Les Tours de Merle

 

Les Tours de Merle are the ruins of a feudal fortress in the Corrèze.  In the XIVth century, Merle included seven "maisons fortes" (fortified mansions), two chapels and a village, owned by seven noblemen from Merle.  These constituted a "castrum" (fortified camp).

 

When danger was afoot, these seven noblemen and their entourage would take refuge in the towers, one for each of them.

The fortress was abandoned by those who preferred to live in places that were more pleasant and certainly more accessible.  Today it takes 1.5 hours to take the shortest of the hiking trails to this site.

Please enjoy the following photo gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Driving back home.





Hello there.  Come to say hello, have you?

 

Your neighbours the horses with a brand new little colt.

Time to stop at "L'Auberge des Gabariers" in Argentat for a great lunch.  A gabarier is a sailor on a barge.

 

Meet Pascal Jacquinot, hotelier and chef.  Notice the moustache resemblance to the brand of the restaurant?  His is the real deal.

 

Karl and I ate the same thing, so easy to describe.  We started with a seafood terrine topped with small shrimp that was SO light and tasty.  Served with this fantastic spicy red salsa.  So good, we never touched the tartar sauce.

Then came the fillet of sandre (perch) on a bed of noodles covered with parsley.  Very light.  The fish was cooked perfectly and didn't have too many bones.  A few to watch out for...

 

About 35 degrees Centigrade today.  It's actually very tolerable since the main heat of the day is in the early afternoon.  Mornings and evenings are cooler and we feel very comfortable.

Yummy dessert!  Vanilla ice-cream in the bottom of the sundae glass, then a layer of very fresh strawberries, topped with Chantilly (whipped cream).  A "langue de chat" cookie wedged in the cream.

Karl ended with a café crème.  I don't know if he's ever skipped that at a meal.

This little boy had me in stitches.  He modeled his hat, his sunglasses, and eventually his father's hat.  Then he told me that it wasn't his father, but his step-father whose name was Samuel.  When I asked him what his name was, he said he wasn't going to tell me.  Can you see the mischief in his eyes?  He was so cute that I gave him a Canadian flag pin. 

Some of the shots I took while Karl went to fetch the car.  I stayed behind, too full and too lazy to climb any stairs.  My chauffeur arrived right at the quay to pick me up.

 

 

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