Settling in . . .

The last week or so has been a little period of adjustment for all of us, with both some highs and some lows. It is amazing how weather can affect our moods. After Nancy, Ken, and Sandra left, we had a shift to some cool, stormy and very windy days which made us all less inclined to be outside on the glorious veranda. It left us all feeling a little out of sorts. Then in the last few days, the weather bounced back and it was like " a cloud had lifted" (figuratively and literally).

Despite the inclement weather, it did not stop us from going on outings and we have seen a lot in this Lot Region over the past week. It is an area offering lots of variety, with villages, towns and cities of significant historical age and interest. It has been a very interesting contrast for us after spending the prior month in Provence. It is much more of an Atlantic weather pattern here, compared with the dry Mediterranean feel of Provence. It actually makes this area feel a little more like northern Europe. The air is so much more humid and the countryside is much greener due to the wetter climate. We are talking every shade and hue of green you can imagine. For some it can seem a little monotonous, for others lushly verdant.

The style of architecture also evokes a very different mood. There are still the medieval villages dotted throughout the landscape but the materials they use tends to be grey in tone compared to the bright colours of Provence. For example, the roofs here are typically made from slate as opposed to the terracotta tile used in Provence. In a weird way it almost feels more austere in a religious kind of a way. It is easy to think about the power of the church in these regions and how communities lived under the Catholic Church's shadow. Of course, Provence also has churches dominating all the town centres, but somehow it does not feel as oppressive. It makes sense that the British love this Lot and Dordogne region so much because in many ways it feels more like rural England, except that the climate is little more forgiving (well . . . at least warmer.)

We are not meaning to sound negative because we are enjoying the different things this area has to offer. The truth is that we are just heat seekers and as a result the Mediterranean regions draw us a little bit more. It makes sense given that we live in Canada. Give us sun anytime, anywhere!
Of course, looking at all the pictures it may seem like a very subtle difference. The landscapes continue to be stunning and the food speaks of everything good that France has to offer. In fact, this region is said to be one of France's richest in terms of gastronomy. Excellent wines, cheeses, nuts, fruits and for the more adventurous there is the local Foie Gras speciality (seen by some as barbaric given the way in which it is created.) For those of you who do not know what Foie Gras is, it is either duck or goose liver that has been sent into "fat overload" by force feeding the unlucky fowl to whom it belongs. Then, of course, once the animal has been sufficiently over-stuffed, it is killed for its 'delectable,' fatty organ and for its fat (another delicacy.) So that is the shortened version anyway. As we mentioned in an earlier entry, we (not Ronato) did get a chance to try this regional delicacy when we were in Paris, and while we totally appreciated the opportunity at the time (you know "when in Rome . . . "), it's probably the only time we will partake in this 'treat' while we are here.

We have been trying to balance our time here between having some 'down time' (we know this sounds ridiculous coming from a family who has been 'off' for the past six months) at the farm where we are staying and seeing what the area has to offer in the way of sights. We usually alternate between doing something locally and then heading off a little further afield. There are things to do and places to see in all directions, though it almost always involves getting in the car to get there as we are living in a rather remote location, it turns out.

