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Escape to USA, France and UK

July - December 2021
  • Rosie Marzouk
A 139-day adventure by Rosie Read more
  • Rosie Marzouk

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  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    11Goat cheese samosas and foie gras

    Addition to today at La Coquille

    September 23, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Had to add a small extra, as we are back in the land of fine dining and loveliness! We went for a little walk before dinner, not a lot to see, and the towns always seem deserted, except on weekends. Went up to the church and worked out where we walk out tomorrow - always makes Amr happy and relaxed…then we went back to the hotel and we’re the first diners (opened at 7 which is good for us…waiting till 8 is a bit late when you’ve been walking, though it was the norm in Spain.

    So we knew all was well when we sat at our table with cloth cloths and napkins, Paul approved glasses and the forks pointing down in the classy French manner. So Amr chose a Paul and Hartley approved wine from the Périgord region and we had a delicious dinner. As pèlerins we didn’t have the full choice (or an amuse bouche which we saw some other normal paying people have) but we had such a good meal, beautifully presented, and now back in the room trying not to go to sleep too early…Amr already has dropped his phone …..

    And after yesterday’s experience I checked the next few hotels leading up to Pèrigueux and they all sound fab…esp Saturday night where we are at the Auberge de la Truffe in Sorges, the centre of truffles in the region, and has a restaurant which sounds amazing - and we dine there…so good things ahead!    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    Grassy path
    1Talking to Cathy during lunch break!Beautiful hotel2

    Thiviers, foie gras capital

    September 24, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I’m sure many towns in France that say they are the best place for foie gras and truffles, but Thiviers claims this honour in the green Périgord. And Sorges, tomorrow’s destination claims it for truffles. But there is the Périgord noir which is supposedly the truffle area, so who knows…as complicated as wine!

    So we left exactly at 9 as all the bells in La Coquille started chiming the hour…it was a lovely 18 km walk, not quite as breathtaking as yesterday as there wasn’t much forest walking through tree tunnels, but just along the shoulder of the hills through pastures and farms, sometimes on country roads, or on grassy paths. Cold as we left, and heated up as another perfect day. But not the humid enervating heat of the first week thank goodness. Tomorrow they predict rain, but we’ve given up believing it very much, and also the rain is not supposed to start till later in the afternoon and these 18 kms walks take us about 5 hours and we seem to arrive at about 2pm or round about, so hopefully it won’t even effect us. Today we went for about 5 kms in a straight line Amr says, but tomorrow we walk on an old Via Romana through hazels and orchards according to our Book, so that should be quite a straight line too.

    Thiviers turns out to be quite a bustling little town…more awake than most of this size so far. On our way in we popped in to the Mairie as we had noticed an electricity pole that was split and bent and looked dangerous as it was bound to collapse in a storm or high wind. Amr had taken a photo and the La Poste driver told us to report it to the Gendarmerie or the Mairie. We spotted a Gendarmerie when about 2 kms out of Thiviers and tried there, but they were closed till 2pm and it was 1.30… (no criminal activity during lunch break)…so we didn’t wait around - in fact this diversion made us miss a turn we were meant to make just before the gendarmerie..but with another couple of pèlerins (we actually saw another couple, none yesterday) we retraced and found the true path! And as we entered the town there was the Mairie with flags etc, so we masked up and did our civic duty - who knows if they will find the splitting pole!

    And then, almost opposite there was our wonderful hotel…Hotel de France et de Russie! And it has a restaurant l’Escapade des Sens, where we eat tonight so should be good. We have a room 2 floors up with a skylight window, and lovely old beams…it is an old house and came about in the time of the French and Russian alliance, and now run by an English couple for the last 5 years. They have a son who was in Melbourne last year (poor thing) and got stuck, but finally returned to England and hopes to return to Oz when all is normal again…he is in hospitality. After showering we went out on the town for a beer at Bar Foch in the market square, which apparently will be in full swing when we leave tomorrow morning. So will buy cheese, sausage, fruit perhaps.

