15 November 2009 France
Off we go today, on our way towards Paris, 600 kms away. Along the way, we see many rolling green hills, brown as well as white cows and a few sheep. There is a large gypsy encampment tucked up a small side road with many of them busy tending their caravans and other assorted vehicles as well as plenty of junk lying about. 
Not far away from this encampment are numerous very attractive stone houses with nice gardens.
We are now noticing a quite different style of home in some villages, really fairytale houses, with grey and white stone walls and with lovely slate roofs. 
It is interesting to note the number of small hamlets, where a group of 4 or 5 houses are close together, possibly part of the same family. Once again, we see ruins of fortifications as high as they could possibly be on the hilltops here and there.
The French are, for the most part, careful drivers who generally obey the speed limits. There is also a little snow ahead on the high mountains as we climb from Aurillac to Clermont. 
The mountains were high enough to support ski fields one of which can be seen in the photo. Now and again we stop for a break at a large service station complete with cafeteria selling the most tempting food but we try to contain ourselves and just have a coffee (or water) and share a raspberry tart, which are a decent size. From now on we will most likely stay on the Autoroutes in order to make short work of the 300 kms we intend doing today. As time wears on, we decide it’s time to find a place to spend the night so leave the Autoroute to drive into the small town of St-Almond Montrond, not far away. However, just as we do this we notice a place called FastHotel, 
all brightly lit up and looking inviting, so we drive on in. There are no other cars here at all and the door of the “Reception” is tightly locked. We then notice a free-standing machine, not unlike that of an ATM just near the reception, where you choose your type of room, order breakfast if required, load in your credit card details and then, voila, it then drops out your numbered room key! What next – an automated motel! As I write this we are the only people here in this ‘ghost’ motel. It all seems a bit weird but the room is clean as is the toilet and separate shower room but we have SINGLE BEDS – we don’t do SINGLE BEDS!! Too bad… A typed note on the Reception door informs us that someone will come at 1830hrs, maybe to cook (?) as a restaurant area can be seen through the reception area. No-one came so we drove off into St-Almand Montrond where we enjoyed very nice food at a Brasserie. Upon returning to the motel, we found we were still the only residents but Jim didn’t seem fazed by this. I did have a few slight fears though…
At around 11.30pm a couple arrived, peered at the machine for a while and then drove off, but within about 15 minutes they had returned and eventually did move in to one of the units. Some time later we were awakened by the sound of a door closing nearby when another traveller moved in. Phew, safe at last.
Along the way, using some tiny country roads, we discovered great farming communities with the most beautiful orchards and chestnut trees everywhere! Also found here, as a commercial enterprise, were rows and rows of trees which, once matured, we later discovered, would be made into parquet flooring.
There were a few grand churches dotting the
in a cottage garden begged to be taken so we have included this here.
make life more than a little exciting as when a large truck comes thundering towards us our driver has to very carefully judge the amount of space available to avoid a truck or tree graze, or worse.
Lauzerte, in the Tarn-et-Garonne ‘departement’ of Midi Pyrennees, was our next port of call, mainly to visit the Immobilier (estate agent) there. However, we were very 
disappointed to discover that her agency was only open daily from 9am to 12noon and it was by then, 2pm! Oh well, we intended taking a good walk around the village in any case, as this is one of the most beautiful villages in France. So having parked the car outside the closed 
pizzeria, we hiked up around fifty steps or more to the very top of the village where there was a beautifully restored ancient ‘Place’, or square. Lauzerte is an historic bastide or fortified village and can trace its origins back to the signing of the village charter in 1241 by the Count of Toulouse. As a stronghold, Lauzerte governed the surrounding area up until the 18th century. It was an established stopping off point on the pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela, with many modern travellers following the same route to this day. 
We were blown away by both the age and the beauty of this village and sat sipping expresso coffees while also soaking up the architecture and history that oozes from the stone walls and gothic and renaissance windows. 
Both of us marvelled at the way the pavement was turned up at the corner as though the ‘glue’ had failed there! 