Below is a picture of a very picturesque little village called St. Cirq Lapopie. This little medieval village occupies a high cliff above the Lot River about 30km south of where we are staying. It was the sort of village where you could still imagine medieval people living in the houses and living their lives there -- in your mind's eye you could imagine seeing the villagers talking to each other from their doorways or windows across the narrow lane, throwing their refuse out the window into the street, congregating at the church, etc. Despite its beauty, it also has a dark, rather foreboding feeling. Nothing that a nicely flavoured creme glace couldn't dispel, though!
Below is a view of the Lot River taken from the crumbling ramparts of some old castle in the town.
The funny thing about St. Cirq Lapopie was that despite the blue skies in these pictures, it didn't feel like a sunny day -- the narrow alleys and close proximity of most of the buildings seemed to cut out the light and added to the gloomy medieval feel.
Seeing that it was going to continue raining for some days, we decided that we needed to choose some sights that wouldn't really be affected by the weather. This whole area has a number of sights with evidence of human habitation from Paleolithic and Neolithic times. One of these famous sights is the Grotte du Pech-Merle, which is about 30km from our farm. The Grotte du Pech-Merle is an underground cave that is as spectacular for its calcium carbonite stalactite and stalagmite formations as it is for its ancient art. We had no idea what to expect when we went, and it ended up being a real highlight. The visit involved descending down into this unbelievable cave with crazy different moonscapes. This site allows a limited number of people per day to see the sight, and as a visitor, one is required to go into the cave with a guide (groups range in size from 15 - 20 people). The tour started with an explanation of the site and its discovery, all in French (!), and then we got taken through a heavy door and down, down, down some steep stairs and into the first chamber of the cave.
At first it just felt like a deep cave, but after being led into the next chamber we all felt like we had entered a different world. The ceilings dripped with enormous, oozy-looking stalactites, and the floors were covered with equally huge stalagmites. There were crystal formations all over the place, and then on various walls there were large frescoes of ancient art depicting herds of Aurochs (an ancient bull type creature), Mammoth, and other animals. It was all really quite amazing, despite not being able to understand much from our guide. It didn't really matter that we couldn't understand the guide, the cave and its art spoke for itself. There were some really spectacular paintings -- very realistic in their shapes and very imaginative in their design and execution -- the piece de la resistance was the two spotted horses (sorry it is a little blurry.)
After an outing day, it was time for a home day filled with some schooling and then a long-promised "Polka Dot Shoppe" session. Polka Dot Shoppe is make-up play, something that goes way back to Skye's youth and to her "Auntie" Diana's Polka Dot Shoppe sessions with 'the girls.' Pippin had been hankering to get into Skye's make-up for awhile, so on this rainy day, we decided to let her go for it. From the picture below, it is hard to see the crazy end-result, but we sure had a lot of fun with it.
After having checked out the southern Lot Valley for a number of days we finally decided to head north to the Dordogne region. We quickly fell back onto our old bicycle route (from a decade before), and kept arriving in areas and villages whose sights quickly snapped back into our heads. Below is a funny poster we saw in one of the villages that had John, Pippin, and Kai in stitches -- they all thought it was bizarrely funny and over the top.
We made our way through Loubressac on towards Carennac. On our way between the two, we decided to veer off to check it out some amazing old houses . . .
We discovered a local farm selling Eau de Vie, Ratafia, and dried prunes. Ronato had been on a mission to find some more dried prunes (a local specialty here -- they ARE fabulous and delicious), so we thought we would go check it out. We had a marvelous time sipping and sampling tasty items and chatting in our muddled French (the kids had opted to stay in the car, so no translators were handy), all the while laughing and piling up our purchases. In the end, we rolled out with samples of just about every item our hostess was selling. With waves, "Au revoirs," and big smiles we then headed off on our merry way. This little chance finding ended up being one of the highlights of the day.
Our final stop on this particular day, before heading home, was Carennac. It was only once we got to the church's entrance that we remembered the town from before.
After days of local sightseeing, we all felt it was time to go a little farther afield. On the recommendation of a number of friends, we had been told that "Carcassonne is not to be missed!" So we all got up to an alarm for the first time in awhile, and we quickly got into our vehicles for the journey down -- we thought it would take about 2 hours, given the distance and the speedy Autoroute that was supposed to take us there. Well, 3+ hours later we had finally arrived, and we were all feeling a little road-weary after making our way through heavy truck traffic and the usual speed-crazed, tailgating French drivers. We were all looking forward to the supposedly amazing medieval sights awaiting us in La Cite -- the old walled town. To say we were all a little disappointed with what we found is a bit of an understatement. The picture below shows how we all felt about it.
Okay, maybe that is a bit strong, but truthfully Carcassonne is a place that one can see was once an amazing treasure, but which has now been turned into a total tourist trap. It was hard to see the structure of the place because of all of the tourist stores. The streets were full of tourists who had arrived on tour buses. We were all disappointed at first, especially after our long, and rather grueling drive down, but then we all started to laugh about it. We managed to salvage the day with our levity. Below is a picture of a street performer in La Cite, not very medieval, but interesting nonetheless. This crystal ball "dance" is a phenomena we have sighted in Bangkok, Paris, and now, Carcassonne -- each artist has their own style.
On Saturday, we decided to take in one of the bigger local markets. Sarlat-la-Caneda is a beautiful old medieval town that has a huge Saturday market. When we got there, the town was was filled with vendors in every direction. While the market itself was not the best we have seen, the town itself was just lovely. The architecture was stunning and well preserved.
There were some great food stalls.
One of the cute cats we found on one of our rambles.
The field from our veranda..
A lovely little spot we found beside the Dordogne river on our way back from Sarlat. Pippin spent lots of time in the water.
Grannie Bay and Kai having some head-to-head time. It has been SO great having John and Bay here as part of this adventure and time away. By all being away from our day to day duties we have been able to spend some quality time.
With only a few days before Jill's departure back to Canada, we all felt that we needed a dinner out together. Last night we hit the local restaurant in Labastide Murat where we all had a superb dinner, probably our last dinner out while we are in France. We savoured every bite and every sip! Here are some pictures from this balmy evening . . .
Grandpa John was in his element with a large slab of tender beef grilled to perfection in front of him.
Ronato's delicious asparagus risotto . . .
Kai and lovely Jill . . .
Sweet Pippin . . .
Until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin

