As we turned up the narrow rickety driveway of our next house in the coma like town of Fumel. Trees and shrubs grew along the the dirt track. As we rounded the corner a manor house equipped with pool and fairy garden. This was OUR home for the next 5 nights
hurray!
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| Isn't it beautiful! |
After one day i knew i was going to have a GREAT time in the south of France (or Fraaaaance as Tilda calls it)
Here's what we did
- Hit the road along the river to see the stunning little village of cirq- lapopie
- Stopped there for dinner and admired the iiiinnnncccrrreeedddiiibbblllleee view
- Drove to a beautiful bridge in a town called cohors
- Took a little walking trek through fields and woods. Bought some pâté from a little pâté seller along the way (we knew it was proper because it cost €36 for a small jar and its called "foie gras")
- Caught 2 butterflies with my hands!!!
- Drove the "sightseeing Dordogne" rout passing 6 little towns along the way
- Cooked the meal of the century
Cirq- lapopie is a stunning town rated no.1 in the most beautiful places in France
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| Ahhhhhhh |
On arrival we discovered it was just as beautiful on the inside as on the out
Did I mention this place was UNESCO protected, cause it is, and no wonder
after exploring the lovlely little town we were faced with a choice...
Drive all the way home, eat dinner there, then sleeeeep
or
eat dinner here, drive home and sleep there
Personally I wouldve prefered a Red Rooster "Tropicana" pack but I don't think they have Red Rooster in France, I mean, they're so busy eating duck all the time mabe theyed have invented Red Duck, but then again I dont think that the French arn't so big on take away...
Brilliant bridges - Spoilt towns
The next day we headed to the little town of Cahors, a little city about an hours drive from where we were staying. As we emerged from the car park I saw a 6 lane highway littered with rubbish and junk, all the shops on that street were closed or rundown. it felt like pompeii all over again.
We walked along the street and turned left i saw an amazing bridge, medieval and in perfect condition, I thought it was odd that in such a spoilt town such a lovely bridge existed.
Underneath the bridge the Lot River ran along - we watched as a leaf floated down the gentle tide of the river but then got caught in a tide and flew out into a series of rapids - kind of beautiful in a gruesome way.
A Stroll Through the Countryside
My gran recommended a short 5km walk we could take through fields and forests near where we were staying. We drove to the starting point, using the map she gave us and looking out for little yellow symbols to show walkers the way to go.
On arrival at the start point, I noticed that there were about 6 zillion butterflies floating about in the fields beside the road. After several fruitless attempts of trying to catch one - i found a particularly lacadaisical one who must have been a bit drunk on the nectar and the hot day - and I caught it in my cupped hands. it was cornflour blue with a skinny black body. Unfortunately before I could show any of the others it flew away. This started the great butterfly rush - made up of 3 other slightly slower children upset because they couldn't also catch one.
Dividing the scenery of our walk into 3 section gives an idea of what the walk was like.
- The butterflies and cornfields section
- The forest section
- The residential / farms section
All of the paths were a bit windy - and sometimes also rocky. Unfortunately I left our bottle of water in the car and due to the heat of the summer's day we got pretty parched. Near the very end of the walk we saw a small sign advertising a small geese farm where they made paté. After ringing the shop doorbell a woman emerged and we asked in our best french if she could give us a glass of water. She obliged and then showed us into her little shop. It was dark and jars lined the walls and wooden boxes and crates were on the floor and a fridge gave off a blue eerie light. Outside we had seen the geese - inside we saw what the geese were used for. Some of the jars contained finest quality goose fat, patés and foie gras.
The finish of the walk was where we started - back at the cornfields - and across the road was a small church. On closer examination of her map Mum found that this is actually a church that is visited by pilgrims every year - and is the home of a dead saint
Have any of you ever been to the Subi Primary markets on a Saturday morning? If so, you must have seen the massive stall selling eggs cooked in a chunky, sweet, Moroccan tomato sauce and sometimes if you want it - with sausage.
This is called Shakshuka and its what I decided to make when it was our turn to make dinner at our big country house in Fumel.
The recipe is here if you want to see it but it can be complicated or as simple as you like to make it.
On first try I was nervous that it would be too spicy or too salty or too not-shakshuka-ish. We had happened to find a market on the way back to Fumel and at a spice stall we bought one small bag of smoked paprika, one bag of cumin and one bag the man recommended for Moroccan food. OK so let me say that IT WAS DELICIOUS (if I may say so myself). We had it with fresh French baguettes - the best bread to have it with -and everyone wanted seconds.
Hooray.
What a good note to end the day on.
OVERALL
I think the best thing I did in the South of France was just to walk around and play - something we haven't been able to do since Lauterbrunnen and I have been looking forward to it for a long time. On a last note - thank you Granny Jacquie if you are reading this - for improving our stay with your help, guidance and maps.
Missing you all
Zoe
Swe of the mar
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