It was really quite warm this morning when we first awoke and the sun was beaming down from above etc etc etc.
Following a good and early breakfast, for us anyway, we headed off to a town called Gourdon which apart from being an interesting town also has a number of good supermarkets. As we left the site the car external temperature was already sho
wing 31 degrees centigrade and so we took a route through a number of small towns and there are some beautiful views which can never be fully replicated by photos. We arrived in Gourdon around 1030 and parked the car in the full sun, as there was no shade where in the car park, and then walked in to town. We immediately came across the Post office as this was most convenient as noel had to urgent letters to go. In the PO they have a machine which allows visitors the choice of six European Languages to choose the service and weigh your envelope or package and issue a stamp. In England we have a local Indian man who does it for you?
We w
alked along the ramparts and overlooked the valley and also the local cemetery which also looked over the valley and then we turned in to the old town and up a steep and narrow road past old houses built hundred or years ago until we came to the centre where the Church was located. The Church was a beautiful old building and of course being built of local stone with very thick walls the temperature difference between inside and out must be around twelve degrees centigrade. The stained glass windows with the sun shining outside were quite stunning and needless to say the inside of the building had really been looked after. We continued our walk the old town and found a further series of uneven steps and a pathway which took you even higher so that you could totally overlook the town in each direction. In the centre of this open space was an engraved map showing the boundary line between The Lot and also the Dordogne and so you could stand with one leg in the ' Lot Department' and the other leg in the 'Dordogne Department'. Underneath where we were standing was the sound of continuous running water and we decided it must be the water storage for the old town with the water pumped up the hill to the top and then gravity takes over.
By now it was about twelve thirty and we found a rather nice little cafe with plenty of locals in abundance and so Noel had a pizza and Jennifer had an omelette and the food was really very good indeed and we may return here another time. The Carrefour supermarket was down the road and so a little shopping to cover the next few days and we headed home and by this time the temperature had reached 34 degrees. We spent about an hour by the pool to cool off and then a nice shower.
Tonight we had Salad Nicoise before heading off to the Chateau patio to do some emails and Blogs etc. There weren't so many people here tonight but as it was still very warm we waited for it to cool down, about two van rouge's worth, before heading back to the caravan at about 11.30 pm. Let's hope it is a bit cooler tomorrow whilst rain is promised for Saturday.
