Robyn France --back from the Dordogne and Lot
Sep 30th, 2004, 03:44 PM
#43
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 600
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sunday morning?We take off without breakfast figuring we?ll get something on the way. Our final destination is a tiny hamlet called Terrou outside of Lacapelle Marival, just north of Figeac. Quite by accident I discover that a cousin I haven?t seen in over 30 years owns a home here and they have offered to let us use it. We are following the road to Martel, the road is empty and it is a beautiful day. We pass a tomato red barn with an
interesting shape right on the road attached to a stone outbuilding and I say to Al as we whiz by, that would be a perfect painting subject. He looks for a place to make a U-turn and we head back, he drops me off and I am standing in someone?s front patio along the road. The whole family comes out to look at what I am doing there?I explain that it will be a good painting and they all smile, all the while wondering why I wouldn?t select a barn in better condition. But that?s what I like about it and the pics have come out great. We continue on for a while and realize it is after 11 and we still haven?t stopped for
coffee?we pull up to a tiny bar hotel combo in a hamlet on the river?we go in and order coffee and I ask if he has any bread?ça alors-on verra he says with the appropriate shrug up to his ears?we go sit outside under his little tented area and he arrives with our coffee and a basket of tiny croissants and equally tiny pains au chocolat?perfect. We chat and
enjoy this late breakie. We continue on until we arrive at Martel, which I have read a bit about but nothing too thrilling. I?m in love. We step out and start walking around?the central market place on the Place des Consuls is completely covered in Les Halles
fashion and the surrounding square is pure medieval wonder. Each little street is beautifully maintained and the view of the countryside is everywhere. We go into the church and look at the lintel and the carvings?very evocative..and the windows are 17th century and beautiful as well with the light streaming through. We try to identify the 7 towers as we walk around the town. Nothing is open, which is a shame because we see
pretty yellow and blue bowls with the big clocktower of Martel on the front,
personalized with a name in pretty script on the front of the bowl. Oh my?I?ve found the perfect gift for family and can?t buy it. Boo. Tune in later on this one. We then head
to Carennac and see the church and cloister there?it is easy to be jaded when one sees one perfect medieval village after another?the cloister is open and we walk under the covered walkways and see it from all the angles?how peaceful and beautiful it
is..another time. There are so many more places we could stop on the way, but we decide we want to find our new home and be sure we can get in.
We arrive at Lacapelle Marival and follow the directions to our house. It is on quite a bit of land and the neighbors in a closeby home are out on the road?I introduce myself and they kindly help us in. It is a lovely home with vistas on 3 sides and peppered with sculptures and paintings by my artist cousin. We settle in and decide we still have time to go to Figeac?probably a mistake. Late Sunday afternoon in Figeac out of tourist season, things are eerily quiet. It
is too early for dinner and yet we want to be closer to home later on, so we stop at a café,have a glass of wine and head on. When we return to Lacappelle we discover that everything there is shut tight as a drum on Sunday..Darn?we are ready to settle in and now we are stuck?and we never had lunch. We are told we must go to St. Céré or Figeac to get dinner. Ugh..we head north towards St. Céré and low and behold in a tiny village on the way we see a bar is open. We stop and I run in..there are no patrons but the owner says he can fix us 2 croque monsieurs and wrap them in aluminum foil to take back..he has no other food, other than tiny cans of barbeque Pringles which we take..we transact our little business and he explains he has 200 kinds of beer from all
over the world in this tiny town. Life is interesting. We finally return to the house, put on a Nora Jones CD and eat our strange dinner and drink wine out on the glassed in
terrace and watch the sun go down. We relax to finally be there, have a barely adequate snack and talk and talk with the hurricane lights providing a glow on the table. Al goes out to the car to get the map and calls me to come out?we never see stars like this at home. Starry starry night in the country?ooohh.
