11st - Aussie pal (and Atho Lad's first cousin once removed ) Jon Outridge stayed with Paulie & Stephen. Great fun. And as Paulie discovered, a pretty good Tai Chi instructor.
2Jon's handyman skills were put to use and the lads got some jobs done.
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4Cooling down involved a pedal downstream and a quick dip
5All of which deserved a good meal and good wine
62nd - time to show Jon some highlights close to St Antonin. A visit to Chateau De Cayx near Cahors. Owned by Tasmania's Queen Mary and husband King Frederick of Denmark. Cahor is known for it's Malbec reds
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8Some purchases were made.
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12The guys then headed to a wonderful restuarant in Cahors
13Mme Chef was also an artist who created great food.
14Desert - a cheese based creation. Was great. See the menu for "Fromage Retravaillé "
15The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne is a hybrid of the Romanesque and Gothic traditions completed in 1135
16The domes Jon was looking at are actually in Byzantine style
17The 14th Century fortified Pont Valentré was built party due to tensions with England that later developed into the Hundred Year War.
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19Looking down from the hill at Cahors.
203rd - it turned out that pals that Jon went to Med School with, John and Sandy, were looking for a French house to buy. They had a few days in nearby Cordes-sur-Ceil so dropped in for lunch.
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225th - Stephen braved a cool misty morning for a ride. Paulie was riding on other routes most days.
23The team joined Storm and ended the day at a local bar.
246th - Paulie headed off on a 14km morning ride to Feneyrols.
25Later the guys took Jon to see nearby Varen.
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27And then Najac, close by where Paulie and Stephen stayed 14 years prior. That was when they first visited their current home in France in St Antonin Noble Val
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30The trio had a picnic lunch by the river in Laguépie
31protecting his share of the bread?
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33The beautiful Château Saint-Martin-Laguépie sat across the river from the picnic. It had been attacked and set to the torch by the nasty Simon de Monfort in 1212. It was trashed again during the Wars of Religion.
34After lunch, the guys headed home via the Beaulieu-en- Rouergue Abbey. Currently it's an art and performance venue as well as a historical monument. It was founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th Century.
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36The beautiful gardens. Paulie & Stephen last visited with Pal Storm the previous year.
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397th - next on the agenda was a tour of Puycelsi en route to a hunter's (Le Chasseur) dinner with pals Rosie and Robin
40The small but charning church of this bastide village.
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43Then it was off to Rosie and Robin's village of Larroque where Paulie and Stephen had spent some weeks years ago. The Chasse put on a great feed
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45It was very similar to Hunter's lunches and dinners we had attended before. Great fun and a good taste of rural French culture. There are videos of these dinners in the "AthoCinema" link from the home page.
468th - Another interesting tour- off to the prehistoric Grotte de Pech Merle (Caves of Pech Merle). These photos of the over 20,000 year old paintings photos are care of the Pech Merle website. Cameras are no longer allowed as they were on Paulie & Stephen's first visit.
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48The caves were fantastic. Too large and deep, and too dangerous to live in (there is zero light when the installed lighting is turned off). It is believed the caves were of sacred/ceremonial use.
498th - After the caves it was off for a quick visit to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie on the way home.
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5111th - We collected Jon from the train after he had spent a few nights away with his pals house hunting in Carcassonne
52Time to relax after the train trip
53The noise of workers paving the nearby Rue Droite continued. Starting in September 2025 it was due for completion July 18. Looks great - only one chap doing the paving by hand with a support team digging, mixing, delivering pavers etc.
54BUT... dumping materials against the La Cachette reed fence had caused a lot of damage
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5812th - the guys drove up to the hills to Vaour where the Templars commanderie ruins remain (established 1140)
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61Stephen walked Yolande home aftre a dinner up the newly paved (mostly) Rue Droite
6213th - time to hit the water. "AthoCinema" has a video highlight of Jon and the duo's paddle
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67Stephen abandoned ship, and after checking under water for obstacles decides whether to climb the rock.
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70Not this time.
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74The trio had dinner at the riverside cafe (guinguette) in Cazal where the kayaking ended. A quick digestive rest was required before the kayaking team collected them.
7514th - Stephen headed out for a cycle to Penne, then over a hill to Cazals and back to HQ. 29km...
76... and that hill turned out to be one heck of an incline. The aging hero just made it.
77And headed back to HQ
78For Jon's birthday the guys took him to lunch at one of the village's finer restaurants (Le Festin De Babette).
7916th - The next adventure was to the fortified town of Cordes-Sur-Ceil. It was built in 1222 by Raymond VII, the Count of Toulouse.
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82And then it was on to Albi. Their grand cathedral - Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi. 200 years in the making, it is believed to be fortress-like to warn the Cathars of the church's power.
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85Paulie & Stephen have referred to Saint Cecile as "Saint Margarete of the Migraine" given her posture and head wear.
86Whilst Jon visited the Toulouse-Lautrec gallery in the Bishops palace, the guys explored the palace gardens
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90Nearby the 11th century Church of Saint-Salvi . The original cloisters surround lovely gardens
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9217th - Jon and Stephen headed to Yolande's farm to repair a leaking copper water pipe.
93Back home for lunch.
94And then Paulie, Jon, and Stephen returned to the farm for dinner.
95Yolande's nephew, Pedro, and girlfriend shared a close moment after Pendro delivered a practice presentation on his Ancient History Master's thesis on ancient cultural & religious hybridisation in Corsica (Corse).
9618th - On Jon's last day in France, the lads enjoyed a morning coffee.
97A late afternoon departure from Blagnac.
9822nd - Stephen headed off on the Penne-Cazals-home cycle to see if he could do better than last time.
99The hill over to Cazals was still difficult, but mastered.
100Paulie's cycling was later in the day through the lovely countryside..
101The heatwave (canicule) was in full swing!
102Stephen screwed some ply offcuts together and set up the portable airconditioner/climatiseur
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105But for those without a climatiseur, abandoning nesting in hot roofs was the only option. Sophie Swift was found on the ground in the garden.
106Stpehen and Paulie had some experience- in 2019 Sally Swift lived with the duo for a few weeks whilst they rehabilitated her
10723rd - food is normally insects whilst in flight or mother's regurgitated food. A mixture of minced beef soaked in water is a substitute
108cooled off somewhat
10924th - time for flying lessons in the moring. Being mosty airborne, Swift feet are not swift on the ground.
110A nice avian toupee for thinning hair
111small flight and wing strengthening lessons
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113Nope- couldn't get high enough.
114After 3 days Sophie regained her strength. Whilst sitting in Stephen's head in the kitchen, she had the confidence to take advantage of the extra height (being one level up). She flew out the window to rejoin her pals
11525th - some deliveries by Le Poste arrived perfectly timed for Paulie & Stephen's wedding anniversary. Champagne was opened
11626th - the guys went on for a cycle up "one tree hill" (segalar)
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11827th - Paulie visited a sunflower/tournesol field on the road to Varen.
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121Stephen caught up with her 30 minutes later
12228th - On a shady ride Paulie soaked in the beauty of nature
123And the beauty of French design
12429th - a catch up with Storm and her friends Ed and Kate visiting from their London home.
125June in Adelaide involved socialising
126Can & Live kept up their early morning runs in cooler weather
