Friday, May 19
As vegetarians, we’re having a tough time in this part of France. Fruit and vegetable offerings are limited, and cooked options are uninspired. Last night’s dinner (pics below) included a creamy carrot velouté with heavy parsley garnish. The main course consisted of fried lentil, spinach, and cheese “sticks” (we’ve had these twice now); cheesy roasted potatoes with more parsley; and lettuce with oil and balsamic vinegar. Oh, and more cheese. I wish I could say this was an aberration, but sadly it seems to be the norm.
The star of the evening is tucked into the top right corner of the second picture: a 2018 Mas Roubiol Baumes de Venise from the Côtes du Rhone. This wine was Sexy Sadie disguised as Mary Pickford. Light on the nose and in color, it nonetheless packed a 15% alcohol punch. It felt perfectly balanced on the palate, which made it a perfect pairing for all that cheese. A total winner.
Our walk today included two of the three most beautiful villages on the chemin. We reached the first, Saint-Côlm-d’Olt, in time for lunch and hallelujah found some vegetables! A lovely mixed leaf salad with tomatoes, apples, Roquefort, and a delicate herbed dressing went a long way to restoring our moods. Large sides of haricot verts and fries helped. So did the wine and beer. While the food didn’t merit a photo session, the truly weird bathroom did. A very nice French woman showed this shocked American how it worked. I decided to hold out for the more traditional WC. Pretty sure she thought I was a priss.
Saint-Côlm-d’Olt has a beautifully maintained medieval core, with delightful winding alleys, and three preserved arched entryways.
After lunch, we hustled to Espalion, where we needed to replace our lost electronic converter, but on the way we stopped at the Église Saint-Hilarian-Sainte-Foy-de Perse, an 11th century Romanesque chapel. Hilarian suffered an unfortunate beheading at the hands of Saracens, but legend says he calmly retrieved it from the floor, washed it, and delivered it to his mother.
The town of Espalion rose on the ruins of a Roman town constructed on the Lot (Olt in Occitanie) River. During the Middle Ages, the Knights Templar, sworn to protect Pilgrims on their way to Santiago, set up a command post here. The Pilgrim Bridge (le Pont Vieux) was built and rebuilt many times, its current incarnation in pink sandstone likely dating from the 13th century. Today its use is limited to pedestrians (year-round) and cattle (during the festival of Transhumance when flower-bedecked cattle are driven through local villages recreating the historic movement of the herd to their higher-altitude summer grazing grounds).
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