La Grande Randonnee - Day 3 - Afternoon - Mauzac - Tremolat

Our afternoon wandered up and down hills, through oak woods and corn fields. Even though this was the shortest day (allowing for measurement errors and accidental detours), we were very grateful to arrive in Tremolat and find our hotel - Le Vieux Logis.

The hotel garden

This beautiful hotel is reputed to be one of the best in the Dordogne - we don't disagree. The only disappointment was that the hotel staff all spoke excellent English and wouldn't let us practise our French.
Our luggage had been magically transported from Lalinde and was waiting for us in our beautiful attic room. L'Occitane bath products, fluffy bathrobes, foot ointment and clean clothes later, it was time for drinks on the terrace. After a glass of Bergerac Sec by the stream, we were ready for dinner.
Based on our last two dinners, our expectations were for good, but modest food. It was something of a surprise to be handed an 8 course tasting menu. The food was extraordinary, matched by superb wines. The middle courses are something of a blur, but I remember a few things like three little cubes of foie gras pate with different fruit jellies on top, foie gras creme caramel on the side and strict instructions for eating order. For the responsible people out there horrified that anyone could eat foie gras - it was the only time, I swear, it was a tiny amount, the goose was happy, and I had to know what the fuss was about. Then there was a perfectly grilled sea bass with a seaweed-scented foam, a tender magret de canard and, the CHEESE...
The waiter brought an enormous platter of cheese to the table - there must have been at least 15 different sheep, goat and cow cheeses on offer. I managed to restrain myself and not try all 15, but it was a challenge. This was followed by 3 different desserts. We barely made it up the stairs to bed.

Our room

La Grande Randonnee - Day 3 - Morning - Lalinde - Mauzac

well, this was it, the start of our walk. We jumped out of bed (only slightly slowed by last night's cheese), ready to throw open the shutters and greet the French sunshine.
It was raining (of course).This was the moment that I realised that despite having brought 3 raincoats, a rain poncho and two umbrellas to London, I had carried none of them across the Channel.
Oh well, we had just enough time before our taxi arrived to find a sports store, remedy the deficit and buy a map.

Our taxi arrived just in time, driven by a charming lady who I swear was either wearing an original Chanel suit, or a very good imitation. She explained that she was only driving the taxi for the day, but didn't explain further. We chatted happily in somewhat broken French on the 45 minute drive to Lalinde.

We arrived under the dripping plane trees of the town square and pulled out our maps and guides to work out where to go. First items on the agenda - find something for lunch and a public toilet.

Finding a public toilet was fairly easy. Finding a public toilet that was actually tolerable took a bit longer. Fortunately the robo-toilet has made it to the Dordogne, and we found one a few metres from where we left the taxi after wandering disconsolately around in the rain for a while.
Lunch was even easier - cheese! We were bludgeoned into submission by two charming cheese vendors who persuaded us to buy 30€ worth of sheep cheese. It was delicious, and lasted us several days, but every now and again as we walked, I would hear a snort from behind and a muttered "30€ for cheese!".
We finally found our way onto the trail, and spent the rest of the morning walking along a canal toward Mauzac.

This was the first and last flat stretch of ground in the whole walk - obviously planned to lull us into false confidence.

Mauzac's main attractions were a small hydro power station and a nautical club. We bought bread and tomatoes to go with our cheese, and clambered up the hill on the outside of town to find a lunch spot.The hill was only memorable for a brief sighting of a red squirrel, but the picnic table in a grassy hollow at the top of the hill was a perfect lunch spot.
Next post - the afternoon...

La Grande Randonnee - Day 2 - Bergerac

From 2008-09-17 M8_bergerac

According to Wikipedia, the medieval town of Bergerac had nothing to do with Cyrano de Bergerac. However this has not stopped the local residents from putting up a statue to the famous Cyrano in the town square.
We arrived mid-afternoon after taking the lunchtime train from Bordeaux.
Once you drag your suitcase out of the railway station and along the dog poo-strewn streets to your hotel, dump everything and wander out, Bergerac turns into a beautiful mediaeval town.
Our hotel was pleasant if unremarkable. The tour guide for our walk, Jean Paul, arrived about 6:00pm to give us a briefing. He insisted in going through the itinerary and the maps for all 6 days - pointing out those features that were very nice, those that were dangerous (but not too dangerous), and the various chateaux that we must be sure to see along the way. There seemed to be rather a lot of them...
I must admit my eyes glazed over about day four and chateau seven - that may explain the number of times we had to stop to check the map as time went on. The itinerary generally followed grande-randonnee #6 from Lalinde to Sarlat - it soon became obvious the first purchase of the morning would have to be a proper map.
After much friendly conversation and effusive best wishes, Jean Paul took his leave - not before selecting our restaurant for dinner for us. Fortunately the restaurant, Le Saint Jacques , was excellent. It was run by a cheerful Dutch family, who had a lot of fun seeing who could make jokes in the most languages. This evening, unfortunately, was also the start of a gluttonous week of cheese and cholesterol which we are still trying to overcome with soy milk and clean living.
Tomorrow, the start of our walk...