Thursday, September 10, 2015

Lunch in Lautrec

Another gorgeous day and we decide on a slightly longer route out to Lautrec.  One of "les plus beaux villages" in France.  Expectations are high as we leave our gite, since most villages in France are fairly beau.


As usual photo stops are a high priority of the day. 



My goal for the week is to take a photograph through a row of vines, with a church at the end of one of the rows.  So far this has been unsuccessful.  Either the church is off centre, or there is a building, but it is not a church.


Eventually, we realise that it is now noon and we are possibly still a couple of hours from the village, and all French restaurants stop serving lunch at 2pm.

This gives us a new impetus, and the pace increases considerably.  We also find an excellent bike path along a disused railway line.  Very flat, no traffic, nice and shady and a good surface.


When we leave the bike path we find some lovely tree lined roads en route to the village.

The ride is downhill at first, but very quickly turns into a very long climb.  It seems that most villages are built on top of a hill.


Even when we get to the village we are still climbing to get to the restaurant.


But it is well worth it, as we find a very picturesque spot



With great views



The restaurant is called Au pied du moulin


So it seems only right to visit the Moulin after lunch.



We see that there are several bicycles dotted around the village, that are being used as the planters for some of the village greenery.  No wonder we like this village so much!


As we exit the village, I decide to wait at the top of the hill until there is 100% certainty of the route that we are going to be taking.


Once again we are on some lovely tree lined roads as we leave the village


It is scorching hot today, so finding a water pump along the route is a great opportunity to replenish the water bottles and also a chance for Sally to cool off her hot dusty feet.



It has been a superb day out and we are pleased to find that at the end of the very hot day we have ridden over 50 miles (just!)

















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