Another nice morning and to visit the historic old hillside town of Rocamadour was our target this morning. We departed the site around 9.30am and drove through an ever increasing amount of hills and valleys and woods until we rounded a bend in the road and there was Rocamadour clinging to the side of the hill. We initially stopped and took some photos before driving down to the bottom of the hill where we parked. When we briefly came here last time in late July you could hardly move but today there was hardly anybody here.
They run a little 'Petit Train' from the car park up the steep hill to the town and so we hopped aboard as we were aware that there are many steps in this town and so took the easy way there. The town was built on the side of a hill to honour the Saint 'Amadour' and as it was built on a Rock nee Roc hence Rocamadour. The town is quite commercialised with many shops selling expensive leather wear, handbags and shoes etc and many more selling cheap trinkets and junk from China. Do you really need a radar controlled Cicada (grasshopper) which starts making a noise when you pass close by. There were many restaurants and cafes with fairly high prices and some of the boards with prices have tape on them which indicates to me they have a low and high season price. We walked up to the very top which we understand is about 220 steps of various shapes and sizes until we reached the Church which is split in to a number of different rooms for prayer. There was even a priest on hand to hear confessions but as we thought he could hardly spend a couple of days needed with Noel we did not bother to stop.
The scale of this town and how it was built clinging to a side of a mountain is very impressive indeed and perhaps 'Bob the Builder' could learn a lesson or two. We walked through the shopping arcade? or streets as they are called and purchased a nice ice cream to cool us down after the stiff stair climb and also bought some food for lunch. We headed back for the car and drove then to the very top and took the last couple of photos of the town and then decided to do a tour back to Gramat and then back to the site. We took some back lanes and when we came to cross the main road to Gramat there had been a terrible accident and it looks like a car had side swiped a lorry in the middle of the road and then rolled over quite a few times and then was unrecognisable as a car. There were at least six police cars, two ambulances and three fire brigade tricks there on the scene. We drove gently to Gramat for some shopping then went back to the site.
We had a pleasant dinner of special French sausages which had been cooked and allowed to cool with salad. Mr Noisy and his friends were packing up to get ready to leave on Saturday and wont it be quiet here when they have departed.
A nightcap in the bar and tried to send some flowers to Noel's nephew and his wife via Interflora and it's a little bit annoying that you go through absolutely everything and almost get to the end but if you don't have the recipients telephone number they won't accept the order. What a pain, will try again tomorrow.
They say it might rain tomorrow (whoever 'THEY' are)
NB I note that Phanfare has stopped working since receiving a software update? will try to fix soon
