English speakers especially could do worse than take a rest day at the Ultreia gîte in Moissac. It’s run by an Irish couple, well known to the kiwinomad, and now to me. Spacious, relaxed and sociable: what more do you need? *** Before mentioning those famous stones of Moissac, the tympanum and trumeau of the [...]
Archive for the ‘F. THROUGH WHITE QUERCY TO MOISSAC’ Category
A DAY IN MOISSAC
Posted in F. THROUGH WHITE QUERCY TO MOISSAC, Uncategorized, tagged Abbey Church of Saint-Pierre. vespers, Cloister, Moissac, Ultreia on June 26, 2010 | 3 Comments »
MOISSAC!
Posted in F. THROUGH WHITE QUERCY TO MOISSAC, Uncategorized, tagged Moissac on June 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Sometimes it’s just nice to hit a sizable town, see the folk, smell the food. A Moroccan wedding… …posh shopping strip. A covered market could get you thinking about a rest day… …or an asparagus stall… …or a…a vanilla stall?! You’ve got to be tempted by the thought of a rest day. Then you see [...]
LUXURY FOR PIGEONS. AND TWO BOSSY LITTLE LADIES.
Posted in F. THROUGH WHITE QUERCY TO MOISSAC, Uncategorized, tagged dovecote, French at table, limestone country on June 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
At this point, the pilgrim starts to anticipate Moissac and its fabled cloister. But there is much interest along the way. The Quercy is now softer: The water at a choice lunch-spot shows we’re still in limestone country: Here the pigeons sleep better than some pilgrims: *** A large converted house on the way to [...]
AN EMINENCE
Posted in F. THROUGH WHITE QUERCY TO MOISSAC, Uncategorized, tagged bastion, duck breast, Lauzerte, magret, wild asparagus on June 26, 2010 | 3 Comments »
To this point the towns had been mostly in valleys or on flats. Some, like Faycelles and Montcuq, were on a bit of a rise, with defenses both natural and constructed. This day I came to the foot of a true bastide, a town built on a pinnacle, to dominate the country right round and [...]
LIMESTONE
Posted in F. THROUGH WHITE QUERCY TO MOISSAC, Uncategorized, tagged limestone, Montcuq, Simon de Montfort on June 25, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Limestone track, like a coastal heath. Simplicity in limestone. Limestone elegance. Limestone town, Montcuq. A solitary day on the track, and a very quiet night in an empty gîte, but not before a thorough stroll round another lovely old town. Montcuq has had to defend itself over the centuries. Like many a town in southern [...]
BLACK RUBIES IN WHITE QUERCY
Posted in F. THROUGH WHITE QUERCY TO MOISSAC, Uncategorized on June 25, 2010 | 1 Comment »
One leaves Cahors via a “devil’s bridge”, the marvellous Valentré. An old tradition attributes to Satan any bridge that’s too marvellous to have been made by humans. Superstitions are particularly strong around the Valentré – especially with an Avignon pope involved – and many a wary peasant has declined to use it to cross the [...]
