A great deal of holidaying has happened since we said good
bye to the Johnstons. We spent the
first week of August in the lovely region of Quercy, which is south of the
Dordogne. We arrived on the 30th
July and spent the first 2-3 days swimming in the municipal pool which belonged
to the site but could also be used by the locals. It was set into the hillside in a
kidney-shape and the water was fabulously cool when the weather was so
hot. In the mornings we focused a little
on school, be it maths or scrapbook challenge, then after lunch lazed under the
trees on the pool’s grassy slopes reading and playing cards.
On the 3rd we headed over to the beautiful town
of St Antonin Nobel Val on the Aveyron River.
The route around the town took you passed an old byre where they shod
cows!, down narrow alleyways with houses dating from medieval times, to the
quay where we saw a snake cooling itself off in the river and then through the
back streets to a small square (20 ft x 20 ft) which had housed 6 bakeries. We lunched by the river then visited the town
of Bruniquel, which has a tower named Brunhilda. In the 6th century Brunhilda,
daughter of the king of the Visigoths, and her sister-in-law were at war. Brunhilda,
was killed brutally by being tied by her hair, an arm and a leg to the tail of
an unbroken horse and smashed to pieces (how horrendous!) I really couldn’t forget this tale as I
walked up the idyllic hillside passed artisan shops, where you could hear the
bees in the jasmine and pigeons in the roof spaces. The afternoon was spent river swimming and we
saw another snake cooling off in the shallows.
Ben and Ames had great fun floating down the middle of the river (at
speed) then walking back up to do it all over again.
The following day we had an idyllic bike ride from Camping
Fleuriel along the river. We’d spent the
morning looking around Cahor for an inner tube as Kev’s bike had had another
puncture, but to no avail. We located a
bike hire place set in a small bamboo plantation (trees 30 ft high- think
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) where Kev could hire a bike. We set off with Tom
in the front of the trailer and Ames sat behind, but they soon swapped as Tom
was dragging his feet on the floor causing severe friction! We travelled along a wooded area, passed a
chateau undergoing sever restoration (quite a large project) and down a steep
hill to the river floor. We cycled
through vineyards, hamlets with Perigordian style houses and a tower (for Amy!)
We picnicked by the river at a stone
table and chair set under a hazel tree.
On the journey back poor Kev got another puncture (this time on the
hired bike) so had to cycle like the wind before the tyre deflated with Tom and
Ames clinging to the inside of the trailer for dear life (good training for the
End to End!) Ben and I had a wonderful afternoon talking all the way there and
back. In the evening we all lay on our
backs bedside the van’s awning on a rug and did some stargazing.
Another lazy campsite day followed – it was stinking hot so
not much else to do, however we did have an afternoon of mini golf en famille –
it got more and more competitive as we went along!
In the evening we went for a fantastic
randonee around the countryside of Montpezat de Quercy. We set off from the main square, about 35 of
us) after exchanging our registration vouchers for a billet de repas. Down the hillside, along the edge of a large
stubble field that had just been cut and at the bottom of the field turned towards
the far corner. In the bushes alongside
the fields signs said ‘refuge’ – a safe haven for the local wildlife from la
chasse (the hunt). The route was lined
with oak trees and as we walked the guy in charge pointed out various things, a
particular old oak tree, a brook where a miracle carp was found, the wallow
hole of a sanglier (wild boar). At the 5
km refreshment point Kev, Ames and Tom peeled off and joined us later at the 10
km finish for the evening meal. Ben and
I continued for the extra 5 kms and spent another wonderful 2 hours talking and
laughing. The land rolled out in front
of us, beautiful chalk inclines and synclines planted with peach, apple and
plum trees, wheat (ble), barley and huge fields of sunflowers. As the sun set over the large sun flower
field and the sky above turned to a purple-blue hue, it was idyllic. Air smelt heavy with life.
We arrived back at the Marie’s square about
9.30 and by 10 several glasses of rose had been quaffed, coke and orange juice
for the children and the repas started- soupe l’oignon, saucisse et chips,
citron pain/ gateau and a peche. We left
just before midnight having met new friends and having had a fantastic night to
remember.
We met up with our sister and brother-in-law, Sharon and
Paul, with their children Harry and Libby the following day in the town of
Soulihac. We’d agreed to meet at the
Tourist Office which all went swimmingly, but we must have been rather noisily/ excitedly chatting as one of
the staff pointedly came over and asked if she could help us, ie be helped or
get out! Just as we’d acquired some
information the fire alarm started blaring and people were running frantically
around. Kev had been leaning against a
wall where the alarm was housed and obviously lent a little too hard! We scarpered pretty quickly to find a bar and
continue our chats. The children were
very excited at seeing their cousins and being allowed coke to drink! We headed off for a river swim at Soulihac,
on a gorgeous grassy spot opposite a gorge wall on the Dordogne River – a
perfect place to while away several hours over a lazy picnic. The girls chatted as the boys wallowed in the
water. We all swam to the far bank. In the evening we headed into another
beautiful old medieval town for dinner and were herded inside as their
understanding was that a grande orage was about to arrive. Clouds were gathering as we said our goodbyes
and left the valley. Lightening could be
seen behind us, Ben exclaimed at every bolt as we all listened avidly to Roald
Dahl’s ‘Matilda’. (Should mention here that I was driving so that my boy could
have a couple of beers during the day).
Then suddenly the storm was upon us.
It’s a very primeval feeling to be so surrounded by such earthly
power. The sky was dark except every
time the lightning bolts struck and by the time we reached a long stretch of
hillside it was everywhere – in front, behind and to both sides. I drove like I was being chased and can
remember the hairs on my arms standing up and having goose bumps everywhere. There was a huge flash in front of us, it could
only have been 200 metres. We flashed
past the start of a metal bridge, it must have been spanning a gorge as it went
on and on, talk about the Bridge of Kazadoom!
The rain by this time was torrential, we were in the middle of nowhere
and other headlights few. We pulled over
to let the worst pass – BOOM, FLASH, FLASH, FLASH, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM (it was
like the T-Rex scene in Jurassic Park.)
I had to set off again as the rain was relentless and I’d heard stories
of hail the size of golf balls. We sped
home along flooded roads and arrived at the site just in time, behind this
storm another had appeared over the hill
to descend. Kev and Ben stood under the
awning watching as I curled up under the bunk with Ames as T-Rex hit again and
again. Tom slept through the entire
thing and by morning the sky was grey and the temperature had fallen but at least
the terror of the previous night was over.
It’d been a rather busy and interesting few days in this
idyllic location. The following day we
chilled and made plans for our trip into the west and the Arcachon Basin.
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