I was not wrong about the road, but Grace and her assistant, Joe, kept us on track as we made our way through the mountain villages. When we reached Montvallent, there before us as I turned the curve, was a large vehicle selling local produce. Since we had arrived in France, my craving for French cheese had been steadily growing. Certainly the Department of Lot was the place to begin munching my way through our trip. I was remembering the summer after my sophomore year when I went home after two months with quite a few extra pounds on me. When my parents picked me up at the airport, my mother asked me if I had the mumps!
So, needless to say, I quickly parked just in front of the monument below.
In addition to three different artisanal goat cheeses, I also purchased some delicious almond cookies. I was on my way to another case of the mumps. Of course we bought some of the pain de campagne at the left of the picture. The vendor's ruddy checks reminded me of a wedding I had attended years ago as I was hitchhiking my way through France. Those were the days, as they say. I had hitched a ride with an American from New York City who had just finished his BA in Art History. We stopped at a little cafe in the middle of nowhere to buy some water and we were invited to join the wedding party. I remember they did a local broom dance where the bride and groom jumped over a broom and then all the guests joined in the fun. Everyone was very welcoming to us and it was certainly a highlight of that summer trip so long ago.
To get an idea of the climate here, check out the banana tree in the next picture. It gets cold here in the winter, but never too cold to have tropical plants outside. I'm not sure, but I suppose that the trees just don't produce bananas, but neither do they perish.
Tile roofs are used in many parts of France.
From this lovely little mountain town, one can look down into the valley.
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