Rocamadour

I wouldn’t blame you if you’re getting a little tired of medieval towns hung on cliffs. I think Rocamadour will be the last – at least for a while.

We drove an hour east to visit this place because Mary Anne read that it is the second most visited site in France after Mont St. Michel. There must be some qualifiers to that claim that I missed. Surely, Paris gets more. Even just the Louvre.

so why would people come here? Beyond the sightseeing appeal, Rocamadour has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries. It’s said that the village name comes from Saint Amator, an early Christian. Among the famous pilgrims – Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Rocamadour and Mont St. Michel share one thing in common: every building along the old Main Street is a shop. The architecture is lost by the assault of trinkets, snacks, foie gras, t-shirts and so on.

Still, the location in a steep, closed-end valley is spectacular and the church above the village is somewhat interesting.

The patch of grass on the valley floor is where we parked our car.

Note the word “pelerin”. It means pilgrim and is almost certainly where the name Pellegrin comes from.

On the alter is a wooden Black Madonna reputed to have been carved by Saint Amator (Amadour) himself.

It looks like the organ is being transported by boat.

Two ship models hanging in a small chapel.

Does anyone know what this is about? I guess it’s part of the pilgrim thing. For €1, you get to pound a golden nail into the log.

Looking across the valley to the road we will take when we leave.

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Bonus!

After leaving Rocamadour, it was time for lunch. We stopped at a tiny roadside picnic area in a tiny village. I like the way they repurposed a telephone box as a library.

Foie gras, sausage with walnuts inside, various cheeses including a unique local one. And, of course, a baguette.