    Now relaxing back in our room - but first the final chapter of the hat saga…it has reappeared, found folded in Amr’s jacket in his bag!! It is a mystery and we are not suggesting how it could possibly have got there…but at least our hostess in Limoges is off the hook, and we can go back to wearing our customary hats!!    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    2Thiviers market
    Mains last nightEndless via romanaUnder the spreading chestnut tree...1Walnut orchard1

    Sorges, town of truffles

    September 25, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Last night we had dinner at the hotel restaurant. Had a good bottle of wine, as Amr declared it the beginning of birth week! And the food was delicious too, though for a special restaurant I found it a little fussy - too many unidentifiable ingredients - and think I prefer the simplicity of some of the lesser but surprisingly good hotel restaurants that aren’t acclaimed. This is just an aside - it was a great meal - I had chanterelle stuffed ravioli with assorted veg in a sauce (and a foam…but hadn’t translated that!) and Amr had a tomato “steak” with chèvre burrata. Those were entrées and for main Amr had a lamb confit with mushroom and garlic and I had veal sweetbreads with mushrooms and many other unidentifiable bits and pieces in a good sauce. We shared a very light strawberry dessert.

    This morning we left about 9 but first went to the market which was in full swing. Bought some cheese - from a Dutchman who has been here for decades - and we got his best recommendation, an aged Gouda! It was delicious - crumbly and gritty like a very tasty aged cheddar…and Amr got also a boar saucisse, and of course we got some bread.
    Setting off we had a few hesitations getting out of town - we were expecting the Roman road, and people said just go right as you leave town, but our signs led us along little roads, through fields, up hill and down dale…started to wonder if the pilgrim way avoided the Roman road altogether. Then we finally came to it after about 9 kms (and there was a sign pointing along the other way saying Thiviers 6 km - so our path had taken the long way round, but we knew it was the true path!!) and we were glad that we only finally walked on it for 1.5 kms as it is straight like all Roman roads, and boring…now just a minor asphalt road but with cars now and then, going fast as it is so straight, so it wasn’t interesting to walk along and we were glad to branch off into the fields again, and along the paths by farms and little hamlets.

    We had also been promised orchards and hadn’t seen any till towards the end we came across very many organised and thriving ones, but couldn’t work out what fruit they were…green like small apples, but not perfectly round, and not quite pear shaped, then we saw one split open and realised they were walnuts. And I do remember walnuts from when we were in another part of the Dordogne area many years ago….so this is also walnut land. Our instructions had said hazels, but I think that something was lost in the translation as am sure they meant walnuts.

    Anyway, it was a lovely picturesque walk again, and no rain - in fact slightly too much sun as we arrived - at about 3 o’clock. Walked in, and the path led us past the Mairie, which is a stone building adjoined to the church, and there opposite was the Hôtel de la Truffe, our night’s resting spot. But it was all closed with a sign to go somewhere else for reception…all a bit muddling till some staff member inside called a man for us, who turned out to be the owner or manager who led us round the corner a few minutes walk away to the Auberge de la Truffe where their reception and restaurant, and probably some rooms too, are, and our building is a sort of annexe (beautiful old stone building) with extra rooms. A little complicated but makes sense, and they said our bags had arrived and were in the room waiting for us. We had to go to reception to get the key, so while there we stopped and had a beer and cooled down before coming back to the room to shower. All perfect really! I think we are going to have a truffly dinner there tonight…    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    Sundlower stubble

    Périgueux, a small city

    September 26, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    It is after 9 pm and we are back from dinner, and I’m really ready to read and sleep…but must try and write up today while it is fresh…first, we didn’t have a truffle dinner last night…we got to the restaurant, and when they realised we were half board (dinner included in our nightly rate) we had the menus confiscated and were told what our dinner was, no option! We didn’t really mind - had seen that the truffle menu was €118 per person, and it all was complicated, so were happy to have our simple but very tasty and satisfying meal, and delay our truffle experience. We did however partake of walnuts in a yum ice-cream of walnuts with chocolate sauce…

