Manoir Sunday

Bit of a chill in the air this morning as I went to collect the croissants. Found an artisanale boulangerie in Montaigu de Quercy. I suspect most of them are labelled “artisanale” Missed it the first time I drove past and found myself out of the village before I knew it. Was only a small gaff. Quite pleased that the entire conversation with the woman behind the counter was conducted in French.

The annual bike and booze day was starting in Montaigu. There is a 30km route with a stop every ten clicks for wine, cheese and sausage. Also a shorter route for walkers. The road past village hall was bustling with bikers and walkers setting off on their jaunt.

An eight am start precluded participation by any of our touring party. The thirty kilometres would also have put most of us off. Everyone had the right gear.

I took the back road out of the Manoir. Just a track really. Had to lower the suspension on the defender as the hedging on either side arched quite low forming a tunnel over the track..

The walls in this place are almost a metre thick. They have fttp and a mesh wireless network so the internet connectivity is great. Our room however, thanks to the thickness of the masonry, gets practically no signal.

Later a jaunt to the Sunday market in Roqecourt. A small affair. Three of us blokes decided fairly quickly that the best way to ‘do’ the market was to sit in the cafe on the square in front of the church and leave the sheilas to it. Didn’t take long for them to latch on to the fact and join us. Cafe, cafe au lait, cappucino, Perrier, the. That was tea. Couldn’t get the accent to appear for the French word.

The market stalls were all local traders. One or two smallholders selling fruit and veg. THG bought a couple of butternut squashes to take home. The tomatoes were huge.

Now sat around the pool. There is a perfect shaded bit. This manoir is as luxurious as it gets.

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