Youngs Abroad!: ABC Tours....

Houses on main street at Narjac

Narjac Castle standing over the town

After a very lazy start to the day (we are on holiday after all!), we drove to Narjac, a village about 30 km from here. It was full of fantastic old houses with bursts of colour as the early spring flowers are starting to bloom. The village is built along a ridge with very steep, narrow streets and lots of stairs. We didi wonder how some people managed to get there cars to their houses as the spaces between the houses seemed impossibly small. At the top of the ridge was the castle with a commanding view across the valley. From the number of camp grounds dotted along the river at the bottom of the valley, it is clearly a popular place to visit in summer. We arrived at the castle 10 minutes before it closed for the French version of ‘siesta’ so hope to go back for a visit later in the week. The Brown’s did get to see it and thoroughly recommended a visit. Just wandering through the village was worth the effort of the climb. Once again we bought delicious, crusty bread for lunch back at the watermill.

This afternoon we headed about 30 km in the opposite direction, to Bruniquel castle. Once again, it is situated on the top of a ridge and overlooks the Aveyron Valley. The steep streets leading up to the castle were cobbled and the houses almost seem to tumble together down the hillside. The castle is being restored in parts, and you could image that it would look ver different if visited again in another 10 years. The smell of wisteria and lilac flowers was wonderful. We also got to say hello to a couple of friendly cats!

Temperature in the car was 41 degrees and outside 32 degrees. Very different from what we hear is happening in Dunedin. Travelled home via Caussade for the supermarket and the money machine (where does the money go).

When we arrived back we had the absolute treat of seeing an otter swimming in the pond at the water mill. Craig managed to get a couple of photos and we were so excited about actually seeing a real, liver otter, in the wild and so close. Doesn’t get much better than that!