A Bit of Shopping

Dear Friends and Family, It is Thursday morning, 4 October, and we are beginning to think seriously about moving on. We will leave Puy L’Eveque on Saturday and travel for about 5 hours and spend the night in a little place we passed through on our way to Mende and on the Montpellier, the village of Le Puy-en-Velay. It was a sort of bustling place with the most amazing rock formation. Because of traffic, I was unable to stop and get any pictures, so I thought it might be nice to return. Polley and I are planning to have our hostess, Ann, to dinner at our place tonight. For the last couple of days we have been putting the menu together. Tuesday we went to the amazing chocolate place again, to pick up a few things for the dessert tonight. We also got a couple of things to tide us over until Thursday evening. From there we went on another 25 kilometers or so to the quite sizeable town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot (meaning the town of Villeneuve on the Lot River). We had spent an afternoon their a couple of years ago and liked the feel. We didn’t really do much, but we did sit and watch the lunchtime crowd bustle about and, of course, had a little wine

Tuesday evening we took Ann to one of our favorite restaurants, La Récreation. It is in a tiny little village and sits in the old, abandoned schoolhouse. It is one of those places that you don’t go to every night, but just for special occasions. It is a prix-fixe menu (4 courses) at 35 euros. It is now under new ownership and Polley and I had to confess to each other, that while it is good, it has lost something both in terms of food and atmosphere. It was a bit of a disappointment. Too bad! Wednesday morning we were up bright and early as Ann offered to take us into Cahors, the main town, about 30 kilometers away. It is a charming city and am sorry that we have not given it more attention. There are some wonderful old buildings

That sort of reveal themselves as a kind of surprise as you pass from one narrow alleyway to another

We enjoyed a Grande Crème in a local café and wandered past one of several churches in the town

Polley and Ann did some shopping and Polley got yet another scarf and a very cool wool jacket. Ann bought me a wonderful neon yellow scarf to go with my lime green walking cap. I will try to get a picture in the near future. We found a quite wonderful dog fountain

And an amazing clock

That works on the pin-ball principle. Balls roll down and move along

and become the momentum for the hands of the clock. While it had been cloudy on the drive over, the sun eventually made its way out and we took advantage of that to wander down to the Lot River which runs through the town

After a lovely lunch on the main street, Ann took us by the scenic route home and we were fortunate enough to see one of the grape harvesting machines in action. The vines have been loaded every since we arrived and we kept anticipating the harvest would begin. Yesterday, with warm conditions, it seems to have gotten underway. The tractor pulls the harvesting machine down the vines

And the machine has some sort of soft, combed cylinders that gently shake the grapes from the vine.

It is quite quick and seems very effective. Apparently for some of the higher-end wines, they are still picked by hand. But with the acres and acres of vineyards, that much have been a huge effort that now has given way to a more efficient method. Quite fascinating and we stood and watch this farmer for nearly half an hour as he made his way up one string of vines and down another. It was a long day and Polley and I found ourselves worn out. We did a bit of shopping for tonight’s dinner, grabbed a quick meal at the wine bar and turned in. Just two more days in Puy L’Eveque.