Note that on the pitched roof of the church there are countless pidgeons roosting. On many farms, pidgeon-cotes were specially built, and still remain, 
so the birds could shelter inside and the droppings collected were used as manure on the farmland.
villages and delightful vistas. If so, take a break and maybe go off and have a cup of tea or something or better still, visit your local travel agent and come and have a look for yourself! (Pam P., I know YOU 
which turned out to belong to Valerie. We all had a good sleep-in today so we must have needed it! Coffee, French bread and jam, plus eggs which we cooked for ourselves, went down a treat as eggs have been rarely on our breakfast menus. 
Said our goodbyes to Valerie and her parents, the four goats and Melissa, the Border Collie. Their Guest House is ideal for a group of travellers due to its 4 bedrooms and two bathrooms. It can be found by clicking on 
The picture was taken from the town looking to the main road at the bottom of the mountain. On the way back down a pheasant with the most amazing plumage ran out across the road right in front of us! No chance for a photo opportunity though.
Castelnaudary was a pretty little town on the Canal du Midi, and had a really nice feel to it, being compact and friendly and easy to get around. People fed the ducks on the canal and children played games and looked happy. Simone and I wandered up to the Tourist Bureau where the assistant happily gave us lists of the hotels and B & Bs in the surrounding area. The major problem when going outside of the town to locate these B & Bs is that they are rarely signposted. At the first, after asking numerous locals and going around Laurabac at least three times, there was no-one at home. Luckily, our second choice was at home and it was almost dark when we arrived. Valerie, the lady of the house, was charming, inviting the three of us into her kitchen for coffee while her father and mother turned on the heating and prepared the separate guest area for us, as they were not expecting any further guests until next summer. With the entire guest house of four bedrooms to ourselves, it was far bigger than we wanted or needed and therefore more expensive than we would normally pay for one night including breakfast, but it was comfortable and warm. Dinner was not available there, so we drove back into Castelnaudary, parked, and wrapped up in our scarves, woolly hats and warmest clothing due to the cold conditions, (I had leggings on under my jeans) went on the hunt for food! Simone’s sharp eyes soon located a nice cafe/restaurant with ambience, called Cafe Le Cassoulet, where we happily enjoyed our meals in the warmth.
ruins with the roof collapsed on the second
floor and some of the external wall gone. All covered in a tangled web in what looked like blackberries.
promptly at 8.30am and we settle into slicing up a loaf of wonderful French bread topped with butter and home-made jam. Simple but delicious. If you wanted anything other than this to eat I’m sure it could be arranged. This Bed & Breakfast/Guest House is to be found near the village of Ligardes (32480), on Tel. (33) 05 62 28 83 01. We recommend them highly and it is run by Henri and Sophie Doussau de Bazignan. Email: henri-doussau@wanadoo.fr and their website is 
Jean-Batiste (JB) speaks excellent English and is happy to chat with you. We had a lovely walk around the property and 
noticed a tennis court as well as two swimming pools (covered over) as it’s now too cold to swim. It was delightful to see several squirrels playing amongst the fallen leaves under the trees. The owners also keep a number of fat, black hens and roosters, and a small vegetable garden.
it has an outstanding cathedral, a great village atmosphere, 
and cozy bars and restaurants. We had a superb Plat du Jour for lunch at the Rouge Kiwi (can you believe that?) and upon asking we found out that the name came from a reddish-skinned kiwi fruit that the owners saw in Holland!
numerous times, up and down all the narrow alleys searching for it. Suddenly, as we drive through the Grande Rue, there it is – along with a Michelin grading beside its sign, “
The proprietors here are probably the nicest people you could ever come across. Alain and Gisele Eman at Grande Rue, 32310 Saint-Puy, France – both speak French and great English and he is a real character, cracking jokes all the timeso that we fell about laughing! They gave us a nice room with a view of the church from the bathroom window. Gisele told us that in fine weather 
there is a superb view of the Pyrenees mountains, which are already well covered with snow. We will probably stay two nights if it’s possible. A small cafe/bar restaurant 50 metres away served us a simple dinner that night and it was interesting to see that a small dog was allowed to be present with its owners inside the restaurant under the table. We were told that many restaurants allow this to happen.
Two Adventurers 
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