15) The intoxicating beauty of France

Argentat on the upper Dordogne

Although we may be becoming a bit cynical about French (and, to be fair, English) estate agents over here, we have been constantly bowled over by the breath taking beauty of France.  It is just everywhere, in the buildings, the landscape, and in the texture and detail of so much of what you see.

Sauveterre de Rouergue

One of the three hundred or more "Bastide" towns that were built in the 13th century to promote trade and re-invigorate the regions.  Many have these colonnades round a central market square.

Arcades around the market square in Sauveterre de Rouergue

Below is Cirq Lapopie, a perfectly preserved mediaeval town appearing simply to emerge from a rocky promontory above the river Lot.

St Cirq Lapopie on the Lot

We rounded a corner on our way to Bruniquel, and suddenly there was the Aveyron in the soft winter light

In the Aveyron valley near Bruniquel

On route to Gordon, north of Cahors, we entered an ordinary village only to find this extraordinary structure, part castle, part rock face, studded with troglodyte caves.

Gavaudun

Najac, south of Villefranche de Rouergue, is a mediaeval hillside town nestling in stunning landscape high above a hairpin loop in the Aveyron

Najac

Monpazier is another of the Bastide towns and, although perfectly preserved, it still seems to have its shops and cafes, as well as its weekly market.  In winter, however, everyone seemed to have left.  I suspect it is now a bastion of Brit ex-pats who only turn up in summer.

Monpazier

Estaing, whose most famous son was the President Valery (Marie Rene Georges) Giscard d'Estaing, is a most beautiful place on the upper Lot. We came to know it quite well, especially the tourist information office, which became our main source of internet access.  Actually, according to Wikipedia, old Valery seems to have had very little connection to Estaing.  Born in Koblentz in Germany, apparently he was not related at all to the noble Vice Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Compte d'Estaing (whose family had owned the castle in the photograph below).  It seems his yuppy grandfather added d'Estaing to the family name on account of a distant connection to another (less distinguished and morally challenged) part of the family.  They were descended (with two breaks in the male line) from an illegitimate line of the (rather lowly)Viscounts d'Estaing.  For some reason, though, none of this appeared in any of the literature we picked up at the Office du Tourisme.

Estaing

For our exploration of the upper Lot and the Truyere, we rented a little Hansel and Gretel cottage above Estaing, at an altitude of 2,500 feet.  When we arrived in mid January it was snowing, but within three days we were eating lunch outside in 15 degrees and bright sunshine.  At that height it got very cold each night when the skies were clear, and in the mornings everything was covered in frost.  The effect was magical.  It really did seem unreal, it was as if fairies had come in the night to sprinkle little diamonds all over the trees.  The camera can't capture the experience or the magic, but each morning we became almost numb with the beauty around us.

Near Le Nayrac, like a scene out of Narnia

The lauze rooves were a special feature of the Aveyron and the Cantal.  Below is a detail of the one on the little cottage where we were staying.

Lauzes on the roof of our cottage, Les Prunaques

Everywhere you find crosses and statues of the Virgin Mary.  Religion in France, though, almost seems to have a thread which runs parallel to Christianity.  Folklore and local tradition adopt elements of Christianity; each seems to borrow from the other.  Even the pilgrimages to Lourdes and to St Jacques at Santiago di Compostella perhaps have more to do with magic and superstition than Christian teaching and the Bible.  There is a yearning for the magic of miracles.  And many of the most important religious celebrations involve icons or relics being carried in elaborate processions through the streets, reminiscent of ancient rituals or rights of passage.  France has well over 600 recognised saints, but many are mythical figures from ancient fairytale stories, who have simply taken on the mantle of Christianity.  If anything, this heightens the sense of mystery, and there is certainly a wonderfully rich legacy of buildings and artefacts associated with religion.

Crucifix at Villecomtal

On our way to Gourdon, we rounded a corner and there was the commanding and powerful edifice of Biron.

Biron

Espalion has a wonderful market on Fridays, and is where we were first introduced to the pleasures of eating farcous in your fingers as you wander round the stalls.  We are determined to try and make it ourselves.  It is a kind of  thick pancake, made with blettes (Swiss chard) and parsely, which is fried on a hot plate in front of you, and is absolutely delicious.

Espalion

Everywhere the landscape is so large, sometimes stretching miles and miles from one mountain range to the next.  Just today we came to the top of a hill and there, a hundred miles away were the Pyrernnees.

Mist over the Lot , near Estaing

Mind you, one of the best sights we have seen recently was people sitting outside in the sun shine enjoying a coffee in early February, in Aurillac (which is reputed to be the coldest town in France).

Cafe culture, Aurillac,  Wednesday 9th February