A Quiet Moment

Went for lunch today in the village where I used to live. Carennac is a medieval village on the south bank of the River Dordogne. Its abbey is 13th century, and my old house (one of the oldest in the village) was built in the 15th century after a fire destroyed all the original wooden-built houses. The oak beams were numbered in Roman numerals - a sort of medieval kit house. We ate in what used to be one of our favourite restaurants, the Fenelon, which was named after a famous French writer who wrote his most renowned work here, an opus called "Télémaque". We had foie gras and a delicious lamb fillet washed down with a fine Côte du Rhone. Afterwards we strolled along the river bank and saw that the old punts which had lain rotting beneath the overhanging trees for years had been replaced by new models. No doubt age will mellow them!