Friday, July 29, 2022

Carennac

And finally, for July 2nd, further on the way toward Limoges, le plus beau village de Carennac...

En route to Carennac, yet another chateau and bastide in the
valley

Entering Carennac

In the banana belt of France

We took this first to be a remnant of the old wall;
but it turned out to be one end of a very narrow
building

Thus; three floors, three entrances...narrowest we've seen

And, of course, the church, with a nice Christ in Majesty tympanum
from 1150 at the entrance

Helpful background information

Pretty thoroughly Romanesque, with all the Romanesque things
we have come to like, the sculptured capitals, the remnants of
centuries-old paint...









More of the rest of town



Fair-weather Turenne; we'd vowed to return, and got this close,
but the hour was late...and we'd already seen four beautiful
villages...and we were due in Limoges...maybe next time or next
life...


Laubressac

Next up, now on the way to Limoges and an overnight stay there, was Laubressac. 

Terrain en route...always a chateau or another bastide in view

Helpful overview

History; and in English, too

Always of primary interest, the church: generally
the oldest and best preserved thing in any village;
known architecture and contents; always open; free...

Not in English too, but Google Lens can take care of this for us

One of the more interesting color schemes we've encountered

Our quest for the Golden Loincloth is at an end...


13th century...would suggest some Romanesque, some Gothic;
and one of the more modest pulpits
Elsewhere, towers...
Ditto






























































Up closer





Toit en tole chaude...? but no cat
Hydrangeas love it here

Must remember to place hands on hips
when affecting the Henry VIII/Holbein
pose...

Autoire

Not far from Rocamadour, nestled in a beautiful limestone canyon, is Autoire, another of les plus beaux villages de France. BTW, if you're traveling in France, this organization--the most beautiful villages in France--is well worth knowing. In addition to the website, there is a useful guidebook, in both French and English editions. And there is a large Michelin map of France that shows all the beaux villages; especially useful for planning. We recommend.




Interesting faux window










Thursday, July 28, 2022

Rocamadour

From Toulouse we headed back north, aiming to knock off a few more beautiful villages before a visit to our favorite cathedral, Bourges, and then a date with United Airlines at CDG on July 5th. The first of the villages, on a day of four, was Rocamadour. It was July 2nd.

Granted, Rocamadour is not just a pretty little village, though it is a member of les plus beaux villages association. It is a castle, then lower down, a monastery, chapels and such (the cite religieuse), and still lower, a village (sort of, maybe, once; now a "Medieval" strip shopping mall), all perched, dramatically, on the side of a cliff above the Alzou. If one is a French-type personne, it is a site one does not miss. The setting is indeed dramatic. The Christian religious site goes back well into the Middle Ages and is on the Camino, and Rocamadour's relics have attracted visitors no less than Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (Kathryn Hepburn), Vita Sackville-West, and Jacques Cartier. Said relics include some molecules of the bones of St. Amadour, the Black Virgin statue, the sword of Roland, and the Maltese Falcon. Also the Holy Grail. Henry and Eleanor were most likely inspecting their south-of-France properties, reinforcing their claims, and popped in for a plenary dispensation or two. After the Middle Ages, Rocamadour was sacked and pillaged and burned numerous times, especially during the Wars of Religion and the Revolution, when the sans-culottes took special pleasure in digging up the saint's bones, burning them, and spreading the ashes to the winds (what his "dying wishes might well have been..."). We visited back in 1989, and were duly impressed, although, sadly, no pix survive from that occasion.

Rocamadour: castle on top, religious city in the middle, village
at the bottom; almost like the three estates, one might think...
nobility, clergy, the rest

Vicki climbing the stairs from the valley (parking lot)
up to the Medieval village

Top of the stairs...Medieval bubble waffles and bubble tea!

In the Medieval village, glancing apprehensively
to the realms above

So high up

So high even the tourist train doesn't go there

Gothic gate

Street scene

Looking up to the monastery and castle...

The stairs leading thereto (first switchback)

Research revealed there was an ascenseur up to the monastery
level, for a price; for the same price, we opted instead for a bottle
of cider and some crepes and salade; we have already earned
our plenary dispensations