    So today we walked about 23 kms and it was a very surprising day. We had a slight feeling of doom as rain was predicted, and it poured last night - just before dinner when we were going to have a wander through the very small town - there was a wild storm…which didn’t last long and we walked to dinner without even getting wet…but it had another burst during the evening, and rained at night. So we set off knowing it was a longer than our recent 18 km walks, and we anticipated very muddy and soggy tracks and possibly rain while we walked. Also we knew we were walking again into a city,though smaller than Limoges, but walking into a city always has its problems…Well it turned out to be a fine day again, cloudy with sun breaking through, and the paths were not soggy miraculously - and we walked through continuously gorgeous forests, mostly level and different from the other forest days…we passed a little farmland, and saw fields of decapitated sunflower stalks, and our first vineyard for a while - but just a small backyard one, not serious ones yet. But it was just a constant treat of beautiful walking. And the signage was good, so no panic about directions. And I think we are getting into the Périgord blanc as there are white stones, often covered with moss, and we will come to the white limestone cliffs world.

    It was only a few kms out of Périgueux that it got a bit boring, but not hard as we just followed the road straight downhill into the city, which seems nestled in the valley. We knew our hotel was near the train station so turned off the path and headed for there, about a km out of the centre. Our bags hadn’t arrived - a Sunday problem perhaps as the hotels close during the quiet times and they are so sadly quiet at this time anyway…but our hotel man here was very helpful and soon they were sent by taxi from Sorges. We are here for 2 nights, rest day tomorrow.

    Having showered etc we set off to have an initial explore and maybe find dinner as not included here. Soon after we left it started raining and poured, and we sheltered in a bar with a beer (I had forgotten to bring my umbrella)…we are so lucky, rain after we have finished walking. It stopped soon, even almost sunny, and we walked round a bit in the centre, having decided to go back to that brasserie for dinner. And we just love this place. It is absolutely charming - has a lovely historic centre which we got lost in, and we even found a cafe de la truffe which is open tomorrow (so many places just open Tuesday to Saturday) so maybe the truffle treat will be tomorrow. Looking forward to a day of discovery in this lovely town. We are both reading a Martin Walker detective book at the moment, set here…they are fun books, and very appropriate for us here! All about food and life here while he solves the mystery. Our dinner was good…Amr had duck and I had linguini with coquille st Jacques …and a Campari…off to sleep now..    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    1
    21Candles for Ira and Neil13Pre haircut!The dutchman

    Rest day in Périgueux

    September 27, 2021 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Somehow you always seem to feel more tired on a rest day, than when you are walking 20 kms! Not that we are really tired, but having a mid afternoon relax after exploring this very lovely city. First we set off to see the enormous cathedral that we’d just seen from the outside yesterday…it is huge, in the shape of a Greek cross, with 5 domes and essentially 4 naves all facing into the central main altar, with many chapels on the sides of course and a cloister. Nothing is symmetrical and it is just beautiful and a huge space. We lit candles for Ira and for Neil Francis (mutual friend of ours and Ira) in a chapel for St Francis - very appropriate.

    Then we meandered the narrow cobbles streets of the old town, had a coffee/chocolate at the cafe de la Truffe and have rejected it for tonight’s dinner! None of the menus mention truffles…not sure what it is with truffles in this part of the world but it doesn’t seem to be available as an addition to a dish, but super special…(not like having truffle on a pizza or in a pasta etc!)…we will investigate and see if we can solve this mystery. I mean, I do realise that round here they are super special! We have seen a classier restaurant in another square and will maybe have dinner there, truffles or not!

    We ran into a pilgrim outside the cathedral, obviously checking directions on his phone and we all spoke together in not very good French till he said he was Dutch and we spoke English. Very nice man, he had run into our French couple and had heard about us…there is a pilgrim network! So we had a nice chat, and took photos together. He was heading for the alternate route via Bergerac so we probably won’t run into him again.