Living it up in Lot

As hard as it was to peel ourselves away from Lourmarin, we knew that more fun awaited us in the Lot Region where we would be meeting up with our other contingent -- John, Bay, & Nancy, and Ken & Sandra Wyllie. With very little contact between us all we had kind of hashed out a plan for meeting at the town centre of Labastide Murat (a town nearby to the farmhouse we were all heading to) in the late afternoon. Our little family, along with Jill, headed out on Monday morning, confident that we had a beautiful route planned out. Little did we know how long it would actually take to get there! Thanks to the scenic route we had chosen, we spent almost 10 hours on the road getting to our next abode and everyone was quite exhausted by the days end. That said it was a stunningly beautiful route, and we saw some interesting things along the way.
One of the places we made sure to stop at was the famous Roman aquaduct site of Pont du Gard. When we cycled through this region 12 years ago, we accidently stumbled upon this site. We were so awed by the site then, that we knew we just had to come back. It is one of the best preserved Roman aquaducts in Europe and it is still in very good shape. The setting is stunning -- the aquaduct crosses a beautiful meandering river great for swimming in, and the region is rural and rugged in that unique Provencal way. As with most places we have visited again, the area leading into the site has been more developed/set up for tourists than it was all those years ago. Last time, we just pushed our bikes down a dirt path through the scrub oak to come upon this amazing site; whereas, this time there is now a big tourist centre with parking, a cafe, trinket shops, information booths, and a big paved walkway to the actual site. Perhaps this could sound like the site has been ruined, but really that is far from the truth -- everything that has been done has been done to preserve and protect the natural surrounding environment and to educate the public, and the actual site itself is as amazing as ever.