To bed with a reasonable blanket and no lumps?perfect. We sleep well and take our time getting ready to head out. We decide we will go to Cahors, a spot we visited previously but can?t quite remember. We take a circuitous route, deciding to stop in Marcilhac sur Célé, which St. Cirq has recommended and where my cousin has bought a large home that one day he may turn into a hotel. The church here is surrounded by ruins
of a Benedictine abbey and we have a good time taking photos? sadly the church is not open and some folks we talk to there express that we must return as it is a special experience. We walk around the tiny village, find Roger?s new home and then decide to
lunch at the café there?oops, complet. So on we head on this pretty road to Cahors..where we have lunch, look at the church and stroll through the old town. We walk on to the Pont Valentré; walk the walk and then push off. Our driving has taken
longer than expected today, so we skip our plans to come back by way of Najac, and go for St. Antonin Noble Val which is more direct. St. A is another adorable town?we stroll the medieval streets, look at the market and go to see and photograph the house of the lovers, where two faces are kissing above the front door. We arrive back home only to discover that the main hotel in town is also closed on Monday. We head around the corner and discover a second tiny hotel, Le Glacier. The door is unlocked and I go in..it is completely dark and there is nary a peep. I call bonsoir a few times, rien. I then look through a window in an inside door and see it is the kitchen and there is a big lettuce on the sink. I open the door, call in and a little Madame around 70+ or so appears. I ask her if they are serving tonight and she says at 7:30. So we get cleaned up and return and have a novel experience-no menu. We settle in and a first platter of cured ham and lettuce arrives and she asks us what kind of wine we would like. The first course is delicious and next we are served steak and potatoes with a separate bowl or green salad. That is followed by a cheese course and a pear custard. Total bill for both including a pichet of wine ?28 euros. Mme tells me she does it all?.cooking, serving, cleaning up and running the hotel. It seems to agree with her.
interesting shape right on the road attached to a stone outbuilding and I say to Al as we whiz by, that would be a perfect painting subject. He looks for a place to make a U-turn and we head back, he drops me off and I am standing in someone?s front patio along the road. The whole family comes out to look at what I am doing there?I explain that it will be a good painting and they all smile, all the while wondering why I wouldn?t select a barn in better condition. But that?s what I like about it and the pics have come out great. We continue on for a while and realize it is after 11 and we still haven?t stopped for
coffee?we pull up to a tiny bar hotel combo in a hamlet on the river?we go in and order coffee and I ask if he has any bread?ça alors-on verra he says with the appropriate shrug up to his ears?we go sit outside under his little tented area and he arrives with our coffee and a basket of tiny croissants and equally tiny pains au chocolat?perfect. We chat and
enjoy this late breakie. We continue on until we arrive at Martel, which I have read a bit about but nothing too thrilling. I?m in love. We step out and start walking around?the central market place on the Place des Consuls is completely covered in Les Halles
fashion and the surrounding square is pure medieval wonder. Each little street is beautifully maintained and the view of the countryside is everywhere. We go into the church and look at the lintel and the carvings?very evocative..and the windows are 17th century and beautiful as well with the light streaming through. We try to identify the 7 towers as we walk around the town. Nothing is open, which is a shame because we see
pretty yellow and blue bowls with the big clocktower of Martel on the front,
personalized with a name in pretty script on the front of the bowl. Oh my?I?ve found the perfect gift for family and can?t buy it. Boo. Tune in later on this one. We then head
to Carennac and see the church and cloister there?it is easy to be jaded when one sees one perfect medieval village after another?the cloister is open and we walk under the covered walkways and see it from all the angles?how peaceful and beautiful it
is..another time. There are so many more places we could stop on the way, but we decide we want to find our new home and be sure we can get in.
We arrive at Lacapelle Marival and follow the directions to our house. It is on quite a bit of land and the neighbors in a closeby home are out on the road?I introduce myself and they kindly help us in. It is a lovely home with vistas on 3 sides and peppered with sculptures and paintings by my artist cousin. We settle in and decide we still have time to go to Figeac?probably a mistake. Late Sunday afternoon in Figeac out of tourist season, things are eerily quiet. It
is too early for dinner and yet we want to be closer to home later on, so we stop at a café,have a glass of wine and head on. When we return to Lacappelle we discover that everything there is shut tight as a drum on Sunday..Darn?we are ready to settle in and now we are stuck?and we never had lunch. We are told we must go to St. Céré or Figeac to get dinner. Ugh..we head north towards St. Céré and low and behold in a tiny village on the way we see a bar is open. We stop and I run in..there are no patrons but the owner says he can fix us 2 croque monsieurs and wrap them in aluminum foil to take back..he has no other food, other than tiny cans of barbeque Pringles which we take..we transact our little business and he explains he has 200 kinds of beer from all
over the world in this tiny town. Life is interesting. We finally return to the house, put on a Nora Jones CD and eat our strange dinner and drink wine out on the glassed in
terrace and watch the sun go down. We relax to finally be there, have a barely adequate snack and talk and talk with the hurricane lights providing a glow on the table. Al goes out to the car to get the map and calls me to come out?we never see stars like this at home. Starry starry night in the country?ooohh.
