Europe 2014

Vers, 4-5 June

		Leaving Brantôme, we paused in the village of La Douze to look at the attractive little church. *
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		Then on our way again, under overhanging rocks. *
		We had planned a stop at the Château de Marqueyssac, spread out on a ridge high above the Dordogne valley. †
		The view included Baynac, with its château ... *
		and the château at Castlenaud. †
		After waiting in the well-stocked gift shop for 20 minutes while a fierce storm went over, we could go into the grounds. Only a few rooms are open in the actual castle. *
		There were peacocks wandering around near the castle. *
		The attraction here is the garden. There are some roses in the terrace near the castle ... *
		but the real attraction is the extensive area of clipped box bushes. *
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		Then to the village of La Roque Gageac to look for lunch. *
		It was pleasant enough, but almost wholly devoted to tourism. *
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		After, we went along minor roads to reach Vers. *
		Vers is a tiny village on the banks of the Vers River at its junction with the Lot. *
		There is some nice scenery down by the rivers. *
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		This was an old house by the Vers river, with parts from many different ages, and now looking a little precarious. *
		We stayed in Vers as a base for visiting Cahors, as we could not find a hotel we liked in that town. We first visited Cahors Cathedral. *
		There was some interesting stained glass, some old ... †
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		and some new. *
		We enjoy visiting church cloisters. *
		Then, of course, a visit to the covered market .*
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		Then off to find the Valentre bridge, said to be the most photographed bridge in France. †
		It is certainly impressive, although hard to photograph from close up. †
		This panoramic shot cut off one of the towers. *
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		We again got distracted by lunch under the trees. *
		Lynn gets fascinated by the lines drawn in the sky by aircraft over Europe. *
		On the way back to Vers, we stopped at the lonely church of Notre Dame de Velles, sitting by itself next to the Lot. †
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After another good meal at our hotel, the next morning we moved off to Albi.