A Last Easy Weekend in Puy L’Eveque

Dear Friends and Family, This last weekend was very relaxing. We created a kind of routine tht seemed suited to the weather and our desire to luxuriate in Puy L’Eveque for this last weekend before heading back to Lyon and on to Paris. Saturday we spent the day inside mostly as we did get some rain, actually quite hard for a while. It was a very wet walk. Saturday evening we thought we would return to the little bar in Luzech that we had discovered the day Polley had her hair cut. It is about a 30 minute drive. So we headed out only to find it was closed! The French restaurant hours are very strange. Why they were closed on a Saturday night, I an’t imagine. However, we are beginning to notice that many of the French dependent on tourist business are using late September and early October for their vacation. So, that may explain our little bar sitting in darkness. So, we headed back. On our way to Luzech, we had passed a curious little restaurant in the village of Castelfranc. We thought, why not try it. Set in the ground floor living room of a home, I will admit that at first I was a little intimidated. It was quite fancy in a simple sort of way, with only about 6 or 7 tables. It was full, except for one table for two. Perfect. We ordered an appetizer and an entrée to share. Polley had ordered the smoked salmon on toast and I had a filet of duck. This restaurant was a two person operation, Eric and Olga. The special feature of the place was that Eric grilled all the offerings on a briquette barbecue grill set into the fire place right in the dining room. Meanwhile, in the back kitchen, Olga fixes the plates with frites and salad. When the meant is done, Eric carries it back to the kitchen to waiting plates and “Voila!” And the food was fabulous! Polley’s salmon and salad were perfectly flavored as was the duck. But the “Piéce de Resistence,” were the frites. Perhaps the best French fries I have ever eaten. They were season with a fleur de sel and what appeared to be parsley. Amazing. We will return before our time here ends. Following dinner, we went to a kind of grand opening celebration at our little wine bar. It was a private party and they were nice enough to include us. We mostly just sat and watched the activity,

But were very pleased to have made enough of an impression to be a part of late-night, hip French partying. Sunday we returned to Montcuq for the Sunday marché. We just enjoy the atmosphere of this little village. This Sunday a sort of gypsy/busker band came marching through the village, playing music, accordion, saxophone, tuba and drum. It almost appeared that as part of their alternative approach to life, they chose the 4 most annoying instruments. The leader of the pack, as one point, climbed the village “Statue of Libèrté” and did a handstand.

The other members also could do various types of gymnastics

Along with juggling etc. It was great fun and with the sun coming out, we sat in a little sidewalk café for the better part of an hour. Polley also found the perfect scarf for a new outfit. Sunday evening, Ann had us to dinner along with an English couple that we have met before and have enjoyed, Michael and Eileen. They two love to travel and had just returned from Spain. They also caught all of us up on the latest area gossip and had us in stitches over some of the characters in the community. It was after midnight when we brought things to a close. On Monday, in our tradition of trying to visit a few of the local and often overlooked villages, we made our way to Villefranche du Perigord. It is about 25 minutes from us and has a most charming main street. As we came up from the parking lot, we faced the village church

And continued on down the main street to the market square

And on our way back I was taken with this cute little house on the main street

After a little wine at Le Gouter de Charlotte, listening to the most annoying British woman who seemed to be in performance mode at the next table, we escaped for lunch and a bit of a siesta. Wanting to make it a short evening after a busy weekend, we returned to the wine bar for some tapas and caught a lovely sunset

It was a very nice and varied three days, with expectations of some good times in our last week.

A Day Out, Continued

Dear Friends and Family, When I last wrote, I was relating the experiences on our day out last Friday. After touring the Josephine Baker house and having a lovely lunch in the sunshine (amazing how many others chose the shade on such a beautiful day, at a time of the year when sunshine is becoming rarer), we strolled the ground of the Chateau de Milandes. And most surprisingly, we came across some birds of prey, mostly some lovely owls

In addition to this fellow and some others, there was a rare white owl

They were magnificient birds, but the best thing about them was how close up you could get. These birds seemed to enjoy the company of people. So often, the birds at the zoo are tucked in some back corner. Here the cages were relatively small and you could get up close. The most impressive of the birds was the Eagle

There were actually a couple of them and, as you can see, there was no screen between us and the bird. They were, instead, chained. This allowed us to get a nice clear shot of each of them. After some more strolling, we bid adieu to this most wonderful of places.

I know that I shall return to the States and look into more about Josephine Baker and perhaps get a CD or two. From there, is was back into the car for a short drive the very nice village of Belvès. We got out of the car just took a short walk through the town. It had a lovely church

And a lovely main street that looked down over the valley

From there, just out of the village, we stopped at preserved spinning mill, used up until the 1990s for carding and spinning the wool of the area for blankets, and the stuffing of mattresses. It was fascinating to tour the old factory

Just the ingenuity to arrive at these complex machines that did the work that was for so long done by hand. Currently, there was also a exhibition of fabric designs made from felt. They were absolutely beautiful and took felt to a whole new dimension

So many of them had a wonderful lacey quality that I didn’t realize was even possible

After following the colored footsteps through the factory and the exhibit, we again took advantage of the lovely weather and strolled their garden and wetland preserve.

