![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.splunge.co.uk\/richnilk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/diary15_Page_2b.jpg\" "\\"diary15_Page_2b\\"")
<\/a>\u2018Le Tours de Merle\u2019 looked good in the guide and after an hour\u2019s drive they didn\u2019t disappoint.\u00a0 They are a set of castle buildings set on top of a rocky promontory surrounded by the river of 3 sides.\u00a0 They are largely derelict but the French have made a good job of allowing access to them and putting on a bit of a medieval effort around them in the form of reconstructed farm buildings and free-roaming livestock etc.\u00a0 I got there at 1 o\u2019clock and it doesn\u2019t open until 2 (in June), and as I felt hungry I delved into my knapsack to discover that I hadn\u2019t bought any food or drink with me in my haste to do meticulous planning.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s so difficult to eat out in the middle of rural France.\u00a0 I mean, there are bars and restaurants every so often, but they are only any good if you want a beer, coffee, or a 5-course gastronomic feast.\u00a0 I just wanted a snack \u2013 you know a sandwich, maybe a salad, chips, or even an omelet \u2013 but that is almost impossible round these parts.\u00a0 In any case the only place I could find near to Le Tours was a bar\/restaurant mix with a fixed menu of 29euros or 19euros (reduced to 18euros if you missed the cheese course).\u00a0 I had to settle for a bottle of beer and be done with it.<\/p>\n
Anyway, I returned to Le Tours de Merle and spent a really good couple of hours wandering around the towers and the ramparts and the surrounds.\u00a0 It\u2019s a really fabulous place, and being out of season I had the place to myself. Once again, the pictures can\u2019t do justice to the place (or me of course), and I can\u2019t be bothered to describe it, so let\u2019s just say it was magnifique<\/em>.<\/p>\n After the visit I drove on to Argentat still looking for something to eat of course, but also to do some \u2018little bits\u2019 shopping and to buy some tile adhesive.\u00a0 I also wanted to buy some more of the fabulous Internet that I used to use daily \u2013 but unfortunately I couldn\u2019t find an outlet for that \u2013 or a snack bar.\u00a0 Perhaps there\u2019s a business opportunity there for the Argentatians, to give them an Internet snack bar.\u00a0 And who knows, perhaps it would work for the Argentinians as well.<\/p>\n I sat down by the river, which is always lovely and found the only bar open that was serving some sort of food.\u00a0 It was ice-cream.\u00a0 So I settled for a triple deluxe Mont-Blanc special which came with lashings of Chantilly cream and chocolate and the obligatory silly twizzle-stick thingys that are aimed at a younger audience.\u00a0 The bar was run by a nicely eccentric Frenchman who also ran it as an art gallery and every so often would pretend to passing children that a very fast boat was about to pass \u2013 then he\u2019d sound a horn as they sat waiting patiently.\u00a0 \u201cdid you see it?\u201d\u00a0 Very funny \u2013 you had to be there!<\/p>\n After having eaten something I felt well enough to return home.\u00a0 Whilst out I was half-thinking about doing a bit of al-fresco watercolour painting\u00a0 somewhere, but it was a bit too cold for that at Le Tours, so I spent an hour or so doing some in the early evening.<\/p>\n As I said earlier, the place doesn\u2019t really do justice to my picture!\u00a0 But at least I can now cross one thing off of my whiteboard list.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n