Off to Cordes-Sur-Ciel to meet up with Keith and Sue for the evening

---

First thing to do today. Trudge up to reception to see if I can use the extortionately expensive wifi I have paid for. No. Not working. Complained to reception that if they charge so much they should make sure it works. Point taken, but, no refund offered for my unused €4 worth of time. Otherwise excellent campsite downgraded in my personal records by 1 point.

Second thing – look in astonishment at the massacre which has taken place in the field at the bottom of the campsite (the combine harvester carried on working well after dark had fallen). Those lovely sunflowers, albeit with yellow petals nearly all gone and seeds just ripe for the birds and the picking, have all been Decapitated. All that is left is a field full of tall stalks.

Next thing to do, pack up Tandy and set off for a really beautiful drive due west, across Gascony and to the Tarn region.

The Gascony, first half of the drive, took us through rolling fields full of sunflower stalks and fields newly ploughed. Most sunflowers in the area seem to have been harvested. We think this is probably earlier than previous years as we’ve never seen them any sunflowers killing fields before ! Some lovely scenery in this golden countryside and the occasional pretty village to drive through often with a small castle appearing out of nowhere then vanishing over the brow of the next hill.

The countryside round here is so neat and tidy, not a blade of grass out of place nor a piece of litter to be found and the newly harvested and ploughed fields are pristine in appearance. Let nobody ever suggest to me that French farmers don’t work hard. This area is proof that they work their little cotton socks off from dawn to dusk (or at least their tractors and combine harvesters do).

Then an area of transition from the drier Gascony fields to the greener Tarn. Still rolling hills but steeper and still field after field of crops, sunflowers, still proudly sporting their yellow heads here, lots of golden grain and more and more neat rows of vines laden with black grapes.

The route took us only along mainly minor roads, bypassing all bigger towns so we skirted round Mountauben – not sure if we have been through there before. We spotted several bastide towns perched high on hill tops. We admired Puycelsi which dominates the landscape from atop a limestone rock but didn’t stop to visit. We saw signs to Albi and couldn’t remember if we had ever visited there. A quick check on our trip records, later, shows we drove through in October 2007 en route for Cordes-Sur-Ciel (!) and made a note then that it looked well worth a proper visit next time we were in the area. Not sure that is going to happen this time.

Our campsite, Camp Redon is 5 kms away from Cordes-sur-Ciel and a lovely friendly site with panoramic views across the fields though Cordes itself is not in sight. We booked 2 pitches as we were awaiting the arrival of Keith and Sue Wilding, our friends from Xerox days. I took the opportunity to use the lovely pool, as, though the sun was hidden all day by clouds the pool was surprisingly warm and I like to swim every day that I can.

Just completing my 20^th length when Keith and Sue pulled in to the site. After a few minutes discussion we decided to forgo our scenic pitches and move instead to two pitches sheltered from the now blustery wind. The Tandy awning was threatening to take off.

Tucked behind the protective hedge of our new pitch the four of us settled in happily for a very pleasant afternoon and evening. We did need to wear our fleeces but we sat outside for barbecued salmon dinner despite it having become rather chilly. A lovely evening which we enjoyed very much. No better way to catch up with friends than sitting outside round the table with food, drinks and lots of chat. Thank you for visiting, Keith and Sue, we were delighted to see you.

Weather forecast for tomorrow is not good, quite definite that it is going to rain. Keith and Sue are moving on, heading north. We plan to scooter into Cordes.

---