Monday 11 October 2010

Now we are off to Cajarc .....

a town
not that far
from Cadrieu.

View Larger Map

Cajarc is a
wonderful place to roam ,
and as you will see,
is very old,
and full of windy lanes too.

If you call into the
Tourist Information
they will give you a tour map
in English .

Click on photos to enlarge.

The main road encircles the town with its
selection of shops, restaurants and bars,
but it has an interesting old
town in the centre with a peaceful church square.

Cajarc is a place for walkers,
cyclists and campers too.

After walking around the old town
and also a bit of shopping,
I took myself off for a walk
across the bridge.

A Fabulous few hours
I had!!
Something I have just learnt
whilst googling is ..
that Cajarc was very famous
for growing Saffron in the 18th
century but due to social and cultural
changes brought about by the
French Revolution , led to its decline.
It  is now building a new reputation as the
centre for Quercy saffron because in 1998, Aspec,
an association charged with preserving the heritage of the Cajarc area,
 decided to research the history of saffron in the region
and to encourage its revival.

Quercy saffron is now considered to be high quality,
 and sells at around £21 a gram.
And the last Saturday of October is
the Saffron Festival....!!

11 comments:

  1. My mother brought me some saffron from Spain and I learned then that it's considered as valuable as gold. Do you use it in any recipes? Looks like a lovely village to visit.

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  2. What a beautiful village to be able to stroll through and around. Isn't walking a joy when you have so much eye candy along the way?

    Debi

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  3. Hi Leslie .. were you sitting at your computer ... I have just finished this post :-) .. I have a supply given to me by my son the chef :-) use it sometimes not that often though.

    It is bigger than a village, and smaller than some towns I went to. a lovely place to have lunch as well.

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  4. Hi Debi .. it was lovely to walk around, the weather was wonderful , a few shops and also had coffee and wrote my postcards.

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  5. Anne it sounds such a lovely little village. France has so many interesting places and so much history. I use saffron occasionally, but I can't really afford it and I am not convinced that a small amount makes that much difference in a recipe!! When they say a pinch of.... Diane

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  6. Gorgeous pictures by all means. Very beautiful place!

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  7. How fun! A saffron festival in a lovely village in France. Can't think of a better way to spend time!

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  8. This village looks so beautiful. I love these type of places which have preserved old homes and buildings.

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  9. Oh, my...a postcard image on every corner it seems. I love that you said that you spent "hours" walking....what joy. Truly savouring a place and then finding out it's history...oh, the stories these seemingly small villages could tell, I am sure. Thank you for taking us along.

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  10. Lovely photos, enjoyed visiting your blog

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