    We visited the archeological museum which was open on a Monday…so many things are closed, including shops and restaurants on a Monday, and just by chance this has been our rest day for the last 3 weeks. But plenty open, and lots to see. We went for a walk along the river, the Isle, which seems like a strange name for a river! It is a tributary of the Dordogne. Quite a large wide river and pretty looking over at the city.

    Walked back to our hotel via the Roman amphitheatre park…no rubble there and the Roman museum was closed, but it was where there had been a large amphitheater and was a nice park to sit in. Had lunch in a little bakery place - shared a croque monsieur and a quiche!

    Now back in the room and I gave Amr a birthday haircut with the hair cutting set we had bought at La Jolla - the same as Michael’s that I used to cut Michael and Amr’s hair, now about 2 months ago!! At first I got a fright and thought it was a different no. 2, as it looked so shaven - but I think it was the contrast with the fluffy hair he had grown! He looks good!    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    Abbaye de Chancelade
    1Post haircutChurch at Razac

    At Razac-sur-l’Isle

    September 28, 2021 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We finished our stay in Périgueux last night with a dinner at a small restaurant serving local food in the old city. We shared a foie gras plate with onion and fig jam, and then each had a salad - Amr with a Périgord mix and I had gésiers (giblets) which I remember loving from before (and I love offal!)…I think I have solved the truffle problem, which should have been obvious…it isn’t truffle season - have looked it up, and it is a winter thing here, starting in November and best in January, so no wonder they don’t feature at the moment. Also, as Amr pointed out, the truffle taste we get on pizzas etc is just truffle oil - delicious, but not the real thing!

    It was cold - 8° - when we left this morning. I wore a jacket and kept it on for quite a while…and even when I took it off, I wasn’t hot, as by then we walked through trees and in shade for a lot of the time. It was a peaceful well-marked path today - perhaps the best. The people here have done a good job, and we rarely bother consulting the notes as they can be muddling or misleading. It took quite a while to leave Périgueux, through suburbs, or small satellite towns, and get into the countryside. It still is a well kept and affluent area.

    Our first point of interest was a huge Abbey at Chancelade, where we paused and admired and wandered and looked in. Then we went up hills and down hills for a while, over little streams and then up again, but reasonably gentle and of course, beautiful.

    We knew that tonight we are staying a little off the Way. And we easily reached the small town where we turned off and walked about a km to our hotel here in Razac sur l’Isle. And tomorrow we get a taxi transfer (with our bags) and get dropped so that we only have 19 kms to get to Mussidan, the bags get taken on to the hotel. Perfect. We stopped for lunch today and finished the cheese, and had muesli bars and chocolate, then stopped for coffee/chocolate at a bar just before reaching here. But find I am hungrily waiting for dinner which isn’t for 2 and a half hours!! Tomorrow we will see if we can buy a baguette and some cheese from the hotel, as it is hard to find grocery shops in these small towns.

    This is a dear little town though. We did have a wander after washing to see if anything open…and had a beer as there was a bar, but no groceries! They keep threatening rain, but today it was lovely, and sunny, though clouding over a bit. Perhaps tomorrow will be the first rainy walk…we realise we are well over half way, and even approaching the end of this pilgrimage. Today is the first of 11 straight walking days, then we have a rest day in Mont de Marsan, and only 6 days after that…2 and a half weeks!    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    2The perfect egg
    4The "garden" dessertOver the valleyOutside our room

    Mussidan - first rainy day

    September 29, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Actually, we are at a little village near Mussidan, at a very lovely chambres d’hôtes, and though it did rain a bit, we didn’t get soaked. But first last night’s dinner. Again, our little hotel did us proud. The demi-pension menu gave us a choice of all 3 courses (not the set menu of the day) and we had an added started of a delicious vichyssoise type soup…(?an amuse bouche!). Anyway, as usual taste and presentation were amazing..I started with an œuf parfait, and it indeed was the perfect egg! Very lightly cooked but intact over a butternut purée, some delicious sauce, the inevitable walnuts, fruity toast sticks and a cheese net…too much description and I won’t describe every dish of each course, but it was just so yum. And I have to mention my dessert which was a trompe d’œil and turned out to be a “garden” served on a plate like a garden spade…and all this at a modest hotel!

