let’s go for a walk. . .

The Roamers roam. . .on foot!

In April we made up for the lost time of winter. We rang in the month with a belated birthday dinner with Shelia (birthday girl) and Steve at le Pat’ Daniels, a fun restaurant I wrote about in March. Such a fun, entertaining, and delicious evening! On April 5 (our son’s birthday!), we joined about 400 Montpellier residents for a sing-along protesting the current U.S. administration. It was wonderful to be with so many like-minded folks, singing the old familiar protest songs–in France!

Protesting Trump

That same weekend we hosted several friends for an apéro, celebrating the gorgeous spring day and connecting two golf-loving friends. We had a couple of kiddos in the mix, and they had great fun mixing custom “NOTtails” aka mocktails.

The next week my friend Margi and I attended a live-broadcast of “La Belle au Bois Dormant.” This gorgeous Rudolph Nureyev version of “The Sleeping Beauty” was danced by two stars (“étoiles”) of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Bleuenn Battistoni and Guillaume Diopp (we’d been eager to see him especially), who danced beautifully. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMVEo4qmgq4

Phil and I also enjoyed a lovely apéro with friends Bonny and John, who treated us to custom cocktails and delicious munchies, and we also enjoyed a special carnitas taco lunch chez Dave and Sue. A special outing was, again with Dave and Sue, our trip to the garden center, where both couples possibly spent too much on gorgeous plants.

A beautiful begonia from the garden center

Phil had a worrisome event recently, where he heard his ankle pop and immediately experienced severe pain. After visiting his primary care doctor, who prescribed a brace, an ultrasound, and an X-ray, and a specialist visit, we were told that this was possibly an old injury. The description was scary: a “cut” tendon!!! But the orthopaedic surgeon thinks it might heal properly on its own, and after receiving a physical therapy referral and compression socks, Phil was given a green light for our upcoming “stroll.”

We also had a happy thing to celebrate: we received our third “titres de séjour,” our French residence cards. We had applied for them last October (French bureaucracy is a beast!) and will have to begin the process again in the fall.

My language exchange group convinced me to join them for a tour of filming sites for their favorite nighttime soap opera, “Un Si Grand Soleil,” which translates roughly as “Such a Bright Sun.” The tour, which lasted over two hours, was long, all in French, and covered a series I have only watched a couple of times–but it was fun to see the ladies so interested; in fact, they may have known more about the characters and story than our tour guide!

Visiting one of the “Un Si Grand Soleil” sites in Montpellier, where the series is filmed

One of our language exchange members, Annick, is a talented artist, and along with our friend Linda, Phil and I attended a juried show in a nearby beach town featuring some of her work. There are so many talented artists in this region!

The flier for Annick’s art show

The next day, April 19, marked the long-awaited arrival of our friends Linda and Norm, who had agreed to join us for our walking holiday in the Dordogne. We picked them up at the airport on an astonishingly windy day (Linda said the poor gentleman next to her on the plane suffered a panic attack on the landing!) and enjoyed catching up over an early dinner. Linda and I have known each other since the eighth grade, and she is a member of our “Wild Women” group of high school friends. The next day, Sunday, we hosted a brunch so they could meet a few of our close friends (Jana, martin, Sandi, Laurence, and Michael). We had a delightful time, followed by a walk through Ecusson (the medieval part of our city) and a light dinner, before finishing our packing for the Big Adventure.

Nine months earlier, Phil and I had booked a seven-day walking holiday in the Dordogne, a gorgeous region of southern France, through a company called On Foot Holidays. “If we ever want to do something like this, we should do it now,” we reasoned. On Foot arranges hotels, most meals, transports luggage, provides maps and GPS, and has a local contact for questions, advice, and emergencies. And early this year, on a phone chat, Linda remarked how wonderful the trip sounded. “Why don’t you and Norm join us?” was of course my immediate response–and they did!!! We were so excited to experience this adventure with them.

Our route through the Dordogne

We left Monday morning (Easter Monday is a holiday in France) and enjoyed a pleasant five-hour drive to our first stop, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne. Beaulieu means “beautiful place,” and it is indeed. After a quick meeting with Emily, our local contact, we strolled through the village, enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Hotel Beaulieu (neither couple was staying there; Phil and I were at the Hotel Turenne), and prepared to hit the trails the next morning.

A fountain we passed on the way out of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

The first day, billed as “relatively easy,” was supposed to take about 4.5 hours, including rests. After four hours, and barely halfway to our first destination, Port de Gagnac, we confirmed that we are in fact NOT the “middle-aged, fit” people described in the walking times! We called Emily to request a taxi the rest of the way, and while we waited I chatted with a friendly French couple who told me about their hamlet of nine people. The wife even offered to drive us to our next stop if the taxi didn’t arrive! French people are so warm, kind, and welcoming.

Linda and Norm on the trail

When we arrived at our hotel, we were relieved of our shoes! Phil and I assumed shoes were not allowed, but our stocking feet amused our dinner tablemates (lovely dinner in the hotel restaurant), who had learned that our shoes had been cleaned for us! 

