Day in Villeneuve-Sur-Lot and Surrounding Countryside

We awoke about 10am. I showered, freed the little beetles that had made their home in the bathroom, and then we were off for the day.

Mr. L drove us to Villaneuve. I finally bought some hair conditioner at a very modern hair stylist place. We stepped into a newer red brick church for a moment. I lit a candle and asked for a safe voyage home for John and I. We left the church and went for coffee and crepes at Jardin de Gormand, right around the corner in the town square.

Aften coffee, we wandered by an immobilier (ie, realtor) office and I spotted a lovely castle in the window for 561.000E ($734,910USD). It's a tad out of our range, but it IS an asking price and we could easily come in at 500E and see what they make of it. John and I both took a flier of the property and stuffed them away.

We dropped off two of the three children. One child didn't feel well (too many crepes on an empty stomach?) and another went along to keep company.

Back on the road, we went to the bastide of Penne D'Angenais where Richard the Lionhearted fought his last battle. The bastide is atop a high hilltop and is covered with winding cobblestone drives and pathways. The views are stunning. Richard the Lionhearted is reportedly buried at the fort at the top of the hill there. There are very old remains of an old fort which date to 1000AD +/- 80 years (?) There's also a neat old church (maybe a cathedral...what's the difference? When is a church large enough to become a cathedral?) Underneath the church we inspected the old caves that were the original place of worship for the inhabitents of this area more than 1000 years ago. There was a statue of Mary and a stone altar.

We ran into friends of Mr. L on the way down the bastide path and stopped to chat a while with them. Afterwards we visited a tapestry store and perused their wares, and then visited a 'christmas boutique' where the village was selling locally produced goods for a benefit of some sort. I bought a bottle of local wine, and John a packet of handmade water color paper.

After our purchases, we slipped into a small coffee shop for some espresso. A local man came in carrying his abysinnian cat (lovely creature) and we oohed and ahhed over the little fur being. After finishing our caffeinated drinks we headed off to visit Roge, a horse riding school.

We then went to visit the friends of Mr. and Mrs. L that we had run to at the foot of the bastide. Their home is lovely and has an expansive view that seems to go on forever. Two unique elements to their home were, (1) their fireplace dates to Roman times and, (2) their staircase pole is carved from a single log that has been hollowed out. I didn't get pictures of either of these and am now wishing that I had. Sigh.

After our visit, we departed and stopped at a paint store briefly, then headed home where we snacked on a massive plate of cheese and crackers (yes, I popped some Sudafed that morning!) Mr. L opened a nice red to go with the cheese (1999 Chateau Les Cavailles Bergerac, Biaussat)

At 7:15PM we all piled into the car and John and I were dropped off in the town square while the L family went to dine at a friend's house. John and I had a 7:30PM reservation at:

La Gallerie
38 Bd de la Marine
47300 Villaneuve Sur Lot
Tel 05-53-71-52-12

Okay...for the menu, as always!

1/2 boutille Puisseguin St. Emilion
Chateau L'Eglise 2000 (15E for 1/2 boutille)

Green and black olives (yum!)
hors d'ouerves (meats and bread)

John's dinner:
2 eggs poached, atop bread rounds, smothered in morels and a brown gravy
Lotte kebabs in sauce w/vegetables and rice timbale
Assiette des fromages (blue brie et salade)
Tarte des pommess with glace vanille

Linda's dinner:
Tagliatelle carbonara with a egg yolk right in the center...very rich, lots of jambon
Tarte tatin with fromage blanc (which tasted like sour cream...dessert was too sweet for my palate)

We finished dinner at 10:50PM and although I suggested to John that we call for a cab right away, he thought that we should wait until we had a little walk. Well, by 11:15PM we had discovered that there were no taxi cabs to be found AT ALL at the time in the night in Villaneuve. We tried calling a cab ourselves using the taxi devise...alas, it didn't work. We also went back to the restaurant, but they had all gone home. We then found a bar and pleaded with the bartender to help us find a taxi. He called at least three taxi companies, and none answered.

Worried that we were doomed to either walk home or have to wait longer in the cold, I made off to the local police station where in my best french, I asked them to please find us a cab. On the first call they had success but at that instant, Mr L, his family, and John arrived at the front door of the Villaneuve police station TO THE RESCUE! I apologized profusely and thanked the police for their efforts...and then quickly departed. John and I were so happy to have the good fortune of Mr L driving by as he did. Whew...

So...back at the house, we stayed up for a short while chatting with Mrs L about local real estate, and with the children about how they could build their own websites. Before going to bed I promised to help the children build their own blogs. Maybe I will do this by Tuesday!