We have been touring the local area, encountering lots of pretty towns and photogenic countryside. We visited the 13th century fortress Bonaguil which is a massive castle which the local people are trying to restore. It will be a huge job because during the French Revolution the towers were dismantled, the materials were carried off and the place was sacked and left to decay. Nevertheless, the façade is impressive. We were going to hire some canoes and paddle down the Lot River but the weather looked suspect in the morning so we decided to go underground again. We drove to Pech Merle a cave system that was discovered in 1929 and contains rock paintings which are about 25,000 years old. There were also some human footprints in the mud that were a mere 12,000 years old, which really impressed us. Then we went on to St Cirq Lapopie - a town similar to Rocamadour but much more attractive in many respects and the vistas to the valley below even more dramatic. Karen took us on some back roads (again) but we forgave her because we came across a red deer in a field.
We said goodbye to Gina and Phil the next morning at Cahors train station. They were off to chateau country in the Loire Valley for a few days before heading to Paris for their final week in Europe. After bidding them adieu we headed for St Etienne Cathedral in Cahors for a jazz vocal concert in the Cloister due to start at 11:00. There were 8 singers, 3 men and 5 women - a capella (no accompaniment). Their repertoire was mainly African music from the Congo, Tanzania and South Africa. A really interesting sound, although unfortunately their encore - Thank you Lord - went a bit off the rails as they changed key several times, but at different times! Nevertheless an enjoyable musical experience.
The summer solstice in France is celebrated with music in towns and villages across the country.
Some of the smaller ones like Puy l’Eveque celebrate a week earlier because they can‘t compete for the performers. The big show around here is in Cahors, 32 km from us. We went there and it was a good night. Lots of people of all ages, including many families were out and about, and there were bands and musical groups every 100 metres along the main boulevard, at some times just a cacophony of sound. After dinner we again headed for the Cathedral to hear some sacred music, a vocal group of about 40, singing unaccompanied., interspersed by organ music - Bach, Haydn and Rachmaninov(?) were three of the composers that we picked up in the commentary, as well as one piece by Handel that Fran used to sing. Heading back to our car Adrian picked up the unmistakable brassy strains of Blood , Sweat and Tears. The band was so good that we stayed until they finished playing. They also played some Chicago and other big-band numbers - great music from the 70's. Another late night - after 1:30.Today we took to the hills to do one of the self guided walking trails around the small village of
Castelfranc several kms from us and also sited on the Lot River. It was rated “easy” - 6 km, estimated time to complete 1 hour 40 minutes…but no one warned us about the European wasps that would harass us most of the way!! One got up close and personal with Adrian, stinging him on the hand. After that we weren’t game to stop for long to look at the scenery, because they got a bit feisty when we stopped walking. We think we set a new record for that walking trail. There are vineyards in the surrounding countryside as far as the eye can see. When we went to
the winery that had offered us a free gift nobody was home. So we went to the winery where our local restaurant buys its white wine and bought 5 litres. Wine containers in France are somewhat different to what we’re used to and the wine is cheap and good. We are quaffing more than we would at home. Here is Fran with some of our empties.
Au revoir
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