Touring and gardening, gardening and touring.

What an eventful few days it has been! I have hardly had any time or energy to update, but here it is, finally...

Thursday evening, our guests arrived, two ladies from Canton, Ohio. Since they got in around 8pm, Rosalie and I took them to a small restaurant nearby for dinner. We had a nice time chatting with them, and I enjoyed a very delicious lamb burger.

Bonaguil castle, seen from the town below

Friday, I came along as William took them on a tour of the area, showing them the bike routes so they could get an idea of whether or not they might want to bring bike trips here in the future. This really is a great region for biking, as there are a lot of paths to choose from, ranging from very easy to tough uphill climbs. And then there's the scenery: quaint little towns, vineyards, castles and the like. We stopped to visit one such castle, Bonaguil, which means "good needle," as it sits on a sharp peak, literally a "needle" of rock. It was so cool! William is an excellent tour guide, having done the castle many times. He explained how it was the pinnacle of medieval military engineering, so impregnable in its design that nobody ever succeeded in taking it. In fact, nobody even tried. Coolest part of the castle? The natural cave that served as an underground secret passageway. Yeah.

Yeah. How cool is that.

When we arrived back at the Baran that afternoon, Rosalie was already busy in the kitchen for the girls' welcome dinner. We started the evening with aperatifs, ranging from passionfruit and plum liqueurs to kir and wine. They made me try truffle liqueur, if you can believe it. It was odd, but not too bad. Dinner consisted of duck confit (duck legs and thighs cooked in their own fat), stewed apples, broccoli and pommes dauphinoises (essentially scalloped potatoes). Though I think the girls enjoyed seeing the sights, I'm not sure they liked the meal. Neither had ever eaten duck before, one had never traveled out of the country, and they just seemed like France didn't agree with them very well. But it isn't for everyone, I suppose

Poor St. Sernin...what a way to go.

Saturday was my big day trip to Toulouse. I got up at 6am to make an 8am train in Cahors which was an hour late (of course). I got into Toulouse around 11am and started off in the Place du Capitole, the main square. My next stop was the basilica of St. Sernin, named for a 2nd century saint who was martyred by being dragged out of the city by a bull. A very interesting building, but I was more drawn to the antique market surrounding it. I wandered through a hodge-podge of every old knick-knack you can imagine, eventually stopping to buy two beautiful colored glass bowls and a neat vase. I chatted with the vendors as well, who were very nice and most interested in talking to a young American girl like myself, for reasons unknown...


I stopped to visit many of the city's most famous landmarks, including the Cathedral St. Etienne, which was the craziest mis-matched church I've ever seen: it has parts from several different centuries, all in different styles. I've never seen anything like it. After that, I stopped for lunch at a family restaurant called A La Truffe de Quercy, run by a lovely older couple. I enjoyed a lovely, simple meal and had a great time talking with Monsieur, a very lively old fellow who told me all about the charms of his city, how his restaurant was the oldest in Toulouse, and asked me to take me back to America with him.

After lunch, I stopped at a couple more landmarks and then crossed the Garonne river to the left bank, hoping to visit Les Abattoirs, a modern art museum housed inside an old slaughterhouse, but alas, it was closed for construction. So I crossed back over the river to walk alongside the Canal du Midi, the oldest canal in Europe that is still in use. I took a moment to sit by the water, then made my way back towards the center of town. I stopped for an Orangina and to watch a street performer, and even went inside a shop that claimed to sell "American" products: their stock consisted of Chuck Taylors and cowboy boots.

My day of touring done, I hopped on a shuttle to the airport to hitch a ride home with Sharon, who was picking up a friend. But, as her friend's flight was delayed, we ended up sitting and chatting in the airport for a couple of hours. She's easy to talk to. At one point, we were approached by a very old man in traditional Moroccan dress who, after much rambling, made it clear that he wanted us to watch his bags while he went to the bathroom. On one hand, I have myself approached strangers many times with the same request. On the other hand, airport security always warns you not to accept anything from a stranger. But we couldn't refuse. So while he toddled off to "faire pipi," Sharon and I sat somewhat anxiously, dreading something sinister in the bags. Fortunately, our fears were unfounded. The old man came back and chatted with us for awhile about nothing in particular, then took himself and his baggage in search of his ride. He was really very sweet, if not a tad senile.

Yesterday was full of garden work--the kind that is monotonous and not outwardly complicated but that requires me to sit cross-legged bending over a bed cutting down iris stalks and pulling out dead leaves. For roughly four hours in 90 degree heat. I actually jumped in the pool a couple of times to cool off. I finished off the last of the irises this morning with great relief, as it was one of the least fun garden chores I have ever done. Then again, I never did have much of a green thumb.

After two solid days of yard work, all three of us were ready for a break. We were joined by Sharon and her friend for pizza in Puy L'Eveque, which was thin-crust and loaded with very French toppings (things like duck, eggplant and goat cheese). Then we went to the Prayssac cinema to see Dark Shadows in English with French subtitles. It was pretty cute, I must say.

Tomorrow afternoon we will have a couple arriving from Cincinnati, so we'll spend the day prepping everything for them. Just another day in the life here at the B&B!