13 Sep 2015 - to Find Les Chats and the Armagnac!!!

First stop was  a quaint little village called Valence sur Baise where there was a little Church and its impressive Bellevue towers. On entering we found the door to the stairs open, this of course was open invitation to climb up and to the lookout between the 2 towers, offering a magnificent view of the village and surrounding countryside.

The cloud was preventing us from seeing the high Pyrennes beyond but hey we figured we will be there tomorrow anyway.

We didn't stop here because there were places to see and people to talk to but we used it as a cross point several times during the day.  Had to take the following photo!

So here we are at the village of La Romieu, well known for its hidden and difficult to spot chats.  Also had quite a history of resistance against the Germans in WWII with its moving memorial to the victims.

 

We finally spotted one of many before lunch beckoned.  Le Cardinal made us some very impressive local dishes, a veggie special for Caroline and the Salade Gascoyne for Guy.  Delicious delicious.

 

We finally spotted all the chats and then onto Chateau Cassaigne, the home of Armagnac.  It was the first place in France where the Romans settled and planted vines.

 

 Once owned by the Bishops of Condom back in the 15th Century it became the focal point for this fine spirit and Guy got to taste 16 to 30 year old Armagnac, after aerating the sample in the glass for 5 minutes to evolve the flavours.  We bought some of their amazing wines for degustation with dinner.

 

They also had a deer herd with many beautiful little animals

 

Our return journey had to include the roads never travelled by anyone else.  We do this to avoid the highways and to discover older villages and of course the scenery is usually stunning,

First stop was Mansencombe with its non existent Marie.  An impressive abandoned building for the 15th C but also had some nice houses and a quaint Church.

 

 

 

No visit to France would be complete without spotting some fat chickens in the village of Langalere

 

 

 

We got to see another Amragnac Chateau quite close to all the other small villages but it was closed for the day.

This old fortress near the chickens was Abandonee and in need of bon renovation,

 

 

The whole area was full of birds of prey hunting for mice, pigeons and other rascals.  We got quite close to this beautiful bird

 

A fruitless search at 5pm for a hot chocolate sent us home a bit earlier than normal where we were greeted by our host Patricia with a tray of wild peaches and fresh figs.