To bed with a reasonable blanket and no lumps?perfect. We sleep well and take our time getting ready to head out. We decide we will go to Cahors, a spot we visited previously but can?t quite remember. We take a circuitous route, deciding to stop in Marcilhac sur Célé, which St. Cirq has recommended and where my cousin has bought a large home that one day he may turn into a hotel. The church here is surrounded by ruins
of a Benedictine abbey and we have a good time taking photos? sadly the church is not open and some folks we talk to there express that we must return as it is a special experience. We walk around the tiny village, find Roger?s new home and then decide to
lunch at the café there?oops, complet. So on we head on this pretty road to Cahors..where we have lunch, look at the church and stroll through the old town. We walk on to the Pont Valentré; walk the walk and then push off. Our driving has taken
longer than expected today, so we skip our plans to come back by way of Najac, and go for St. Antonin Noble Val which is more direct. St. A is another adorable town?we stroll the medieval streets, look at the market and go to see and photograph the house of the lovers, where two faces are kissing above the front door. We arrive back home only to discover that the main hotel in town is also closed on Monday. We head around the corner and discover a second tiny hotel, Le Glacier. The door is unlocked and I go in..it is completely dark and there is nary a peep. I call bonsoir a few times, rien. I then look through a window in an inside door and see it is the kitchen and there is a big lettuce on the sink. I open the door, call in and a little Madame around 70+ or so appears. I ask her if they are serving tonight and she says at 7:30. So we get cleaned up and return and have a novel experience-no menu. We settle in and a first platter of cured ham and lettuce arrives and she asks us what kind of wine we would like. The first course is delicious and next we are served steak and potatoes with a separate bowl or green salad. That is followed by a cheese course and a pear custard. Total bill for both including a pichet of wine ?28 euros. Mme tells me she does it all?.cooking, serving, cleaning up and running the hotel. It seems to agree with her.
Oct 2nd, 2004, 05:30 AM
#46
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 600
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes indeed--I am the Dambach la Ville Robyn France. I hope to post a few more pics from the second part of our trip as well as the final commentary in the next few days--sorry if I've gone on too long in them.
Oct 8th, 2004, 09:56 PM
#47
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 293
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I couldn't believe it when I read your trip report! We are leaving on Wed and will be travelling to the same places; Sarlat, Le Bugue, Roque St Christophe, Martel, Les Jardins de Marqueyssac, St Cere, Lacapelle-Marival, Figeac, St Antonin Noble Val.
I have printed your post and will be devouring it over the next three days. Thanks also for the restaurant and wine suggestions. Looking for more from you!
I have printed your post and will be devouring it over the next three days. Thanks also for the restaurant and wine suggestions. Looking for more from you!
Oct 15th, 2004, 05:47 PM
#49
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 600
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks all for your nice comments--Cameron, I will be looking forward to your opinions on some of those villages--please please please try La Terrasse in Lacapelle Marival (not Sun or Mon)and also let me know if you enjoy Martel as much as we did. We headed to LA to visit our son and family there last week and they adored the bowls we had personalized for them in Martel as did our son and family here in NC--we use ours each morning for breakfast and feel quite French as we do. I still have a bit more of the trip to finish and will try to do so this weekend--I especially want to show a few favotite Martel shots as well as a shot of that fantastic tomato red barn.
Have finished one painting of the field of hay bales, with another several to complete--then I shall attack the tomato barn which I should like to do in a larger format.
Thanks Fodorites, for being such travelbugs like I am.
Take care,
Robyn France
Have finished one painting of the field of hay bales, with another several to complete--then I shall attack the tomato barn which I should like to do in a larger format.
Thanks Fodorites, for being such travelbugs like I am.
Take care,
Robyn France
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Tuni01
Europe
24
May 30th, 2007 06:25 AM
