Le Puy en Velay to Sarlat

This was a big day on the road. We left Le Puy just after nine am (after a tense and testing 15 minutes as Michael got the car out of the car park - where it was wedged between a big black mercedes and the wall!) and didn't arrive at our hotel until 7pm.

We knew it was going to be a day driving on winding roads through the mountains - but we weren't anticipating a detour due to road works - that sent us on 60 kilometres of winding roads, accompanied by trucks roaring along in the opposite direction when making our way through narrow village streets.

It was all very picturesque though, and it meant we made a visit to a lovely little village (Allanche) where we bought some apricot slice from a stall - big slabs of it for one euro/slice - she insisted on us tasting a great chunk each first - so we hardly needed to buy any anyway! We had a coffee in a beautiful restaurant - the cleanest, most decorated toilets you could imagine (dried flowers, pictures, statues all fighting for space!)

On again for hours driving through the most beautiful hills, pastures, woods - as well as the occasional startling bridge over a ravine or a tunnel though a mountain. We had our picnic lunch just outside some town - remarkable for having 2 donkeys in the yard of the house next to the picnic spot. Michael and I wandered over to look at them while we ate our rolls - they came over to us expecting to be fed, and stamped their hind legs in rage (in true donkey fashion) until I gave them some bread.

We stopped at the "Gouffre de Padirac" because I had a vague memory that this was a famous spot. We paid our 9 euros each, not knowing what was going to happen - and found ourselves descending into the bowels on the earth into the most amazing cave - with a river and a lake in it, soaring ceilings, 60 metre stalagmites etc. We were taken on boats through the underground caverns, then on a series of stairways through the amazing twisting caves. Incroyable!

It was after 7pm when we arrived at the hotel, so we had a quick rest, then set off for a meal of omelettes - everyone but me had then with the local "cepe" mushrooms. With the omelette was a bit of tired salad and some greasy potatoe dish - our first disappointing meal of the trip. A bit of a stroll through the ancient streets of Sarlat, then collapsed into bed.