Le Comp' Hostel Rocamadour

Better prepared this time with all our wet weather gear. This hamlet was also perched on the side of a cliff.... and the people were much more friendly.... and there were shops open, even better we met another Australian couple to chinwag to while we enjoyed a lovely ...

This village clings to the side of a cliff. We first saw it in an articule in the TNT magazine in London.

It is another stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compestela. It has a famed image of a Black Madonna which is reputed to be responsible for many miracles.

From a distance this village is spectacular. We ...

... and a ruin of an old church which lit up at night.
Wednesday 4 Nov
Some blue skies finally appeared about 9am this morning so we set out to have a last wander through the village, take some more photos and more importantly buy some quiches for lunch - yum!

Another pretty little village this time famous for its red brick houses. A little more life than the last few villages and even a few shops open, one of which specialised in foie gras. As this is foie gras territory we did as the locals do and bought ourselves some which we will enjoy one night with one of the remaining bottle of champagne we still have in Scooby.

We left the bordeaux region today for the dordogne valley - the ancient town of Sarlat - waaaay medieval-
I've determined that there is not enough of france to walk in to justify the amount of food we've been eating...oof. We havent even had any pastries or creme brulee we're so full from lunch and dinner!
we"ll post more in the matin!
Bonne Nuit!

We spent the entire afternoon canoeing down the Dordogne. We packed a lunch and found a nice spot along the river to enjoy some wine and cheese. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Every couple of Kilometers was anothe castle overlooking the river. The river was so flat that we could just float along and enjoy the view.

From the cousins house we moved further west to Neils parents house. They have a place in a beautiful old town. It is an old walled vilage on the hilltop overlooking the valley. The village is full of cobblestone streets, windy narrow alleys and cute little homes. We ate great meals, enjoyed excellent wine and spent time with Neils parents. thank you again for hosting us!

... cheese and beer. Then they proceeded to dance to a dj “Disco Flonic” playing bad old 80’s disco remakes in French, (YMCA in French is laughably bad)! We joined in on the dancing fun on a reggae tune and stayed on the dance floor for a couple more I would hate to admit to. We left around 11:30 but Steve woke up at 3:15 and the music was still going.

Gouffre de Padirac-OK, so this is by far the largest cave we’ve ever been ...

... and two main courses which is so cheap and a pleasant change to Dublin. Sunday 6 April. Our first view of the town of Rocamadour took our breath away. It is magically perched on the side of the 400 foot cliff and rises in three stages. Half way up the cliff there is a group of massive buildings. The chief of them is the church of Notre Dame (1479) containing a wooden Black Madonna and pilgrims have been coming for centuries to pray for cures. On ...

Upon leaving my lovely villa, I returned to a charming, affordable hotel near the train station in Cahors, and explored that medieval town of 21,000 a bit better. The cathedrals, the 700 year old fortified Pont Valentre, and more winding streets, farmers markets and promenades along the Lot in the warm summer sun made for a delightful August.