Paris to Fumel

I arrived in Paris Montparnasse around 8pm on Wednesday night.. two bags in tow and took a taxi to my friends in Clichy! A cool beer and a yummy salad and hit sack by 11pm..to wake to torrential rain…with no shoe or clothes change for the return journey…after a walk to the supermarket, shoes, socks and jeans saturated….gave up on the idea of getting back to Montparnasse by metro and took a taxi there for the return journey! The train station is huge – 14 long haul platforms to choose from…a red shirted controller pointed me in the right direction and I waited for 30 minutes hoping I was in the right place as the platform finally came up on the board!!! Found my carriage (18 of 20) and got in my seat…wet feet, and yesterday’s clothes! Not daring to move and get lost in this unfamiliar world! We left on time for the 4 hour journey to Agen, where I had 15 minutes to find my small train home to Fumel! Somewhere along the way we lost 8 minutes and my transfer became 7 minutes – from my carriage at the far end of the platform to another platform!!! Running I dropped into my last seat with 4 minutes to spare! Finally arriving back at the hotel around 6pm! Where we were booked into the local pizza restaurant for dinner…

At last enjoying the slower pace of our country village…devouring three huge pizzas between us and washed down with wine and beer…

Home and bed….and then after my wet day my cough kicked back in so had a rather restless night…

Today we took a trip to Cahors, the closest large town east from here on the Lot river…through the small villages on the other side of the river, stopping in Luzech for our morning coffee!

After which we took a wander through the streets back to the car…

Every town has an impressive church…this one surrounded by an even larger cemetery….

And bridges zigzagging across the Lot river…then on to Cahors for lunch…heading for the Pukeko cafe(run by a kiwi)…

Only to find it closed for lunch on a Friday…the lunch window again midday until 2pm! Cafes open, shops closed. We found another one nearer the river and had our main meal for the day….

After almost getting run over we crossed to the riverside….

Where there didn’t appear to be a lock for riverboats…

But still sporting impressive bridges….rain threatening we wandered through the town…

Perusing the shops that had now reopened after the midday to 2pm lunch closure…

Cobbled streets and colourful chairs…

Another church…

Massive doors and tiny Trudi…

The tourist train….full of visitors

And a very ugly statue welcoming those to the church….the gothic style of the area in full force!

As Roland had to work this evening, we headed back (the hours drive) around 3.30pm…by which time the humidity (after a chilly day) had set in for the impending rain, which duly arrived around 5pm….its an early night for the wanderers and possibly a quiet day tomorrow as the weather gods are promising a wet Saturday!