Rocamadour a bit disappointing; very touristy and not nearly as historical-looking as on the Web.

From this there is a lesson to be learned — one hard to understand if you haven't first looked at photographs of places on the Web, and afterwards visited them ... The lesson is: there's very little correlation between photographs of unknown places and what your eye actually sees once you're there !

Many kitsch shops in the top part. Having once considered staying there, I’m greatly relieved that we aren’t. However, the sun pops out so that CS can get some shots of the famous cliff-face, so mebbe one of the gods likes it. And once more CS disagrees with me about a place; he thinks Rocamadour is pretty marvellous. Just goes to show; you can’t believe everything you read ! :-)

We take a photo on a long lens of a marvellous-looking château, which, when eventually found, turns out to be a hotel — so exclusive that the only sign it has carries just its name. It is the Château de Roumégouse, and a very fine place for very fine people who don’t need to ask how much the tariff might be…

Shortly thereafter, we have our first experience of being buzzed by a group of French jets; well … perhaps not actually buzzed, but they sure fly low down that part of the country ! After that, we see them every day — usually just before le déjeuner, if we need a reminder …

Memory: lunching in a mas restaurant on this intermittently wet day, consuming with enormous relish a local speciality, aligot (mashed potato creamed with soft cheese), served with barbecued saucisse and enough green salad to stop a hungry rabbit in its tracks … by a fire …

We drive up the N140 and find Martel; little knowing that we’ll be passing through it on several occasions, we park and go wandering. It’s shut, owing to the time being not yet 2:30pm, but it is lovely. This is a town to stay in, I promise !

Cruise back along the D803 to Bétaille and across the mighty Dordogne back to Carennac. Now is the time to confess: we’ve discovered that France’s late afternoon TV consists largely of quiz/game shows, and we’ve found a trio that succeed one another and are all entertaining, in various ways. First we watch “Chiffres et Lettres”, then “Tout Vu et Tout Lu”, and finally, it is to be admitted, “Le Big Dil” of Vincent Lagaf’.

Of the three, I would just love to get a local version of Stéphane Thébaud’s “Tout Vu et Tout Lu” up, here in Oz; but unfortunately there are very few people around to be called upon as contestants who would be sufficiently well versed in current affairs.   :-\   As for “Chiffres et Lettres” — I doubt even one show could be mounted, in terms of the literacy and numeracy required. And “Le Big Dil” requires a frontman with the personality of Lagaf’; like him or loathe him (and his coloured jumpsuits), he’s got a truckload of it … whereas there’s absolutely no-one who could carry such a show, here. (I readily acknowledge that these shows could be repeats, for all I know, and æons old; but it’s of no consequence to what I'm saying.)