Visits and food!

Bonjour, from our last day in Sarlat!

Got up and moving fairly early, as we had many miles to cover to get to Alain and Graciela’s place in Lasgrassies, about 18 km south of Albi. (And I’ve got lots to do in the morning before we leave Villa des Consuls, and wasn’t sure if I’d have time to write ... so two updates in one day!) Headed via back roads to the peage (pay expressway); along the Dordogne and heading east; just lovely. Got on the peage; same road that we took on Saturday when we drove north with Chris and Brenda. Got off before Toulouse (VERY big city, and we didn’t really want to mess with it...) and wound our way through green fields and farms toward Albi. The directions to their place in Lasgraisses were pretty simple – there is only one square in town, with the Mairie (city hall) and the ecole (school); they were next to the school, and there was a plaque on the house commemorating someone who had been born there...So...found the town; found the square, and there they were! Their house is HUGE; 17 rooms at least, not counting the outbuildings and barn, and is dated from around the early 1800's. They have been working on restoring it for the past 14 years; what a project! There is approximately 3 hectares of ground, looking out on an incredible vista over hills and into the distance. Right now they rent out some of the property to a local farmer, who also keeps things trimmed. Our favorite room was really amazing – the entire room, from floor and including ceilings, was painted in wonderful trompe l’oeil and different scenes (see one of the photos above). Alain and Graciela took us to a wonderful local winery – Domain Rotier, for a great tasting experience! We tasted 5 different wines, and I must confess that we bought at least one bottle of 4 of them, including two lovely dessert wines! One of the reds we had was absolutely incredible; hope to come home with at least one bottle, but R has his doubts...we do have some information on them, including an email address and website. Know they import to NJ, so are hopeful we can find some at home! Then returned to their home for an incredible lunch!! WOW! Started with some local pate and pate with cepes and bread; just great! That was followed by roast pork with an orange sauce, and sweet potatoes with the same sauce; GREAT! Then a spinach salad with mushrooms and avocado, and a balsamic vinaigrette, and a selection of five cheeses – to be ended with a homemade mousse au chocolat, that was absolutely incredible!! Whew! So much for making dinner tonight at home!! After lunch we did the house tour, from cave (literally!) to attic, and the out buildings; really an amazing structure; some of the beams in the attic were literally tree trunks! What construction! Then we took a short walk around the village – a combination tabac/poste which also sells bread; one restaurant; lovely church. At this time, a storm was rolling in; thunder, lightening and amazing black clouds! Knew we were in for quite a storm when we said goodbye, sometime about 4:30 p.m. Had a truly lovely afternoon! So nice to see friends again!!

The rain started just a few minutes after we left, and boy, did it come down! Then it turned to HAIL! R estimating about ½", and was worried that it would dent the car! Fortunately, the roads weren’t very crowded (or any intelligent people decided not to drive at that moment...) so we didn’t have any problems. Wound our way back to the peage fairly slowly, and by the time we got there, the skies had cleared over us, and the sun had come out. Lovely drive back to Sarlat. Have decided that one week in Sarlat hasn’t been enough, and that there are still places in the area we need to see ... next time!

Are now back in the apartment, two loads of laundry going downstairs, and needing to get organized and repacked. Don’t think it will take too long, but having a bigger place does make it a little trickier than a single hotel room! We are off in the morning to Lyon – a REALLY big town, which has Roman ruins that we want to see ... scheduled to be there for two nights before moving south to Taulignan and Orange. So, more later!

Much love!
m

Editor’s Note: Have decided to discuss the car, our Ford S-Max. It’s a small mini-van, with what seems like every bell and whistle in the world! I think I mentioned that it beeps every time anything or any one gets near it – and the closer you get (or something gets to you), the faster the beep ... very annoying...It has what looks to be the dashboard from a 747 – you can change settings to get everything from the outside temperature to your average speed to how many kilometers you have on the current tank of gas! There are also dual temperature controls, with which Robert has been having a wonderful time! For once, we can each be comfortable, as we each get to choose our own temperature settings! Something to think about the next time we’re car shopping...

m