Southwest France - Next-to-Last Tour

September 22 - Sunday.  Leaving Chateau de Mercues was easily done.  There are a lot of very helpful staff.  The luggage was driven down to the coach, so we just walked down after a very nice breakfast.

Some of my breakfast - - the buffet had quite a grand array of pastries.

Such a little milk container, probably intended for coffee; I used it for my muesli.

Looking back at the chateau, I thought it would be a wonderful place to spend lots of time, if money were not a question.

The next stop was quite a treat:  the Pont Valantre, at Cahors.  As David Edwards-May wrote in the guidebook, it is a magnificant medieval fortified bridge with seven pointed arches and three towers, built in the mid-14th century. We arrived while it was wreathed in the morning mist which quickly burned off - beautiful weather for exploring this beautiful bridge, but not nearly enough time.

In this back-lit misty photo, I see three of the arches, two of the towers, and part of the great lock.

Looking through one of the towers toward the third, and beyond it, the town.

Looking from the bridge down at the lock's downstream gate.

The weir is very long and parallel to the shore - were there many mills there?

 Below in the Lot River there is a very wide lock to allow more gabarres in the chamber.  It is now obsolete, as the gabarres no longer carry coal as they did in the 19th century.  Sounds like the C & O Canal Company's problem, too.

Next was Bouzies, where we were to take a 3.5 km walk of the towpath. David Edwards-May noted that it is invisible to the prying eye of Google, for part of the towpath is cut into the limestone cliffs.

You can just make out the line of the towpath about 2 meters above the waterline.

This spot is exactly what I had seen online some years ago. I would have loved to see it, but my respiratory condition would never let me make the climb up to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie at the end.  Some of us stopped in the village for a rest break and coffee,

For some reason we could not have our coffee inside the cafe; but this was comfortable, friendly, and quiet.

and then took a short walk along the waterway, scrambled up to a railway embankment, and hiked along this abandoned track.  We stopped at a small industrial park where the motor coach awaited us.

On the abandoned railway bridge over the Lot.

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is a village that just tumbles down the cliff above the Lot River.

Rather like Positano or Taormina, the road wound and twisted up and down but mostly zig-zaged. The village was all small buildings connected by narrow alleys, for people, not cars. Full of artists, craftsmen, cafes, and shops selling artisanal foods.

At this Charcuterie, I ordered a ham sandwich.  Pretty tasty, but also pretty chewy ham.

The mountain top is also an overlook, accessed by stairs, which I did not attempt. I enjoyed what I could do and see.

I think you can just make out figures on the top of this crag.

Further along at Flagnac we boarded the L'Olt for a cruise down the river in the company of local folk who are promoting restoration of navigation in the Lot River in the area.

The logo of the group hoping for restoration.  The name "L'Olt" is the occitan word for "Lot".

As we entered a lock, we were amused to see one of the female staff head up to the lockgate with a Black & Decker electric drill, and proceeded to "bzzdt" open the paddles. Hence her nickname, "Rosie", as in "the riveter."  Sorry, no photo of Rosie.

Well, actually, the figure at the end of the right-hand lock wall is Ms. Rosie.

We pulled into a small boat harbor where we left the boat and we lay around on land relaxing, while the caterers rearranged the boat's cabin for a buffet lunch . . . .

It's always wonderful to have a little "down-time", even if it's only 20 minutes or so.

Dessert = red fruits, chantilly, sprinkles of caramel.

which we consumed on the ride back to Flagnac. This was a very nice way to have a very good meal.

Here are two important men:  David's assistant, Sylvain, talks with our bus driver.

So (for lack of  photos for I was busy eating) I shall describe:  a nice selection of meats and finger foods, one a small something made of (this is exactly what she said) spinach, prunes, herbs and spices somehow blended and cooled and cut into rectangles.  And it was delicious. And fruity desserts served in tiny glasses rather the size of a shot glass - also excellent flavor (I had at least three).

And, finally, a photograph of our servers/crew aboard The L'Olt.

Ah!  That's Rosie, on the left.

From here we had quite a long ride back to Cahors where our destination, Hotel La Chartreuse, was built atop an abandoned lock.  Cahors sits on the inside of a great meander in the Lot; the hotel is on the outside bank with views up- and downstream to both a very old bridge and a much newer railway bridge.  We arrived late and if there was dinner, I probably slept through it.