The weather gets interesting as we head up north.

The abbey at Caunaz
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The weather gets interesting as we head up north.

We got up to a gray day - the sky was overcast with a cloud deck of about a thousand feet. We got dressed, and went down to breakfast at the leisurely hour of 9:00 and had our breakfast of croissant and jam. W were joined by a Belgian couple and a

The rainy road betzeen Toulouse and Sarlat

Spanish couple. They were both here vacationing, planning to see the Minervois and a bit later, Carcassonne. We went off to Marlene's grocery and picked up some bread, planning to find sausage and cheese along the way. Then I went solve the car/luggage problem- It's somewhat like a Rubik's cube in that you have to do things in a certain order in three dimensions. The women went off to see the abbey which, conveniently is just down the street. It's another demonstration of the vagaries of time. At one time this was an important agricultural center, and as such was built up extensively. Now it is a sleepy little town of several thousand inhabitants.

Statues in the Caunas Abbey
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According to people we met later, the Minervois wine used to be plonk, basically bulk wine with no character. Since then they have improved to some very fine wines, one of which we had the previous night.

We started to drive. Ten minutes into the drive Alexandra asks who took the sausage which had been put into the refrigerator. Nobody did, but it was perhaps too far to travel to get a sausage so we pressed on. By Toulouse it was about 1:30 PM. We stopped at a rest area and got sausage and took a break for a while. This rest area - Toulouse Sud - was quite clean and pleasant and seemed like so many of the European rest areas - clean, efficient and complete. We could easily stop for a quick coffee, a modest sandwich type lunch, buy some groceries, and use the very clean bathrooms.

The Abbey altar
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Outside Toulouse, we left the toll road highway where we had been doing 135-155 km/hr, and went on the two lane freeways, still high speed (90-110 km/hr) but definitely slower than the superhighway. In addition the rain, which had been threatening, finally got serious and we had some real rain. We had some really strong rainfall, slowing traffic to 50-60, but this was very localized. However we did have rain from Tolouse to Sardace.

The countryside became more rolling, with a lot of grass. We soon came into the fois gras area of Perigord, with signs everywhere indicating that geese grew here, and fois gras was available. This was labour day so not much was open. Also the rain seemed to keep the traffic down. We saw one poor little car parked on a little path by a pond. The scene was idyllic, with a quiet green spot by the lake, shaded by the trees, and plenty of room to picnic. Unfortunately these hardy people had to stay in their cars to keep out of the weather.

Marlenes grocery store around the corner from Ancienne Boulangerie
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We arrived in Sardac in the rain. We spent a little bit of time in finding the hotel, although we are learning to expect this. The Villa des Consuls is delightful. We have a nice suite with a double bed and a couch which unfolds into a queen sized bed. The suite has a microwave, a stovetop, a dishwasher, and even a vacuum cleaner. On top of all this we have a very nice patio with plenty of room for a party and even a barbecue. With the rain, we all decided to stay inside until dinner.

We went to the Auberge de Madaleine for dinner. The restaurant seemed very similar to the first restaurant in Gap with arched, stone walls and ceilings. The menu was Perigord, with lots of duck. We met the poeple at the next table, who turned out to be from Stuttgart. The gentleman had gone to school at Washougal WA, and they returned to the west periodically, with the Lake Shasta area a particular favourite.

Alexandra at dinner in Sarlat
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The dinner was excellent. We went for the "Vassal" menu, 17 Euro. The appetizer was foie gras on toast with a roasted pepper with oil, a goose tasting jelly, and caramelized onions on the side. The combination and the several parts were delicious.

The main course was chicken for Alexandra, goose for Antonette, and duck for me. All were delicious, and beautifully done with an accompaniment of Sardak potatoes and green beans. It was all very delicious. The desert was a very good crème Brule and glaces framboise, Alexandra having passed up dessert. The waitress was quite nice. She at first seemed reserved, but when she noticed the Alexandra was quite comfortable in French, she opened up and was most friendly. That seems to occur with a rather high frequency - when people discover that Alexandra is quite fluent, they open up and are most friendly. I suspect the reason for the French reserve is more a certain discomfort in the language barrier, and as soon as this goes away, they are very nice.

Antonette ane Andrzej in photo taken by our German acquaintance.
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We mad it home, and I parked the car at a garage several blocks away. The medieval towns are not designed for our kind of tourism and accommodations must be made. We pulled our suitcases several blocks to the hotel, since cars did not seem to be permitted on the street in front of the hotel.

Alexandra has a lot of movies and TV shows on her computer, and we have been not watching TV, but a show on the computer. In that way we depend on WiFi, and seem to be looking for hotels with WiFi enabled.

This morning, I got up early and went to visit the town before dawn. I hope the rain has stopped.

The rain has stopped in fact. There is periodic mist/drizzle, but certainly not enough to impede a nice walk around town. The old town is quite small. It can be circled at a brisk pace in perhaps 20 minutes, leaving lots of time to go through the alleys and byways. The city is actually smaller than Citta San Angelo, but the buildings are being maintained well by the historical people. All seems in very good condition.

Every block seems to have someone selling Fois Gras, with different prices for the different qualities I guess. There are some rather nice private buildings, made in the Victorian style but with brick and ironwork. The market is just starting up (07:30) around the cathedral. There seem to be vegetables, and lots of fois gras. We'll see what is going on later.