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A house along the Célé built into the side of a cliff. To the left of the photo is a pretty little mill that didn't make it into the picture. Along the seam between the roof and the cliff, you can see some kind of white line of mortar. Buildings like this are quite common along this part of the Célé. |
Figeac to Lacapelle-Marival via Cardaillac and return (51k; 3:19 hrs; 15.4 avg kph)
We decided to stay in Figeac another day. We liked the town, and our hotel, and there was an inviting day trip to the north to take. So we stocked up for lunch, and made our way out of town towards the north, climbing up a little set of stairs that looks like a small version of San Francisco's Lombard Street. Bill tried to show off by riding his bicycle up the stairs and got hung up on his pannier, and made a very dramatic fall. At the top of these stairs, there was a sequence of ruminants (horses, donkeys, camels) hanging out chomping on the grass. It turns out that the Cirque Franco-Belge was in town that night. The last ruminant in the line was something I've never seen before. The body of a small camel, the head of a cow. It looked like an experiment gone very much awry. Unfortunately, no picture.
We headed north out of Figeac on the D19, and then turned left on a road through le Fraysse and into Cardaillac. The main part of Cardaillac is an uninteresting looking village, but the old quarter is the remains of a fortified town on top of a hill, with two dramatic square towers (one of which you can climb). We found an out-of-the-way alley to leave our bikes in and walked about the old quarter, reading historical plaques. The houses are all very lovely, and very well-kept. There is also a round tower that looks like Rapunzel should live there.
Eventually Sue and I discover that you can climb one of the towers. It has two noteworthy features - a "toilet" that is a hole in a rock that hangs out over one side of the tower. Also, there are no safeguards to prevent anyone from falling out of the windows or off the top of the tower, and nothing to prevent anyone from entering the tower at any time. It is hard to imagine our 7-year old son surviving in this town. Nevertheless, there are a bunch of cute little kids cycling up and down the streets of the old quarter, quite unsupervised.
We made our usual picnic lunch on top of the tower, with an incredible panoramic view. No sign of the English troops advancing from any direction!
After lunch we took the D15 to Lacapelle-Marival. This is a quiet town with a pretty square around the cathedral, and a lovely grain exchange. It also has a very nice looking Chateau (from the outside). After taking the self-guided tour describe in the (closed) tourist office, we go into the chateau. There is an art gallery (mostly fairly sentimental stuff) inside, and an opportunity to pay for a tour of the chateau. We do, being told it will be 15 minutes before the tour. After about 35 minutes of wandering around the gallery part of the chateau, we get tired of waiting, and leave, just as the tour guide is coming in. But at this point it is fairly late, and we aren't that interested anymore.
We start back to Figeac on the N140, but quickly take a detour along the D148, which is small, pretty and flat (right along a river) so goes very fast. Eventually we're brought back to the N140. Sue and Teresa head back along that road figuring it will be the flattest and most direct. Bill and I take a detour south along the D18 to Lissac, and then up over a hill along the D2 into Figeac. This turns out to be faster, and we are back at our hotel before Sue and Teresa.
We head out to various shops (the charcuterie and the greengrocer). Sue and Teresa found delicious roasted chicken legs, stuffed tomatoes, and little quiches. Bill and I picked out a couple of bottles of wine, and I found the best looking patisserie and got some bread and a selection of desserts. And then we picnicked in our rooms. There are moments in France when you just feel like you can't go wrong as far as food.
Figeac to Bouziès (57k; 3:03 hrs; 18.7 avg kph)
Clear and sunny in the morning! First time this has happened for days. We have coffee and croissants in a cafe, write a couple of postcards, and then get on our bikes. We head west along the D13 and then the D41 on the Célé, Bill having made reservations for us at the (only) hotel in Bouzies (Hôtel Les Falaises), which warns us that they no longer have a restaurant.
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The sun quickly disappears again, but we make two nice stops during this day's ride. Espagnac-Sainte Eulalie has a nice abbey with an interesting bell-tower (and a pleasant looking Gite d'Etape). And then we have lunch in Marcilhac-sur Célé, where a few drops of rain fall. This is where we see our "le tourisme perturbé par le météo headline. After lunch, the weather is still looking a bit disturbed, so we have a hot drink (coffee for some, hot chocalate for me) in one of the two cafes in town. Marcilhac is actually a very lovely looking old town. It is along the north bank of the Célé, has a nice ruined abbey, and has a very southern-looking main street (with not much happening on it). Lots of plane trees in the little picnic area we ate lunch in. |
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After our coffee we can delay no longer, and set out again towards the west. We continue (as we've been doing) along the north bank of the Célé in the flood plain between the river and the cliffs. Many of the little towns we pass are just above the road partway into the cliffs, and there are a number of buildings built into the cliffs in a spectacular way. We also pass a very strange museum, the Musee de l'Insolite, right under a spectacular cliff with many strange objects (mannequins, motorcycles, etc.) suspended from various points of the cliff. Sue was taking a picture of the cliff, when the museum proprietor emerged and told her sternly not to take any pictures. (He wants to sell his postcards).
The end of our ride today continues through Cabrerets (site of Pech Merle) and goes over the same several kilometers to where the Célé empties into the Lot, and then past the Defile l'Anglais over the bridge into Bouzies. Bouzies is indeed small, with no business other than our hotel. The hotel Hotel Restaurant les Falaises is not quite our usual style. It is very "family" oriented, with a pool, ping-pong table, tennis courts, and boat trips up and down the Lot. Also, our rooms are for four persons each - twin beds, and then bunk beds in the antechamber. And they are the most expensive rooms we have outside of Paris (52 Euros I think). But there is a nice view of the cliffs (Falaises) across the river from the swimming pool.
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I took a quick walk around the town to verify that there are really no restaurants, or stores in which to procure tomorrow's lunch, while some of the rest of us nap. After the nap, we change into our dinner clothes and walk up to Saint Cirq Lapopie, which is about 5 kilometers east of Bouzies. This is a delightful walk along a very narrow road that hugs the cliffs and has lots of nice views of the Lot. We have a lovely dinner in le Gourmet Quercynois, delicous food, good wine, friendly service, followed by a nice walk back down to Bouzies, in the dark. |