Cahors / Saint Cirq Lapopie

This morning we sLept in and the spent time exploring the the Market in Cahors. While I walked around the market Khalid sat at a cafe and listening to a girl with a guitar sing what he imagined to be political protest songs because all the people at the Cafe had tattoos. I think she was just singing old Carpenters covers.

We left Cahors over the ancient bridge. It is only open to foot traffic and bikes, no cars. Today we are taking the high road to Saint Cirq Lapopie since the next day we leave along the river Lot. It was a nice relaxing ride through Oak forest with views down into the river valley every so often.

Saint Cirq Lapopie is amazing. We could hardly stop taking pictures. Basically it is an ancient town, built on the bluffs above the river Lot that has been made into a tourist area, preserved. People still live here but many have shops selling high end goods and crafts. The stuff is all made locally, high quality, but expensive. The lunch we ate was excellent (see picts) but definitely hard on the wallet. We met some guys from Michigan leading a group of kids in a middle school band. They are here to do a performance in a nearby town. The band is a mix of American kids and French kids. We saw the American kids laughing and walking through town eating pastries from the farmers market, while the French kids sat nearby looking surly and smoking cigarettes.

Despite all the tourists it is a relaxing place and the great scenery makes it well worth the stop. I am really looking forward to the ride along the river tomorrow.