His Story

At this point in time, there are two things Linz does not know:   a) that I took all these photos without his knowledge, and   b) that I am doing this post.  So many times I turn around, and there he is researching something … a map, a plaque, history, directions … always looking, looking, looking.  I am usually busy looking through a lens.  If it wasn’t for his research, his diligence and his thirst for knowledge, we would have been lost plenty of times, and we wouldn’t know nearly as much about the things we’ve visited.  So, thanks Linz, sometimes it drives me crazy, but most of the time I thank you, thank you, thank you.

Rocamadour and Figeac

It was Linz’s birthday today,  and we set out on one of our biggest day trips. All in all it took us 11 hours to do this round trip from our base in Villefranche, but well worth it.  A couple of weeks ago we passed the lady with the mule – attached to the saddlebag is the scallop shell, the symbol of pilgrims who are going to Compostela in Spain.  She may have been heading for Rocamadour as it is one of the most important stopping points along the Way of St James for the pilgrims, because it holds the statue of the Black Virgin.  Rocamadour is in a remote location but absolutely spectacular.  We braved the climb up to the ramparts of the castle, and out to the very edge overhanging the rock face – after a while, my vertigo and I managed to take some pics.

Our main reason for going to Figeac was to see the Musée de l’Ecriture – dedicated to writing systems and alphabets of the world through time.  Figeac is famous because Jean-Francois Champollion was born here, and he was responsible for decoding the Rosetta Stone and therefore unravelling the mysteries of hieroglyphics.  The museum is in the restored home of Champollion, and is four floors of very interesting and exceptionally well presented material.   We thoroughly enjoyed it and could have stayed another 2 hours to watch all the videos that were available, if we’d had time.

D & L muscle in on the birthday celebrations

part of the huge version of the Rosetta Stone in the courtyard

A bit of a lie down after a cuppa?

When walking beside the Célé River in Figeac with a friend, it is not advisable to wave your arms around and let your mail go

Yellowosity

Oh No, Not More Hilltop Towns…

Just when you thought you’d seen enough gorgeous hilltop towns, here are two more we visited in the Dordogne region of France. Both were very pleasant, but whereas Monpazier has a reputation as a popular tourist spot, Belvès feels more like the sort of place you could actually live in.

Main square of Monpazier	Even the bars on the windows look good here
Monpazier gets our ‘nicest carpark’ award	Belvès

Villefranche-du-Perigord “Chez Fitzpatrick”

We were very much looking forward to the two-week stay we had booked in the region of Perigord (also known as the Dordogne, after the local river). Funny story about that – after we found the place on a European holiday homes website back in January we noticed the phone number looked strangely familiar: the owner, Michael Fitzpatrick, lives in Parnell, Auckland!

When we arrived we were thrilled. Villefranche du Perigord is a very small town – almost a village - but has all the basic amenities, even if internet access means sitting on the steps of the Town Hall to get in range of the free WiFi (we have been known to sneak up there at 11pm). The house is lovely and being right on the edge of town it has panoramic rural views. The sound of the cuckoos is beautiful, the woodpeckers leave no doubt that they have arrived, but the frogs are a bit noisy sometimes! The fabulous pool is an added bonus, as some days are getting up towards 30 degrees now.  The locals have been friendly and the shop keepers are keen to correct our not-so-correct French, and practise their not-so-good-English on us, so it’s a win-win.

Our place is second from right with blue window frames	View of the back terrasse	The neighbours keep an eye on things	The ‘back yard’ must be close to half an acre

Albi

Our next two-night stop was in Albi. We both loved this town: big enough to be interesting but small enough to be manageable. There has been a lot of urban beautification here in recent years which adds to the city’s charm. Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi and the city boasts a museum containing a lot of his works which his mother donated to the city after his death. It’s just a shame that the museum, like so many things in France, closes between midday and 2 pm. They chucked everyone out and we had to hang around for two hours before we could get back in and finish our visit. Next door is the world’s largest brick cathedral – it really is massive – also closed at lunchtime, at least to the tourists. Best of all … NO doggie doos!

		Old window catch
		Don’t know who you are, What you’re famous for,  I’d rather be the pigeon, Yesmmm, that’s for sure

Canal du Midi

There is one other thing Carcassonne has going for it … it is right on the Canal du Midi, the great 17th-century engineering project which linked the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, meaning French boats could avoid the long voyage around the bottom of Spain. These days it is only used for pleasure craft. We had a very pleasant afternoon on the Canal, with our tour boat traversing two of the many impressive locks along the way.

 

As we were coming back into port we spotted a boat with a New Zealand rugby scarf proudly displayed in the window. We invited ourselves on board to say hi to fellow Kiwis, and ended up staying an hour for a beer and a gossip. Our generous hosts (from Tauranga and Tokoroa) were doing a week-long cruise up the Canal. I think they were glad to hear some familiar accents! (Thanks for the beer guys – hope your dinner wasn’t burnt.)