The GPS road tracklog
from St-Priest-Taurion to Arnac-Pompadour
from 2020/08/17 to 2020/08/17
Monday August 17 I passed again for the umpteenth time by Limoges to
stop at Le Chalard whose Church of the Assumption,
here,
is worth the detour for its powerful square tower which dominates the
village, its very ornate capitals, its Gothic buffet flamboyant
sheltering the tomb of Saint-Geoffrey founder of the priory as well
as the enamelled reliquary containing his skull. Finally, a chapel
in the basement has frescoes that predate the church. The cemetery
is the last rest of the priory monks. In the village of
St-Yrieix-la-Perche, the Collegiate Church of Moustier is
characterized by a Roman steeple-porch and in a niche in the nave a
copy of the bust of St-Yrieix, the original of which is at MoMA in
New York! I arrived late at Arnac-Pompadour to
bivouac in a parking lot.
click on the pic for opening the gallery
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Église de l'Assomption du Chalard, Church of Chalard |
The GPS road tracklog
from Arnac-Pompadour to Uzerche
from 2020/08/18 to 2020/08/18
Tuesday August 18 I arrived around 8.00 am at the service area of
the old Uzerche station which was crowded; the camper vans were side
by side as in the parade! I parked my vehicle then I left to explore
the upper town
here.
The rue Gaby-Furnestin then the rue Pierre-Chalaud are
lined with medieval houses bearing shields signifying the owner's
profession. The St-Pierre church,
here,
a vestige of a Benedictine abbey, is in the Limousin Roman
style, the bell tower of which ends in an octagonal fourth floor.
The earlier crypt is datedfrom the 11th century with a single
pillar. After the nearly three hour visit I stocked up on food at
the Super U with a return to the old station.
click on the pic for opening the gallery
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L'ancienne gare, the old railway station |
Comme à la parade, as at the parade |
The GPS road tracklog
d'Uzerche à Barrage de Marèges
du 2020/08/19 au 2020/08/19
Wednesday August 19 was a small morning of tourism in the deep
Corrèze strolling on the small departmental roads avoiding the dense
traffic of the main communication routes. The first visit took me to
the top of Puy-de-Manzagol at an altitude of 698 m with a superb
panorama over the Lake of Triouzoune and the Massif-Central in the
distance. The parking lot of the Marèges dam,
here,
welcomed me for the first time to climb up to the
belvedere above the hydroelectric dam of Marèges built from 1932 to
1935 on behalf of the company of the railways from Paris to Orleans.
It was the object of all the attentions of the Wehrmacht during the
occupation of France from 1940 to 1944. I intended to bivouac on the
banks of the Dordogne at the site of Liginiac unfortunately a
municipal decree prohibited parking. I returned to the parking lot
of the Marèges dam.
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Rencontre au bord de la Vézère, Meeting at the edge of the Vézère river |
The GPS road tracklog
from Marèges to Site de St-Nazaire
dfrom 2020/08/20 to 2020/08/20
Thursday August 20 was another short day of visit in a high place of
memory and ancestral culture, the gorges of the Haute-Dordogne,
suitable for country walks through mountains and valleys. But I
played it small arm, tennis expression. The site of St-Nazaire was a
place of pilgrimage in the early Middle Ages. The view is
breathtaking. After the town of Bort-les-Orgues a small road offers
the possibility of approaching the basalt organs, alas the foliage
of the trees and the security fences make it almost impossible to
take pictures I returned to the parking lot of the Site of
St-Nazaire to bivouac, alone, outside the horde of motorhomes.
click on the pic for opening the gallery
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Confluent de la Dordogne & de la Diège, Confluence of the Dordogne river & the Diège river |
The GPS road tracklog
du Site de St-Nazaire à Turenne
du 2020/08/21 au 2020/08/21
Friday August 21 was a very busy day in terms of both kilometers
traveled and visits made. First, a stop at Belvédère de
Gratte-Bruyère to admire the Dordogne river, a mighty river. The
road runs along this magical river for several kilometers. Then it
was a stop at the Cistercian Abbey of Aubazine,here,
of which only the abbey church and the magnificent tomb of
Saint Stephen as well as the ornate stalls remain. The third stop
was in Brive-la-Gaillarde to visit the Saint-Martin collegiate
church,
here,
with the baptismal font surmounted by the statue of Saint
John the Baptist at the entrance. The old town contains a few
medieval houses. Finally it was Turenne,here,
with a walk in the lower town and the
Notre-Dame-&-St-Pantaléon collegiate church, then the upper town and
its castle, not visited. I bivouacked in the parking lot, alone at
the end of the day!
click on the pic for opening the gallery
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Château d'eau de Brive-la-Gaillarde, Water-tower of Brive-la-Gaillarde |
The GPS road tracklog
from Turenne to Carennac
from 2020/08/21 to 2020/08/21
Saturday August 22 was another day rich in visits. At sunrise I was
alone walking the streets in Collonges-la-Rouge,
here,
whose houses, churches and castles are made of red sandstone. Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne,
here,
welcomed me with the southern portal of the Church of
St-Pierre, whose sculpted tympanum represents the parousia with
Christ in majesty and the apostles in the extension of his arms.
This sculpture is also present in Moissac, Collonges-la-Rouge,
Carennac and Souillac. It was executed by the tailors of Toulouse in
the 12th century. I made a quick stop at Tours de Merle
here,
skipping the four hour hike to visit them. Finally Carennac,
here,
welcomed me for the bivouac after having strolled in the
village to admire the tympanum of the St-Pierre church and
especially the moving entombment of Christ by Joseph of Arimathea,
at his feet, the Pharisee Nicodemus, at its head, and behind the
Virgin surrounded by the apostle John and Mary Cleophas.
click on the pic for opening the gallery
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Castle of Maussac |
The GPS road tracklog
from Carennac to Sarlat
from 2020/08/23 to 2020/08/213
On Sunday August 23 I made a stop in Gluges, a village at the foot
of the cliff whose church received a donation from Edith Piaf to
replace the broken stained-glass windows with the parish priest's
consent not to reveal her name until after her death. The next stop
was to visit the Caves of Lacave whose guided duration is 1.30 with
a departure by train and approximately 488 steps. The show is
splendid and reminded me of the recent rereading of Jules Verne's
Voyage to the Center of the Earth. I passed through Souillac without
stopping to go to Sarlat, where I arrived at the start of the
afternoon. All parking lots and sidewalks were occupied. I went my
way to bivouac in the north of the city.
click on the pic for opening the gallery