We were up and on our way in no time today. After a quick patisserie breakfast we headed out of town. Now Paul says I was lost right at the beginning because we had to go back the way we came, however we hadn't actually seen any road signs prior to this so I think it is fair to say we weren't lost yet! There was a fairly hectic ride out of town, the road we want is off a busy N road, red on the Michelin maps. Fortunately the traffic is pretty much all going the other way at 8.20 in the morning so it wasn't too much of a bother. In due course we made our way on to the D617 which turned out to be a really delightful route. The road rolled through the countryside (yes up, down, up, down etc.) but the climbs were not too steep and we had some really nice descents as rewards. There were a few cyclists on the road as well and after a while we joined the cycle route 'Valley du Lot'.
At the end of one long hill we came to a closed road, which we ignored, as it was closed for the Criterium International de Marcoles. This is a cycling event that is actually on here, today! However it is just too early for us to stop and wait, and as it turns out the race isn't on until 6.30 pm. We had seen signs for the race elsewhere, two years ago Moreau was first and Cadel Evans second, so obviously it gets a pretty good turn out. As chance had it we followed the route for a while and went through the town of Marcoles. The town centre was busy, barricades were being installed and a (rather wonky looking) stage was being set up. I had a pain au raison and a coke (we'd done 27 K's!) and Paul a coffee.
Alas we couldn't stay and soon we were on our way up the hill out of town. The lovely rolling hills continued, got a little steeper, but the descents were still very rewarding. We eventually crossed on to a yellow road which would take us to Conques. What we didn't realise was what an amazing down hill awaited us. The descent, down to the river Lot, just went on and on and on. I think we descended for over 20 minutes. The drop was not particularly great, it was just that the decline was not very steep. However we were sitting on around 30 the whole way down. It was also really pretty. As I said to Paul, 'Can I pick a route or what?'
Of course on a long descent you always have at the back of your mind the eventual cost of that descent, and the hills on the other side of the Lot looked exactly like the ones we were going down. Once we got to the bottom we had a flat bit then over a bridge, photo's of course, and then on to the other side. There was a bit of a gorge that we entered and much to our surprise, and pleasure, the gorge went on and on and on. It turned out that the 7 K's followed by 1 K on the map, which we thought was up and then down, was in fact 7 K's of flat along a river then a 1 K climb into the town.
Now as it happens the camping is right on the river below the town. Paul didn't really want to ride up but I thought it was better to ride up, have a look around, and then come back down. We could do some shopping while we were up there then too. So up we went. We had a quick look, really beautiful and then decided that it was pointless with the bikes. We got food and then we went down to the camp site. (Which has a perfectly good shop for bread and drinks.)
We set up, showered, laundered and then Paul, who was so excited he could hardly contain himself started to prepare lunch. Lunch today is the goose neck, stuffed with foie gras, and preserved in goose fat. We are having it with bread and tomato's, and since it is such a special occasion I thought we should have some Rose with it too. Originally we thought that it could be eaten cold but it just isn't possible with all that fat. So Paul sliced it and then cooked it in the fat in his fry pan. I have to admit that it was really delicious. You needed to pour a little of the goose fat over it as well just to get the full flavour. It went really well just with bread and the Rose and funnily enough the tomato's worked well as a palette cleanser. We were, as expected, completely bloated after finishing off the entire 400 gm can.
I had a little post bloat up loll and then it was time to get back to work. After all we didn't come here just for the lunch (no, really Paul we didn't), we also came to see the town which is rated as three stars and there is a big sign saying that this is one of the Grand Sites of France. To be honest, it is worthy of the title. The town is perched on the side of a hill, all made of stone. It is very steep, and very picturesque. We walked up a path that fortunately runs from just past the camp site all the way up to the town. There was a chapel along the way which we had a look at, locked, and we had to stop to admire the view and take photo's a few times (i.e. very steep).
The main site is of course the church which is a site for Saint Foy (Saint Faith in English). It is a huge Romanesque building, very impressive inside. We had a good look around and admired the architecture (and enjoyed the relative cool as it is around 30 outside). We then went to the Treasury. It was a bit steep to get in 6.20 Euro, however since we are here. As it happens it is well worth it. They have an excellent collection of artifacts going back to the 7th century and two items are meant to contain fragments of the true cross. Paul was also excited to see a relic of Saint Paul, for obvious reasons. The central piece is a statue for Saint Faith which is also meant to contain some relics of her.
Somewhat exhausted we had a sit and then decided we need a drink, so we went up the stairs to the bar that just happens to face directly onto the church. Of course the prices were outrageous, 3.70 Euro for a small coke, but oh well, it was after all a good view. After a relax (I actually ate all of my ice) we went and had a look at a tapestry museum (included in the price of the treasury!) which had some good works, and then down to a chapel below the main church.
Having done all of the main touristy things we wandered around the town, went to a few junk stores, admired the town itself and took too many photo's, especially Paul. Then, we were feeling a bit exhausted, and surprisingly Paul was hungry, so we went to the patisserie in town and got some dinner. We decided on two quiches, a sausage roll French style, 4 nut cookies and 2 lovely looking desserts, also a bottle of water. Then we had to walk all the way back down the hill. Once down we decided we may as well eat straight away as the food was still chilled and it was still very hot. The quiche with leeks was really excellent, the quiche with mushrooms a bit dry, as was the left over baguette. The sausage roll was good and the cakes were every bit as delicious as we were hoping. Hmmmmmm.
We needed a bit of a walk after that so we went and had a look at the Pont Romain. We are not sure if it is Roman, it doesn't really look it to us but then what do we know? It is certainly old, so we got a couple of photo's. Surprisingly as we were walking back a mini minor drive over it and up the hill behind. We hadn't realised it was big enough for cars. I wanted to walk a bit around the area below the town, Paul did for a bit but then refused to walk any more (we had been out and about for 5 hours) so we went back to camp. We did some cleaning up and then went and sat in the playground as it was the only place with a decent seat. I pencilled in our route from today we studied the maps for tomorrow. We've decided we can't get to Albi tomorrow. It is supposed to be 34C tomorrow and it is just too hot and too far. Instead we will take a slightly more westerly route into an area where we can pretty much stop whenever we want to. It seems much more sensible to me.
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