The river view from our hotel window

The next day, with 7.5 hours of hiking (which would have been more like 12 hours for us!), poured rain all day, so we decided to skip the walk and take a taxi to Loubressec, our next destination. We stayed in a delightful hotel with gracious hosts, and we braved the rain for a few local strolls, including a walking tour with an art historian guide. 

Stones embedded in a tree on the square

We had a lovely dinner at the hotel: a velouté of pumpkin (I think!), followed by ribs, green beans, and a veggie purée. I’ve forgotten what we had for dessert. But the box lunch the next day was an interesting salad: quinoa on the bottom, green beans (leftovers from dinner?), mushrooms, and three big chickpea cakes on top, with a house-made vinaigrette. Delicious!

Morning view from our hotel room

The next morning at breakfast we decided to take the walk-shortening option, leaving us about 4 hours of walking. Our destination was Carrenac, a Romanesque village on the Dordogne river. We struggled on this walk: lots of scree hills, narrow paths, and nowhere to sit for a rest, except the damp ground. Despite using our walking poles, Phil fell (he wasn’t hurt!), and all of us were exhausted and rather stressed when we came to actual pavement. The solution? Call Emily! This time there was no taxi available, so Gerard, our host (with his husband Jerry) for the night, picked us up in his car. After checking in and showering, and chatting with our hosts and their two dogs, Crazy Daisy and Gizmo, and their friendly cat Oreo (all rescues, along with two bashful kitties we didn’t meet), Phil and I set out to explore the village.

Beautiful view of Carrenac from our walk in the village

Jerry and Gerard were our favorite hosts of the trip. Originally from Ireland, they had lived 20+ years in England before moving to France with their son. Jerry, a former psych nurse who worked as a “switch bitch” during his training, demonstrated his prized antique switchboard in the hotel entry, and Gerard, a professionally trained chef, made a fabulous dinner of asparagus tart, salmon risotto, and a chocolate dessert that only Phil could manage.

The next day we again opted for the route-shortening taxi, making the walk about four hours. When I say walk, I mean steep hills, scary sheer drop-offs, way too many stones to trip over, as well as some “normal” walking. This time, after a particularly stony descent that taxed us, we came upon an unoccupied house with a porch where we could sit to eat the sandwiches provided by Gerard. Refreshed, we proceeded on an easy road to our next destination, a chateau stay in Meyronne.

Signpost to Meyronne

Francoise, our hostess at the chateau, was a ball of energy, almost running up the scary circular stone staircase to our rooms. The place was gorgeous, with stone walls and river views. After enjoying an apéro on the terrace, we were escorted into the beautiful dining room for an exceptional dinner.

The Roamers and friends enjoying dinner at the chateau

This was my seabass wih carrots two ways

The next morning we crossed over the river to the next village, only to find that virtually everything was closed. We did find a Spar (chain grocery), where we loaded up on tissues, as everyone had a cold. I chatted with a friendly local in French, who was telling us about his career traveling the world, when the woman at the cash register said, “George, tu veux acheter quelque chose, ou tu veux bavarder?” Which means, “George, do you want to buy something or just talk?!” 

Pizza vending machine along the way

The next day we decided to forego the long walk and took a taxi to Rocamadour, a miraculous village hanging on a sheer cliff. We’d seen photos, but nothing could have prepared us for the sight as we rounded a bend.

Rocamadour

Steeped in religious history, this village has welcomed pilgrims to its shrine of a black Madonna for hundreds of years. We checked into our hotel and began exploring. The village is an interesting mix of religious history and crass commercialism, as well as gorgeous views and fabulous food (I may have bought fois gras, truffles, and a few other delicacies in the shops!).

La Vierge Noire, the Black Madonna, in her chapel

The next day we decided again to forego the walk, spending most of the day in Rocamadour. Phil and I decided to walk (and by walk I mean climb) to the other part of the village, which is at the same elevation as the top of Roacamadour. There, after taking photos and enjoying the sunshine, we came upon travelers with a donkey!

This donkey was very popular with the children!

Upon arrival at our final stop, Bel Castel at Le Pont de l’Ouyisse, we sat for a while, taking in the beauty of the point where the L’Ouyisse river meets the Dordogne. This hotel is luxurious and boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant–what a lovely way to end our trip! After a nap for me, Phil and I climbed to the Bel Castel, only to find that it’s privately owned and not open to visitors. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching a spectacular documentary of Nina Simone’s first European performance, before our superb dinner. 

Bel Castel, worth the climb!

The next morning after breakfast our taxi arrived to return us to our starting point in Beaulieu. We had a beautiful drive home, dropping Linda and Norm at their last-night hotel, and we returned to their hotel’s rooftop bar for a final apéro, where we toasted to friendship, adventure, and, as Linda says, carpe diem. We were sad to say goodbye, but we’ve made some wonderful, lifelong memories together.

On a final note, our handyman James was unable to do the painting and tile work he’d planned to complete during our trip, so the last day in April we had to make ourselves scarce while he worked. Fortunately, our friends Dave and Sue, who are traveling to the U.S., allowed us to hang out at their apartment, where I’m writing this. We arrived to find this note from their fur babies: “Hello Mrs. Sandy and Mr. Phil, Welcome to our home!”

Friends! We are so very grateful for all of them.