but I wonder how anyone leaves a big duffle bag behind.

On the walk home we pass this flower store.  If we had a bit more room in our apartment I would have bought some flowers, they were so beautiful and not terribly expensive.

The Apocalypse Tapestry in Angers, France

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Day 23,  Wednesday, September 20th, 2023

Oops, just realized that I forgot to publish this way back on September 20th!

The Chateau d’Angers is huge..

The fortress has 500 m long ramparts and 17 towers and was constructed in 1230. Here is an arial view.

There is a lot of reconstruction happening on the north wall.  I can’t believe how rickety that elevator looks. You wouldn’t catch me riding on that.

The entrance of the castle is impressive.But then we enter the display area for the Apocalypse Tapestry and we are utterly astonished.  This is the largest medieval tapestry in the world!

The tapestries turn the corner, and continue down another long wall and then turn yet another corner.  It is a magnificent sight. This information gives a brief history of this incredible tapestry.

We are entranced and walk back and forth, each time noticing something new.  This is like a medieval graphic novel.  The panels are in order and tell a story.  

Here is one of the panels that has been partly lost.  When the tapestry fell out of fashion it was used for things like floor mats, insulation for orange trees and horse stables, and to plug holes in buildings.   Can you imagine?  It has had extensive restoration, but it is still so amazing that so much of it has managed to survive this long.

A close up of the weaving.  It is very fine work and both the front and back are equally legible – the ends of wool having been meticulously tidied up. This means it’s possible to know what the original colours were like, unfaded by sunlight or time.

This panel manages to show men underwater and captures the transparency of the water.

Another interesting panel…well, they are actually all very interesting.

One more view of the long wall around the corner from the entrance. It really is awe inspiring.

We explore a bit more, and climb the ramparts.  This view is over the roof of the Tapestry museum towards the manor house and the chapel.

We were way up where the people in this photo are.

All too soon we are back on the road to our next destination, Tours France.  A detour causes some confusion for a bit but after some fantastic navigating and equally great driving we are soon at our new bnb.  It is small but I think it will be just fine.

Tours, France

Day 24, Thursday, September 21, 2023

It is raining on and off all day long so I decide I that I am having a pyjama day!  We do a bit of travel planning for the next week, watch some TV,  and I got caught up on our blog.