It was so peaceful and, while it was still relatively new, it had begun to draw birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other native species of the area. A tour of their gift shop and a new wool sweater for me and we headed home, tired, but also enriched by the new discoveries Ann had revealed. It is one of the real joys of coming to Ann’s. She knows every féte, every marché, every restaurant and village. Any time with her is always a peek further into French village life.

A Lovely Day Out

Dear Friends and Family, Not busy and a bit busy, that is life here in Puy L’Eveque. This morning we are actually down to one week here before making our way back to Lyon and on to Paris. Thursday was a kind of quiet day. Ann was out all day and the weather was cool. We did manage a drive back out to Libos where there is a very nice Marché that featured quite a number of clothing vendors. Polley was still looking to increase her inventory of warm clothes as the weather continues to cool here and will, doubtless, be cooler in Paris. Dressing for such different climates (Greece, Crete) and over such a period of time (August-October) proved to be a challenge. Consequently, we packed rather light, concentrating on warm weather gear, feeling that we could pick up some warmer clothing along the way; that is now the focus. So we had a lovely morning in Libos. Polley found a very nice black, wool sweater for 4 euro. She, of course, later discovered that every bargain has its price, because when she wore it that evening, it itched like crazy! She also found another bargain top, although this one required 10 euro. She also got some socks and we bargained for 12 emory boards! Anyway, it was a very nice morning and you do find that you must use your French in the marketplaces and it is good practice. We stopped at a little bistro/brasserie for some wine and I took a photo of this this quirky little fountain, with the figures seemingly ducking to avoid the water.

On our way back home, at Ann’s recommendation, we stopped at this amazing chocolate shop. Very fancy concoctions, along with this chocolate sculpture.

I apparently had underestimated the erotic power of chocolate. We picked up a couple delicacies and retired for lunch and, of course, siesta That evening we retired to our little wine bar to watch the sun set on the River Lot.

Following the wine bar, we tried another Puy L’Eveque restraurant, Le Medievale. It is right on the main street (La Grande Rue). It was a very quiet evening inside. Only another man and Polley and I. The food was good, however. We had a nice salad and shared an entrée of a moroue (a kind of very tender cod) that was swimming in olive oil, along with a side of ratatouille. Very satisfying and not huge portions. We returned home to find the cats making the most of our home

Friday was a day for an outing with Ann. About 9:30 in the morning we headed for the Dordogne region which is just north of Ann. We stopped and had a coffee in a lovely little village and as we drove passed chateau after chateau

before heading to the former home (Chateau de Milandes) of famous chantreuse, Josephine Baker. While I knew the name of Ms. Baker, I didn’t know very much about her. She was born in St. Louis in 1906, but achieved her stardom in France, eventually being a headliner at the Folies de Bergère. She performed for more than 50 years, dying in virtual poverty in 1975, while doing a 50th anniversary tour. It is quite a place.

While the chateau is now privately owned, they have brought back as many souvenirs of the performer as possible. The place was filled with show posters, private correspondences, costumes and other personal belongings that traced to history of this famous performer. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed, but as we walked through the private quarters, there were recordings of her as a singer and in private interviews. It is a fascinating showplace.

The chateau, as you might expect, sits on beautiful grounds

From which you can see the whole Dordogne valley

And there is a private chapel that is yet to be restored.

It also has a very good café. As the day was beautiful, Ann, Polley and I had a delicious lunch in the gardens

And, of course, no trip to such a place would be complete without browsing the gift shop. With the sun shining I managed to capture Ann and Polley coming out without having spent a euro!

It was a lovely morning and early afternoon.

But it was not the end of the day and I will continue more tomorrow.

