Campanile - Limoges

Stayed last night in a pretty little medieval village of Solignac, right on the town square next to the villages 11th century church, which is on the pilgirmage route - Santiago de Compostela. It had rained last night and was still raining so our wander around was brief! Our plan today was to stop at several little villages in the area, of which they got progressively prettier.

We left Stephanie's around 10:30 am. We stopped at a "boulangerie et patisserie", which is French for YUMM!! It is a bread and pastry store. They are located everywhere and have fresh bread and pastries.

We found our way to Chateau Roche, where we picnicked on the lawn all alone. The Chateau was apparently closed, but the gate to the grounds was open. So, we lunched there and then took ...

... out that this nerd palace holds days where nerd meet up and play 'real life' games (they all had pretend shotguns and machine guns). Whats worse is that they walked around with such confidence it would seem that they actually thought they were mercenaries........ it made me sympathetic towards bullies.

After leaving nerd palace we sat outside for lunch and observed a young 'gangster' type character leave a ...

... conciousness. Then she started freaking out because I was speaking English. I left her to the crowd of people. She seemed fine.

At the bike shop it was obvious that I would need a new wheel, which requires a new gearing cassette, tyre, and innertube. 80 euros has seriously hurt the budget. Only 200 pounds left to get to Africa. Whats worse is the chain doesn't fit properly.

MST

Yesterday was a good day. Although it rained in the morning, we were only on straight roads at the time. A strong breeze in the afternoon helped dry us out. Last night we enjoyed some well deserved downtime; an excellent 4 course meal al fresco washed down with a local red wine; a few games of petanque & pool, loud music & chat. :-)

Wednesday we decided upon a more somber itinerary. We went to Oradour-Sur-Glane, a town about 2 hours from where we are staying and the site of a horrific WWII massacre. Before I get to the massacre site, let me briefly tell you about lunch. We ate lunch in a restaurant just outside of Oradour. This was our splurge meal, and it was rather expensive, but it was a really neat experience. The restaurant was set on the site of a chateau, and ...

... least we had this trusty little Lonely Planet guide, which recommended a few places around Dournazac and Chateau Montbrun.... Hmmm, they all seemed to be closed... Finally, 'La Taverne'- a place to eat (even though its ~10pm) and sleep (what! no rooms available!). Well, of course it did have a happy ending, but I start with the photos first....

... the best reward for being so beautiful and wild. It was my aunt, "something...ieth" birthday so it was time to all bond together. My cousin did a brilliant job at writing and directing a play retracing my aunt's life. The main character was my aunt, role played by her daughter and all the other roles were played by my cousins and I. For obvious reasons and I have to be honest not to appear too ridiculous on the web, I decided not to post the hour long ...

... of the houses remained. The town has been left in its state of ruin as a memorial to the over 600 people who perished that day. As you walk through the town, there are eerie remnants of happy village life... bicycles, cars, sewing machines, pots and pans, cafe tables, bed frames... all burnt to cinders with only the metal skeletons intact. It is a true ghost town. Of all the sites that I have visited, this one was by far the most eerie.

... the way, I nearly fell asleep at the wheel. I decided to give the car to Lucy, which is pretty scary in itself. She has only driven a left hand drive car once, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I tried to sleep, but it didn't work. I was actually ******** myself. Upon arrival, it doesn't matter what side the steering wheel is on, Lucy doesn't cope with driving on the wrong side of the road, so I took over. We were here to find a Roman ...