Cahors To Bordeaux

On my last day of the trail, Saturday 19 May, I waited at the bus stop in Limogne for a bus to Cahors. No bus came. Instead a car arrived, and a blonde lady driver stepped out to greet me. 'The bus has broken down,' she announced. ' So I'm taking you!' Whether the bus had actually broken down, or whether the staff hadn't turned up because it was a French public holiday weekend, I never did determine.

However, I had no cause to complain: my 'private taxi' (I was the only passenger) took me in comfort and style on the forty minute journey to Cahors, and not only took me to Cahors but went the scenic route down the valley, then up over the tops, with stupendous views over endless forests cut by deep, limestone gorges. And all for the price of a few euros (the lady absolutely refused to accept a tip). And this charming 'bus driver' and I talked non-stop, so it was good for my French too. In short, as you can see, I was picked up by une femme inconnue on my last day of the trail, which doesn't happen all the time on pilgrimage, I assure you. A wonderful instance of how 'trail angels' can materialise even when the trail is over...

In Cahors the weather turned, and the rain teemed down...   

The Pont Valentré in Cahors. This bridge over the river Lot is one of the finest medieval bridges in Europe.

I chose a slow way home from Cahors, and caught a train to Bordeaux, where I slept the night...

The view from my hotel bedroom in Bordeaux.

The Église Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux.

A moss-covered St George slays the dragon on the western façade of the Église Sainte-Croix.

 Detail of carved stonework from the west portico of the Église Sainte-Croix.

I befriend two university lecturers in a Bordeaux bistrot.

Bordeaux bistrot girls.

The Café du Levant near Bordeaux railway station.

Bordeaux railway station.