At Ste-Foy-la-Grande for Amr’s birthday

For Amr’s birthday it has been perfect weather, and probably the most breathtaking walk so far! We left by taxi at 9, and were driven to a small village with a church so that we could easily find our route signs. It was a couple of kms further than we were meant to be dropped, but much easier, and on the taxi route…it was very cool 7° but soon was manageable and never got too too hot..all the clouds from yesterday had gone, and there was a fog in the valley, but the taxi must have taken us uphill, though you don’t often realise it when driving, as we were well above the fog and in quite high country when we set off, well above the river level.

At first we walked along small country roads, very pretty but not special…this lasted for quite a while and we were quite happily thinking that this was the sort of day - we started passing vineyards which was new, and saw lots more some way up on a hill in the distance, but as we walked on we came to the bottom of a long steep hill and realised we were going up there with the vineyards. After the slow plod uphill, quite steep and long, we found ourselves on top of the world with a breathtaking 360°view….and we stayed up there for most of the rest off the walk till we gradually descended down to Ste Foy - and steeply for the final leg - and found ourselves beside the Dordogne river, wide and fast flowing.

We were coming from the north and the town on that side is Port Ste Foy, and crossing the bridge we come to Ste Foy La Grande. I think we may have changed departments too as the map has a line down the middle of the river with Dordogne on one side and Garonne on the other…these regions are a mystery, and don’t know where they start and end, and which are historic regions and which are legal administrative areas…there is Périgord, Aquitaine, Dordogne, and there was Burgundy and Berry. And we will be coming to Landes, Béarn and of course the Basque area. Who knows - I know there was a prefecture in Périgueux - but it is all beautiful, whatever the label.

We are at the Hôtel de la Gare, so on arrival in the town we looked for signs to the gare and walked through the rather pleasant old and central part and out the other side and found the station, quite smart, and a really cosy and well kept hotel with a brasserie! We have over the years seen some hotels de la Gare that have been rather seedy, and this isn’t one, which is perfect for Amr’s birthday, as we have dinner here. So here’s hoping they make a special dinner for him!

Will just add that dinner last night was very pleasant - good home cooked food - salad topped with a soft poached egg, chicken and mushroom with creamy sauce with rice, cheese and patisserie. There was another couple staying and having dinner with us who talked in rapid French and didn’t seem to realise that we couldn’t always keep up! But Amr was fantastic and caught the gist amazingly quickly and we found that he rode motorcycles and had had an epileptic episode and couldn’t drive and now was picking up a cycle with 3 wheels (which he was allowed to drive) and they live in Nice!! And he and Amr had a medical discussion about his epilepsy or non epilepsy….anyway, it was a fun meal…and breakfast.もっと詳しく