Midi-Pyrénées

.... My last day of just sitting around under an umbrella sipping strong french coffee. We passed Cahors and spent some time in the cloister of the cathedral.....

........From Figeac there are two trails to Cahors. One follows the river Lot and the other one the river Cele....

.......When we returned we saw a lady walking up the cliff, a little donkey by her side, carrying the pack. After a while the lady and her donkey had reached the round market hall, where the donkey first produced quite an amount of - manure and after that ate all available flowers from the flowerboxes around.....

...the first days I walked through fields covered by wheat - or sunflowers... Note the "balisage".

......Next to the grotto is a big area, where the candles can be lightened - and burn. They are so many, that they have built special metal huts with chimneys - just for the thousands of candles....

.....from the window of our room, we could.....

...had waited already, when I reached the church and stared at the tympanum....

On a "typical evening" pilgrims and other visitors will gather at 8pm in the church to attend a service, ending with the blessing of the pilgrims. After that the Prior of the "Prieuré Sainte Foy", where most pilgrims stay, will stand in front of the church and explain the different scenes of the tympanum. He is very entertaining! At 9pm, one of the monks starts and organ-concert and visitors are allowed to climb up the stairs and walk over the gallery for the next hour. Surprising views are possible, as "upstairs" the capitals are really near. A very decorative capital. The main part shows a kind of "green man", the top row a fish - and on the top-corners two small mermaids. The decor on the very left seems older, maybe even carolingian. But compared to the the other parts - that cannot be.

On a "typical evening" pilgrims and other visitors will gather at 8pm in the church to attend a service, ending with the blessing of the pilgrims. After that the Prior of the "Prieuré Sainte Foy", where most pilgrims stay, will stand in front of the church and explain the different scenes of the tympanum. He is very entertaining! At 9pm, one of the monks starts and organ-concert and visitors are allowed to climb up the stairs and walk over the gallery for the next hour. Surprising views are possible, as "upstairs" the capitals are really near. One of the small decorative mermaids on the corner of the capital, now a little larger.

On a "typical evening" pilgrims and other visitors will gather at 8pm in the church to attend a service, ending with the blessing of the pilgrims. After that the Prior of the "Prieuré Sainte Foy", where most pilgrims stay, will stand in front of the church and explain the different scenes of the tympanum. He is very entertaining! At 9pm, one of the monks starts and organ-concert and visitors are allowed to climb up the stairs and walk over the gallery for the next hour. Surprising views are possible, as "upstairs" the capitals are really near. High on a capital in a corner is a mermaid. She is hardly visible from the ground of the nave.

I left early next morning. Mist hanging over the valley....

......over the door is a tympanum, that is so impressive, as it is so simple. Just Adam, Eve, a snake and a couple of apples...

...and after a couple of hours, the valley widened and I saw Rocamadour....

...after hours in pouring rain I reached Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and had the most expensive "cafe au lait" ever. It was hot and worth the money...

...Reached Moissac and had a great evening having dinnner with them in the garden. Later we met the "Ultreia-Brothers", two young french guys, who had just got a nice "Ultreia" tattooed onto their wrists! Very fresh. Still swollen!....

..reached Moissac. Stood again in front of the church, saw the tympanum, the trumeau again - and the cloister. At 6pm we listened to the nuns, singing in the church...

... followed the former railroad-track and passed the little station of "Bretagne d` Armagnac", the owners had restored so perfectly, that it looked like a 1:1 model of a small railway station. Just that there were no rails next to the little platform. Maybe the owners sat inside wearing the old railway-uniforms and drinking coffee.....

...and after the pizza, we had a bottle of wine in the lovely garden behind the old building...