C-est Bon Weekend

Dear Friends and Family, Well obviously lording over a manor robbed me of my duties as a blogger. Well, rest assured that are elevation as landed gentry was only temporary. Ann has returned and we are simply serfs once again! We really have not been doing a lot. We had a nice weekend, however. On Saturday, after Polley’s expressed admiration of Ann’s haircut, Polley went to the same woman, Christine, in a little village of Luzech. So, we headed off early thinking we might have a little lunch prior to arrival at the salon de beauté. As it was after 12:30, siesta time had kicked in and we had only one choice, a little bar/brasserie on the main street. We asked for half litre of wine and then I went back in and ask for a menu. The barman, who had no English, rattled off something in French which I took to mean that they did not have a menu and were not serving. However, everytime we went into the bar (as we were outside) someone seemed to be eating a delicious looking salad. Finally, it went back in and in my best French, and point to three people chowing down at an inside table, asked if it was not possible to get a salad. The barman, in a classic French expression, said, “Bien Sur!” But, of course! It turned out that they do not do their “menu” in the daytime, only in the evening. They do, however, offer salads at lunch time. He escorted me to a signboard that had a variety of salad offerings. We choice the Quercynoise. Quercy is the region we are in and this was a salad representative of the best of the region. When it arrived, it was fabulous. It had fried gizzards and bacon with lettuce, tomato, hard-boiled eggs, etc. It was to die for. Even before we finished , we were planning a return. Polley got her hair done and we headed home with a new philosophy. From now on, we were going to explore more of the little villages in the surrounding area. Saturday evening, we decided to just eat in and watch a film. Ann has a fabulous collection of books and DVDs. Since we never watch movies, this was a chance to catch up, a little. We watched The Help. We had read the book and did enjoy the moving as well. Seemed very well cast. Sunday we headed to yet another marché (outdoor market). We drove for about 40 minutes to Montcuq. As I have mentioned before, each marché has its own individual personality. Montcoq has a nice mixture of food and clothings.

We didn’t buy a lot, but Polley did find some nectarines

And we also bought some delicious cheese, called Dome de Chevre, a very sharp, but quite runny goat cheese. Terrific! We then stopped at a café located right in the heart of the marché

and just enjoyed watching it all unfold in front of us. It, however, did become quite windy and several of the vendors began picking up early. You can get some sense of the wind as I caught this picture of a statue featuring the French flag blowing in the breeze

Sunday evening, thinking we would eat out, we searched Puy L’Eveque for a place. A real challenge! We ended up at Astrolabe, the little wine bar on the river. We so enjoy Charlotte, the owner, but must admit that the food does not live up to the little bar in Luzech! On Monday, with our new approach to exploring, we headed to a little village called Albas, about half an hour from us. Years ago we had gone with Ann to the Albas Wine Fète and had had a wonderful time. The village had discontinued it a couple of year ago, but we still thought it would be nice to revisit this charming town. That wasa mistake. It seemed almost completely abandoned. There were cars about, but almost no people. Nothing was open as we drove through the town. We turned around and went back through, catching this giant tribute to Cahors wine as we passed into the village.

I stopped briefly and caught this little picture of a statue of the Virgin Mary,

But needed to move on in search of the perfect café so we headed to a little village called Bélaye. I had caught a glimpse of it on our way to Montcuq, so we set out to follow the road signs. And, “Voila!” After climbing to the top of the world, we were there . . . and what I find. It does sit at the top of a hill and has the most marvelous view of the Valley of the Lot (the Lot is the river that runs through this region.

You can see this wonderful patchwork of rich farmland

It was breezy up there, but the sun was beginning to shine

and we found this little converted convent school that was now a little café and art gallery. It was run by a delightful English couple that have moved to the village and are photographers dedicated to the flora and fauna of the region. They had hundreds of color photos and we had to purchase the one of the Praying Mantis for Ann, as the morning she left for England, she had discovered one on a leaf and shared it with us. We will return Wednesday to get the copy of the print. We are looking forward to revisiting the two once again. And of course life with the cats continues

Yesterday, the weather turned cool. It is definitely fall here in the valley. We did manage to take in the Puy L’Eveque marché and had a very traditional French dinner at the Henry, a restaurant that just seems to have that olf French feel. A good weekend, but you will have to stay tuned for what we manage to accomplish as the rain has fallen all night and does not look promising for the next few days.