We're back from our trip to the Lot. It was really fun in every respect. The weather was great, so was the food (canard, summer fruits,...) and so was the place where we stayed. We booked a gite run by the very nice Peter and Zoë, who've been doing this for over twenty years now. They transformed a former farm into small cottages and B&B rooms. The big yard contains a pool as well. What more could one wish for?! We found a perfect balance between day trips in the area, playtime by the pool and lots of reading.
The region of the Lot is simply gorgeous with its small medieval villages, winding roads, sun flower fields, vineyards, markets, châteaux... What was striking though is that quite a few of these villages have turned into ghost towns almost, as people moved to the bigger cities. Apparently this has been an ongoing process and the recent economic and financial crisis certainly didn't help. A lavender distillery we visited, is running on its last legs because it's economically no longer viable to maintain the activity or to do the much needed investments. This is only one of several stories we heard, and it made me feel sad knowing that traditions and part of a culture will sooner or later disappear that way. So, I truly hope the region will surmount its problems and will become flourishing again as never before because it really deserves it...
For more pictures, visit my Flickr set here - I'll probably be adding more photos in the days to come.
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