    We got our taxi ride at 9 am to the appointed place, in the middle of nowhere, but found the signs and set off. Had ponchos ready as rain was predicted, and it had been raining as we had breakfast. But it held off for quite a while, and we walked till it started to more than sprinkle before putting on ponchos and it rained for a bit - our first taste of real rain while walking. There was another couple today who kept passing us, then we’d pass them while they stopped etc..middle-aged French…the rain passed and it cleared up and actually got partially sunny. There was quite a lot of gradual climbing, but a bit relentless and we found ourselves quite high above the river valley. And though not actually mountainous there was heather, and the start of pine forests. Very beautiful and lovely views over the valley (still the l’Isle).

    Ponchos on again when it had another light sprinkle, but didn’t turn into much and they came off when we stopped at a small bar a few kms before Mussidan and had coffee with the French couple. Fun. A tiny bar run by an old woman - I wanted chocolate- non - but made do with tea, and others had coffee (she did have little biscuits with chocolate as consolation).

    The walk after that sojourn was gorgeous…along the river - a walking and cycle path, next to the train track, and beyond that the road…all sort of hidden from each other..but going in parallel. Arrived in Mussidan about 3..30. We had been warned that our hosts could not pick us up before 5 (they collected us to take us to the guest house a few kms away), so we wandered the town, as usual fairly closed and quiet, though a sizeable town for round here, and found a salon de thé and relaxed there - me with a chocolate finally, and Amr with an oolong. It seemed to be the meeting place of the women of the town in the afternoon and we stayed there, reading a bit, and during that time it actually poured with rain - much harder than when we were walking! So lucky, when we left to call the people and wait near the church it was totally fine again. Now settled in a huge comfy room, with the best shower so far we think, and waiting for dinner which has been postponed till 8. Will be a good home cooked meal.

    Tomorrow we get another lift and walk to Ste Foy La Grande, on the Dordogne!

    P.S. have just re-read what I wrote and looked at the photos and realise I have not mentioned Amr’s entrée which features in the photo more than my perfect egg! He had sturgeon on mini pancakes with frothy creamy cheese…    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    Amr taking birthday calls

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

    September 30, 2021 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    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.    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    Cold setting off
    Grape harvester in action1Old Benedictine abbey at St FermeArriving at CouturesOur barn and hostess

    At Coutures, surrounded by vineyards

    October 1, 2021 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Finishing yesterday, and Amr’s birthday dinner - it was lovely, but simple. They only do dinner for hotel guests, and we were the only guests…so we went down and there was a table set for us. Lovely man and woman run the hotel, and we had a lentil soup (like the other day when there was an additional soup course)…which was delicious, then a “panna cotta” of tomato with a basil cream sauce, then beef with potatoes and carrots, and finishing with a fancy patisserie plate…not gourmet, but very satisfying. And for breakfast we had the usual fare but with a bowl of coffee for the first time, and I think it was also the best coffee so far. In the morning there were quite a few people coming in for coffee or breakfast.

