Roll out the barrel

Our first Australian visitors, good friends Gina and Phil, arrived on Sunday and we met them at the Cahors train station. They had travelled from Carcassonne. It was great to see someone so familiar in such unfamiliar surroundings. We somehow packed them and their luggage into C3 and headed off on the half-hour journey home. As we pointed out things of interest along the way we realised that, in the short time we had been here, we had acquired quite a bit of local knowledge. We were all quite excited as we chatted about our different travel experiences and compared notes about the places we’d visited.

We had intended to go to a market on the way to the station but Fran went to Mass first and, due to some christenings and some First Holy Communions, she had got more than her money’s worth. By the time we reached home from the station, all the shops were shut, so we made a scratch meal out of biscuits and sausage, jambon, fromage and tomatoes, and then headed off to Grezels, a nearby village. Fran had discovered that they were holding the 5th Annual Wine Festival and that the program included the first Championship of Barrel Rollers - Exceptionnel dans la region! The competition was listed as kicking off at 3:00 p.m. with registration from 10-2 and practice from 2:30 p.m. This sounded like it might be fun. When we arrived in Grezels, the event was being held on a lovely grassy open space in the village. There was a display of historical cars and tractors, and various tents selling wine, wine and more wine. And there were a few other tents selling fresh fruits from the region, pastries, and other delicacies. Fran even recognised that the man selling sausages was our sausage man from the market at Cahors. The barrel rolling course was marked out with ropes and flags.

We bought a glass each for 2 euros and proceeded with the wine tasting. We’re not sure whether Fran read the program correctly as by 3:00 p.m. there was very little action on the barrel rolling course. But by 4 o’clock, everyone had finished their wine (except the 4 Aussies) and the event got underway. It consisted of teams of 2, rolling a big wine-barrel down the course. Initially, the casks were rolled on their edge for about 10 metres, then they were tipped onto their side and rolled up a plank and over a small log, down the other side, and then helter skelter in a straight line for a further 30 metres. There were 5 heats each of 3 teams, then a semi-final and a final. It was pretty funny because the barrels would not roll straight and the faster the teams tried to go, the more crooked the barrels would roll. There were continual cries of Garde la publique, Garde la publique from the MC as the barrels became lethal objects, careering off the course as the rollers struggled to keep them under control, falling over, leaping up and somehow managing to get to the finishing line. It was great fun watching the crowds scatter to avoid being crushed and everyone was laughing and shouting and having a good time. The winning team was presented with a huge bottle of wine, and the second and third placegetters also received prizes. Unfortunately our camera ran out of batteries and we didn’t capture any photos. Gina did, but we haven’t worked out how to upload them from her camera yet.

The next day the weather wasn’t as nice so we spent the day showing our visitors around our village and having some quiet time. However, the paparazzi spotted us having a quiet coffee at Le Salon Gourmand (again) and insisted taking our photo for inclusion in the next edition of the paper. We’re not sure which paper he was working for but have a sneaking suspicion that we might be the cover story of The Barista Monthly or some such similar (high-circulation) journal.

The following day involved a trip to the Gouffre de Padirac and Rocamadour. The Gouffre is an enormous sink hole about 75 metres deep and 30 metres wide, with an underground river and cave system at its bottom. You descend in a lift and then walk through the caves until you get to the river which is about 100 metres underground. You then hop into little boats (each holding about ten people) and are gondoliered about 500 m to a big grotto where guides take over and explain all the features of the river, height of ceiling, stalactites and stalagmites, etc. Unfortunately the guides didn’t have much English so we didn’t understand much of what they were explaining, although Fran picked up a lttle. It was pretty impressive though and we all enjoyed the experience.

We then had lunch at a nearby café and drove about 15 km to Rocamadour. It is a tiny town but its claim to fame is the way it apparently clings to the side of cliff. We were expecting hordes of tourists here but were pleasantly surprised to find relatively few people. The town itself is on the old pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Its main building is the Chapelle Notre Dame (dating from about the 12th century) which sits at the top of the Grand Escalier (Big Staircase). Pilgrims used to undergo penance by climbing the 200 odd steps on their knees. We used our feet but our knees weren’t feeling too good either by the time we reached the top. We then continued up a zig-zag walkway, which had sculptured scenes of the stations-of-the-cross at each of the zigs. On the way home Karen misbehaved badly and we now have a serious breakdown in our relationship with her.

Fran and Gina on the Grand Escalier

There was a market in Cahors the following day so after a leisurely breakfast we decided to check it out. It had the, by now, familiar, hustle and bustle of a good French market. We stocked up on lots of fruit, vegetables, cheese, ham and sausage, and Gina bought a new top. Fran and Adrian knew that, just off the square where the market is held, there was a little shop that sold baked potatoes and a bar that didn’t mind you eating them at their tables, provided that you bought a drink. So we set ourselves up in the shade with pressions (beers) and a Perrier and had a lunch of baked potatoes stuffed with lardon (chopped bacon) and cream and topped with grilled cheese. Delicious! After lunch we looked at the impressive Cathedral St-Etienne (12th century Romanesque style), which has some beautiful stained-glass windows, and its 16th century Gothic cloister. Later we visited the Pont Valentre, a 14th century medieval bridge which is still in beautiful condition and is one of the landmarks of Cahors.

We have taken to the French tradition of having an aperitif at the end of the day. This usually includes some nibblies and takes a couple of hours, so we have been dining rather late. But it doesn’t feel late because it doesn’t start getting dark until after 10 o’clock. We decided to have dinner out at the Creperie, which is a restaurant in the pigeonnier across the river from our house. When we draw our bedroom curtains each morning we look across at the pigeonnier and it makes a lovely scene with the reflections off the river. The Creperie specialises in crepes but has lots of other items on the menu as well. They also have a pretty good selection of sweets, many of which feature various liqueurs. And they are generous with their servings. So, after our aperitifs, pre-dinner drinks, a litre of wine and some pretty potent glaces, we were glad we were within walking distance of the restaurant and didn’t have to drive when it came time to leave. We had a lovely meal there, sitting outside on a balmy evening with the light slowly fading and the old town of Puy l’Eveque making an attractive backdrop. Something tells us that you may hear more about the Creperie in future blogs!

At the restaurant, Fran and Phil recognised one of the customers as the winner of the barrel rolling contest from Grezels. As mentioned before, no Frenchman/Frenchwoman is safe from Fran and so she accosted the poor bloke. But he was happy to be recognised and congratulated. It seems that he owns a winery near Duravel, about 5 km away. After discovering that we were Australians and here for some months, he gave us a card that introduced us to his winery and promised a gift if we visited. So, guess what we‘re doing today!

Au revoir