This is one of those days when the drive is the focus. Today I had the pleasure of a quiet cross country drive from Ciboure/Saint Jean de Luz to Cahors. The route was mainly on departmental roads. It started with a Sunday morning run through the highly populated corner of France through the outskirts of Biarritz to a charging station in Bayonne by the river Adour. Next was a run through the forests of Les Landes and Gascony before heading out into the agricultural broad valleys growing various fruits and some vines before climbing over the hills through some of Cahors vineyards and dropping down to the Hotel Restaurant le Chartreuse, a Logis, on the banks of the river Lot. This is my third visit here and after my initial experience I have adjusted routes to ensure return visits. It also was potentially convenient to visit family tomorrow on my way north but, as often happens, the days don’t fit as they are off to Scotland tomorrow! There were no specific intermediate stops except at Agen for a top up with charge and a cold non-alcoholic beer. The towns were a who’s who of French rugby, Agen itself, Dax and Biarritz. I did pop into a little village called Durance which looked interesting and stopped to admire the views a couple of times. The highlight, apart from dinner on the terrace, was time for an afternoon walk along the river to the Pont Valentre. Since I first saw it in the 1990s it was on my list to return and this is now my third recent visit. It is one of the great bridges of Europe, for sure. It is a gentle couple of miles round trip from the hotel and there has been one major improvement since my last visit. The road on my side of the river which was crazy, fast traffic in both directions, narrow and no footpath, is now closed to cars. Result! It was warm but not hot so a very pleasant way to round of the afternoon after sitting down for a few hours and to ensure an appetite for dinner.  I have started with a few Cahors images and then captioned some road pictures.

For orientation there is an outline map is here.

My hotel

My view after dinner

Bayonne by the Adour

Of course it is Sunday

Durance

An attempt to get drivers to slow down. These plastic children are quite common.

Castelsargat

Not Sure Where

A Cahors vineyard