    So we set off in a taxi with our bags at 9 and were dropped at Caplong, which gave us 21 kms to walk to Coutures. We are now in a new area and the signage changed slightly but was very good and reliable. This part is called Entre-Deux-Mers, because it is between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, neither of which we saw, but it is just all vineyards…we are in the Bordeaux wine growing area, and it was quite an amazing day. It took a little while of normal countryside walking before we found we were surrounded by vineyards which just continued in every direction most of the day. We noticed that some of the vines were grape free, and thought the harvest was over, then there were many laden with grapes, it ended about 50-50 that we saw, but to our delight we saw the huge grape picking machine in action in one vineyard. And we could hear others now that we knew what was happening. And there were many tractors with large carts along the roads coming to collect the grapes. Lots of activity. And we passed some huge wineries that looked like factories, and wine tankers on the road. Anyway, it was quite an exciting day, and fun to be watching some of the action. Interspersed now and then were fields of beheaded sunflower stalks - we even saw a man on a tractor shredding his sunflower stalks - the only time we saw non vineyard activity!

    And it was so beautiful…vineyards always look picturesque, and the ones that had been harvested stood in such neat rows as if they had had a hair cut…well they sort of had - no poking out branches! And we had some forest walks too, always gorgeous. The walk ended up being a bit longer than the 21 kms on our plan, as our pilgrim route followed the GR path where our map said it separated - but the good signage told us to do it, and I think it was probably a more picturesque way, but ended up being a few kms longer…so we walked 23 kms.

    We discovered this when we were at St Ferme about 5 kms from here, but had thought we only had 3 kms left…it was just fine, and not very different, but you get into a mentality that you have almost finished and you haven’t! But we popped into st Ferme to see the huge old Benedictine abbey, which seems to be used as the Mairie now - or the adjoining building.

    We easily found our BandB and again we have a character as hostess, who is now cooking dinner, and washing our clothes!! She was mowing the lawn when we arrived and was expecting us. We are the only guests tonight which is a good thing as her accommodation, which is lovely, is an upstairs barn with about 4 beds with screens dividing them, and a screened off bathroom. Perfect for us, but rather intimate with strangers! And there is a precipitous ladder leading up to it so we have just taken up what we need, and our bags remain downstairs, as they will be in no one’s way. Our hostess, who Amr says is called Rose, will be having dinner with us, and then she is leaving (she lives 15 kms away) and we will get our own breakfast, let a taxi pick up our bags at 8am and set off ourselves, as she will be in Bordeaux visiting her grandchildren! Perfect for us!    Read more

  • Rosie MarzoukTravelerEscape to USA, France and UK
    Dinner last night
    View from the heights looking back1

    La Réole, on the Garonne

    October 2, 2021 in France ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    All went well this morning - we got our own breakfast, the taxi man collected the bags and we locked up and set off at about 9. Not as cold this morning, and the day has been quite moderate, up to 25° this afternoon.

    A very pleasant walk, and shorter than most - only 14 kms - though I must say I felt a bit tired, but maybe because it was a bit uphill and down dale over and over till we finally descended to the river. But it was beautiful - the thousands of vineyards have finished - leaving Coutures this morning we didn’t see a single one for quite a while, then we saw the odd one, plus corn, sorghum, sunflower stalks - back to the mixed farming. When we did finally reach the top before descending down to here, we had a breathtaking views looking back to where we’d been.

    Good to arrive at La Réole and find our chambres d’hôtes. The city is on the steep river bank and we went right down looking out for our place which we knew was in the old centre, but got to river level without sighting it, so stopped at a bar for a drink before heading back up with Amr’s Google maps guiding us. We have a lovely room, with our own terrasse (where our washing is offending no one) and a very helpful and friendly couple. It is Saturday night and we don’t have dinner provided here and asked for recommendations. They said a little place we had passed and also recommended booking, so Amr went out to do that, and popped into the tourist office for a map and the person there said yes, you must be the Australians walking that I heard about!! Not many escapees on the loose here!

    So we are all set, must gird our loins and have an explore as this is a small city, and has a bridge over the Garonne built by Eiffel…before the tower. He is good at bridges - we’ve seen his in Porto and Bilbao also. I have never heard of most of these small places where we stop, and sometimes they are barely a village (like Coutures, though I think it did have a Mairie) and sometimes quite a large town like today.    Read more

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