Whirlwind Wednesday

After being "Night Owls" Tuesday evening at a dinner for ten at our French Connection friends in Prayssac, we awoke Wednesday morning to some lovely views. 

"Thank you French Connection for a lovely evening!"

                                   

Early morning views over the vineyards in Prayssac from our "French Connection" friends' home.

A visit to other friends in Belaye...a tour of the grounds, including the potager (vegetable garden)of which Mdme. I is quite proud and so she should be...it will provide a bountiful cornucopia of vegetables and herbs.

"Thank you for your hospitality Mdme. I and Msr. A."...the "Dutch Connection".

We were introduced to the new chickens who are receiving much attention and love as they had recently presented their owners with the first "golden eggs"....at least the white and brown hens.

                

Back home at "Beaucaillou" for a late lunch, followed by some container gardening.

 

                         

                       

Tonight aperitifs and lively conversation on the terrace at Domaine Gaury...

"thank you Kathleen and Yves."

Back to Dégagnac for dinner... Pizza or reservations at Les Acacias...that's easy, off to dinner at our new friends ... thank you Madame M and Msr. Guy...the "Belgian Connection".

                                                  It was a busy day!

Lots of the Lot

Today, we visited several locations in the Lot Valley and along the Lot River with our Canadian visitors and our new American friend, Melody.

Our first stop was a visit to the market in Prayssac; where a replacement basil plant was found for our herb garden.  

Lunch today was at “Le Caillau” a lovely café/restaurant set amidst a vineyard near Puy-l’Eveque.

They also conduct pottery painting classes, you pick out your piece of pottery i.e. cup, plate, teapot, etc. you paint it and then it is fired in a kiln and is ready for your pickup four days later.

The menu du jour was “Spicy sausage with cold rice salad and tomato salsa, choice of apple crumble with ice cream or cheese plate, glass of wine and coffee”.

The food was delicious and the restaurant’s ambiance was warm and inviting.

www.lecaillau.com

Next stops were a couple of vineyards.

First we visited “Clos La Coutale” where we purchased a very special corkscrew and of course a bottle of their wine.

www.coutale.com

The highlight was our next stop at “Clos Triguedina”, where we had a “degustation” tasting of several wines. This vineyard was featured in a book Graeme read several years ago and in 2007 we purchased a bottle of their Prince Probus Grand Cru 2002, which we subsequently gave as a birthday gift to our friend John in Tillsonburg. We received some interesting information about the vineyard and also met the vigneron, Jean-Luc Baldes, who advised that their wines would be sold in Ontario this year.

www.jlbaldes.com

The stained glass windows depict the making of wine in old days ...and the vineyard is now making a New Black Wine.

Puy-l’Eveque, directly on the Lot River was our next tourist stop; we viewed the old quarter from the far side of the river and then drove through the medieval town to view the river from above.

Our tour continued to the lookout point in Belaye, with panoramic views over the Lot River and the valley below.

After a very interesting drive thru some different roads we arrived in Luzech, another village directly on the Lot River. Here, we enjoyed some cool refreshments sitting in the sunshine at an outdoor café.

We arrived home in Gourdon shortly after 7PM after a busy day in the sunny Lot Valley.