After the aquaduct, we chose to make our way through the Gorge du Tarn which is a gorgeous steep river valley filled with ancient villages along the way. The picture below shows what the terrain looked like. Just above this old village were the remains of an ancient castle -- one could just imagine times gone by with all of the possible comings and goings at this ancient chateau.
At 9pm, when we finally got to the farmhouse called "Camphenie," we were very, very pleased with the place -- it has true French rustic charm! We have been here now for almost 5 days and the place is turning out to be a true gem. David and Paula, the owners, went to extraordinary efforts to make this old farmhouse what it is today. The original house was built in the 1860's. They purchased it a few years ago with the intention of renovating it as a holiday home in the French countryside which they have done in true style. The setting for the house is nothing short of outstanding -- it overlooks a beautiful farming valley with rolling hills covered with sheep grazing lovely grasslands, and then there are old farmhouses and trees dotted all over the place! We spend our mornings on the front porch facing the early sun and then the evenings on the back veranda having our dinner overlooking the descending valley and spectacular sunsets. You can see the front of the house in the opening picture on this blog. The back veranda is shown in the picture below.
We all started here the first few days with a bigger group (some have left now) and it was really fun and festive. It was also nice having the extra help for the first few days since everyone pitched in a little and helped get the place flowing nicely. Windows were washed, some delicate weeding was done to open up some of the beds around the veranda, and the lawn was mowed to make for some good hang out areas.
Up until yesterday we have had glorious weather enabling us to have late "French hour" dinners whilst enjoying the sunsets from the veranda. Then yesterday a storm came through late in the afternoon that made me (Ronato) think of my days living in the Transvaal, and the rest of us felt as if the Gaulish gods must be angry! The thunder made the house rock and the rain was absolutely torrential. Our friend Jill was out on a walk and got caught in the storm. A lovely local gentleman (we are calling him "her knight in shining armour") found her looking like a drowned rat on the road side and brought her back to our house in his car. It was very kind of him. Overall, we have found the locals and the neighbours to be very open and friendly so far. As we sit here writing, the rain is continuing to come through in fits and starts. It is very beautiful.
Here is a picture showing the open plan kitchen. Below are the local sheep crowded under a tree to avoid the midday heat. Once the sun has passed its zenith, the sheep start to spread out and meander through the fields, munching away peacefully.Kai and Pippin are loving the sheep so close by. They are happy to spend lots of time gazing at them in the field. Kai and Pippin have picked out two particular sheep which they can identify as their own -- wouldn't you know it, they have both picked out the only black sheep in the herd!
It was Grandpa John's 72nd birthday on June 2nd (our second day here in the Lot region.) The kids got really into it and made him feel extra special with funny gifts and cards, all specially wrapped with materials from the property or found around the house. Due to all the sheep here, there have been lots of flies about and so John got some fly swatters as one of his birthday gifts. He has been very busy ever since.
For John's birthday dinner, we all got into a very celebratory mood with lots of wine, good food, and uproarious conversation. John kept saying that he thought this was his best birthday ever!
As we have mentioned before, the sunsets have been nothing short of spectacular. Every evening the light goes positively golden -- we all find ourselves congregating on the back veranda so we can enjoy its delights and of course with such beautiful light Ronato tends to go a bit crazy with his camera. Here is Pippin with her beloved Great Auntie Nancy.
One of the really great things about joining up with our other contingent, was the influx of fresh "blood" and entertainment for Kai and Pippin (well . . . for all of us). Ken Wyllie is always causing some sort of havoc or starting up some sort of interesting project, and Sandra is always game to lead a good ramble or hike. Here they all are in a more peaceful moment during the birthday celebrations.
Here are Skye and John celebrating John turning 72. It has been fun getting to celebrate our two birthdays together on this trip.
Here is Grandpa John leading the first expedition into the neighbouring field. Kai and Pippin had been hankering to check out the "sheep field" ever since our arrival. After getting the go-ahead from our neighbour Guy, they hit the slopes with vigour.
After spending a few days hanging out and exploring our immediate farm and local villages, we decided it was time to go farther afield to the town of Cahors. We wanted to hit the weekly market for fresh produce/products there, and then to check out the famous Valentre Bridge which spans the Lot River. It was a hot, hot day and we were happy to discover a little riverside cafe next to the bridge. Here are Bay & Skye enjoying a nice cool drink.
Here is a shot of the Valentre Bridge which was build in the 1100's.
For our last day as a big group, we all loaded into the two cars and wended our way to the famous village of Rocamadour. This outing turned out to be lots of fun. This, literally, cliff-hanging little village was once a mecca for people on religious pilgrimages (well, it still is) because it was said to be a place of miracles. One of the supposed big miracles was the discovery of an ancient grave in 1166. In the grave was the intact, undecayed body of a religious-minded hermit -- called roc amator because he loved rocks -- who had been buried at this sight who knows how many years before. Following this discovery, there were apparently a whole slew of other miracles attributed to this sight, and so it became a mecca. When we cycled through here 12 years ago, we didn't have the opportunity to really check this place out, other than the main street because we didn't have a place to stash our bikes. This time, we all crawled all over the place!
Here is Pippin at the top of the ridge overlooking the village.
Clinging to the side of the cliff is a large church/basilica complex dating back to the late 1100's. Part of this complex contains a large chapel and a smaller side chapel with an 11th century Black Virgin and Child, another relic said to be responsible for a number of the miracles attributed to this place. Here is Skye on one of the outside balconies of the complex -- you can't see them, but swallows were practically dive-bombing her at this spot, maybe some nests were nearby.
Here is a picture of one of the gorgeous old doors at the site.
After spending a few hours in the Basilica of St. Saveur and its surrounding buildings, we all hit the main street. Ken, tired of the endless walking and stair-climbing, found himself a little friend outside one of the shops and sat down with his gelato to give Alpha the dog a little love. Alpha was in 7th heaven!
After our fabulous outing, we all reconvened at the farmhouse for another one of our famous dinners on the veranda. Here we all are having lots of fun and eating yet another spectactular meal. This was Nancy's last full evening with all of us -- she had to head off the next afternoon (Friday) back to her life in California. Then this morning, Ken and Sandra also had to leave at the crack of dawn to catch the train back to Toulouse and the airport. We will all miss the fun energy that Nancy, Ken & Sandra brought to our time here, but we know they all have to get back to reality!
Well, it is time to head off on another outing. So, until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin

Saying goodbye to Provence... Boo Hooo...

We knew that the time was coming, but there has been some serious sadness with leaving the lovely little home we inhabited while we were here in Provence. We could easily have made this part of our trip last for months. We have decided that we need to make the commitment to come back here for another long stint in the future. Our little hamlet had it all, and we really feel like we made some good connections with some of the local people.

Oh well, it is always best to leave on a high note, and we leave with many fond memories of our time here. We also leave feeling like we have a lot more to explore here in the future!

Our last days in Provence landed up being quite busy -- we all felt like we needed to take in as much as we could before we left the region. Of course with the added trips around the Luberon valley, we were left with the feeling that we had just begun to scratch the surface in terms of what the region had to offer. Then again one needs to keep things in perspective -- three and a half weeks in Provence is not too bad by most people's standards.

On one of our our day trips we went off to some local villages just north of Loumarin, and we stumbled on this stunning Roman bridge build some 2000 years ago. It was an amazing and beautiful sight. It is so thrilling to see so many old structures, and to see how well they have managed to age through the years. Best of all is they are still in use to today -- how is it that we manage to build modern bridges and buildings that can crumble and fall down, and these ones are still standing strongly after thousands of years?!
On this particular outing, we decided it was time to treat ourselves out to a lunch at a little village called Roussillon -- it turned out to be really fun. We have not eaten out much here in Europe because our budget is not quite as flexible as it was in Asia. The good thing is -- we REALLY enjoy it when we do eat out here. The "plat du jour" is always a fun experience in France.
This was Jill's meal choice. It made her very happy!
The village of Roussillon is surrounded by red, iron rich soil, and the village has taken on a similar hue with it's walls all being painted in rich ochres, roses, mochas, etc. It was a very picturesque little village! We went a little photo crazy . . .
We found a few amazing little shops here, as well, and Pippin spent some of her hard earned allowance on a soft, new little friend named "Fluffy," and she was keen to pose with her for the camera.
Our next stop was in a village called Gordes and the photo speaks for itself.
After another great relaxation day in Lourmarin, we decided to spend our last big "outing" day on the Mediterranean. We took the a 90 minute drive down to a town called Cassis. It was great to be at the ocean. In many ways it felt a lot like Cape Town -- similar climate and geography.
The little harbour front in downtown Cassis.
The door knockers in Provence are to die for. This one from Cassis looked really old and like it needed a new home in Canada.
The view from above Cassis looking over the Meditteranean.
Finally it was time to head back to our little hamlet, "Les Lointes Bastides." It truly felt like "coming home," -- what an amazing place!
One of our favourite things to do during our time in Provence, was to follow the French tradition of the two-hour-lunch. We got really into creating a lovely table filled with local delicacies to feast on -- our lunches in France have been very tasty! One of our favourites things to create was to put chevre on bagettes and then broil them in the oven until the cheese was all melty and slightly browned. Oh so tasty! This is a little trick we will definitely bring home.
Well, this is where this blog entry will end for now. Next we will be writing from the Lot region in the Midi Pyrenees. Until then . . .
Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin