DAY 22 : FRANCE : AUVILLAR to CASTET-ARROUY - 21 kms

Distance walked so far : 449.5 kms

Weather : overcast, strong wind, intermittent showers, 26o

In the bowels of the medieval house in Auvillar is the
kitchen. The owners have found Roman coins in the cellar nearby.
Mark is sitting with a father and son from Grenoble. The
father is a retired professor of Glaciology at Grenoble University.

 

Traditional French breakfast. Juice, yoghurt, baguettes,
home-made jams, coffee or tea usually served in a bowl.

 

Overcast day - cool walking in the breeze. Acres of
ploughed fields or crops ready for harvesting.
Figs, chestnuts, walnuts along the way.
Farmers offering sweet peaches as we walked by.

 

Coffee break in the small village of St Antoine.
The bar owner was very entertaining and brought
out some chain mail for us to examine.

 

Then he took us to his mate's house, whose hobby
making the chain mail into various
items - traditional armour and even lampshades!
(and a very heavy g-string!)
 

 

In 2005 in the local church of St Antoine they
discovered 15th century frescoes on the ceiling under years of grime.
There is now a large restoration project as there is in many churches in France.

 

We walked through the village of Flamarens. There is a
castle, being restored, history dating back to 12th century.
The adjoining church of Saint-Saturnin is a shell, destroyed
in the battles between Protestants and Catholics.

 

We are in a small village tonight staying in a private home.
Castet-Arrouy means 'red castle' and was originally the site
of a small fort.

 

La Plancha, the only restaurant in the village adjoining the church.

 

3 course dinner with drinks - 14 euro pp.
Lovely evening at the small La Plancha cafe with our 
generous host, Patrice. We shared a table with
fellow pelerins from Normandy -  a school librarian
as well!

 

M&M

24/9/12



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 21 : FRANCE : MOSSAIC to AUVILLAR - 18 kms - 5 1/2 hours

Distance walked so far : 427 kms

Weather : cool, cloud cover, good breeze : 26o max.

A different day's walk today because Mossaic is situated on La Canal Lateral, so we were able to walk along the flat tow path for most of the day. We then crossed over the canal and then walked towards the Garonne River, across the bridge and up the hill to yet  another surprising medieval village - in pristine condition - Auvillar.

Sunday markets in Mossaic

 

Walking the Canal Lateral - from Mossaic to Auvillar

 

Walking along the canals near the River Garonne.
Before land transport became more economically viable,
the Garonne was the main route for the transport of corn and
grain to Bordeau. It is now used to irrigate farms and to
support a nuclear power station. Locals are very concerned
about the ecological status of the river.

 

Pleasant walking along the canal.
Only a few pleasure craft, few fishermen fishing for
trout.
 

 

Auvillar, originally a Gallo-Roman village until the 10th century.
This circular market place built in 1825 on the ruins of a former
quadrangular place. View from our balcony.

 

The contrast - medieval village with
nuclear power station nearby. Many of the
houses are just facades. Apparently when Catherine
of Russia visited the town there was a concerted effort
to beautify the old town by making vacant buildings
appear occupied. Many of the houses are holiday houses
owned by Parisians.
 

 

Stairway in gite in the market square.
Exterior 15th century but parts of the house
date back to the 14th century.



Drinks and dinner with Pete and Sue, fellow walkers from Rugby
in England.

 



M&M
23/9/12
Happy birthday, Steph!!!

DAY 20 : FRANCE : LAUZERTE to MOSSAIC - 24 (long) kms

Distance walked so far : 408 kms
Weather today : cloud cover until 12.30 and then sunny and hot : 27o

Rather unassuming on the outside,
the gite in Lauzerte was friendly and comfortable
on the inside.

 

Friendly farmer at the market in Lauzerte
gave us a punnet of purple grapes - famous in the area for eating,
He was fascinated that we were Australian and wanted to talk
rugby - most popular in this region of France.

 

Baguette for lunch from a well established boulangerie

 

Lauzerte - a hilltop town

A traditional dovecote

 

Lots of walkers out on a long, hot day's trek

 

 

Mossaic - a service town with a medieval centre

  

Cloisters - 8th century Roman capitals

 

Roman sculptured capitals in cloisters

 

Mossaic abbey. We attended Vespers at 6 pm
8 nuns sang the service - heavenly

 

 

Gite - a work in progress

Gite run by an Irish couple, Rom and Anne, Matthew and Bono (the dog)

 

 

Pleased with our efforts today.  A long haul into Mossaic - lots of climbing and steep paths together with long stints on the road - relieved to arrive at such a friendly, comfortable gite and a delicious meal with good company.

 

 

M&M

22/9/12

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 19 :FRANCE : LASCABANES to LAUZERTE - 23 kms

Distance walked so far : 383.5 kms
Weather today : Cloud cover in the morning, sunny and warm after midday

View out of gite window in Lascabanes

 

 

A traditional caselle, shelter for shepherds and farmers

 

Walking through Montcuq
12th century medieval village

 

Vive la France!!

  

 

Anticipating the climb up to the town of Lauzerte,
on the hill in the background

 

"Towards the end of the 12th century the Count of Toulouse
undertook to build a castenau- a city protected by a castle
on a hill. From a strategic as well as an economic viewpoint,
it was an instant success."



 

Main plaza in Lauzerte

 

Our gite on the hillside below the old town.
Our own room with bathroom, sheets, towels, wifi
31 euros a double - bargain!!

 

View down the valley to the east - spectacular!

 

 A good day's walk, despite the heat and some testing climbs and slippery descents. We are feeling strong and confident without injury or ailments - hallelujah! We have just reached the halfway point to St Jean Pied de Port, which will be the end of the second stage of our walk in France.

 

M&M

21/9/12

Happy birthday, Ash!!

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

DAY 18 : FRANCE : CAHORS to LASCABANES - 21.5 kms

Distance walked so far : 361.5 kms

Weather : 4o at 8am then heating up in the afternoon to late 20s.

The guidebook warned us to be prepared this morning.
"Although the steep section from the bridge is not too long, if you have a large/heavy rucksack, if you are not very agile, if you don't like scrambling or if the weather is wet (and therefore slippery) you may prefer not to take the waymarked 'passage sportif' up the cliffs..."
Rather a daunting description but we decided to take the risk. The walk around the river to the Pont Valentre was very pretty and the bridge itself is a stunning fortified bridge, built in the 14th century.

Pont Valendre, Cahors

 Then the climb - bit scary - but not beyond our ability - thank heavens.

View from top of the climb

Most of the day was walking flat tracks, more exposed as we moved on. The countryside is looking very brown - fields fallow, ploughed up after harvesting. Woodpiles being stacked neatly. Fewer cows in the fields. It really feels as if everyone is gearing up for the winter.
We are meeting up with various groups. One group of 3 French women are walking, while one their husbands drives their packs each day. He is training for a marathon, so he runs 20 kms every morning and then drives the car to the next destination.

Cafe rest at La Bastide

 

Walking with Kurt and Elisabeth

 

GR sign to lead us on...

 

...and prevent us from going the wrong way.
 

Our gite tonight is in Lascabanes. It is attached to the local church (history dating back to the 1300s) - probably was a small monastery originally. There was a  medieval hospital for pilgrims near here as well. We attended the daily 6pm mass, where the priest washed our feet and blessed our journey.

End of the season - walking into Lascabanes

The gite attached to the church

  

Our meal was prepared by Cecile, the proprietor of the gite. There were 5 French couples, an English couple from Leicester (the wife still not sure walking was a good idea) and an Austrian couple, Elisabeth and Kurt. Kurt is an artist and gave us a card of one of his paintings. He has been studying iconography with a Romanian master.

A delicious meal created by Cecile
Toasted chevre on toast with salad
Duck with cous cous
Apple tart

 

Kurt's painting of angels

 

I am sleeping with a room full of men tonight (and Mark) - hope there is not too much snoring.

20/9/12
M&M

DAY 17 : FRANCE : LE PECH to CAHORS - 12 kms - 3 hours

Distance walked so far : 340 kms

Weather today : sunny, with a breeze : 23o

Short walk today on flat path, nothing particular along the way until the descent into Cahors - a large bustling provincial town, 21,000 people. It's main features include St-Etienne cathedral and its cloister and gardens, chic public buildings,the Pont Valentre (the finest fortified bridge in Europe),  specialist gardens, attractive plazas in the old town and the beautiful Lot River.

Making our way to Cahors

 

The world reknowned Pont Valentre - finest fortified
bridge in Europe

 

Cahors-the old town to the right

 

Weekly market in plaza

 

Beautifully restored cathedral of St Etienne (Stephen)

 

The hedged garden in the cloisters of the cathedral

 

Attractive public buildings

 

Archway leading to private enclave

 

 

Children playing in the old town

 

Flowers adorning the Ponte Louis Philippe,
with a view of our route down into Cahors this morning.
 

 

Tonight we are staying at a hotel. Just to rest, have a bath, veg out for a few hours, and catch up on emails with unlimited wifi. We have washed and dried all our clothes at a laundromat and feel fully revived...ready for another long walk tomorrow.

 

 

Lovely meal in the old town.
We met a Welsh couple who now live
in retirement on a small farm in Normandy.
They were driving south to meet up with family
for a holiday in a villa near Carcassonne.

 



M&M

19/9/12