Conques; Mourjou - September 18th 2018

Having finally decided that a trip north to Puy de Dome was too long and too expensive, today we went back to Conques. It is one of the stages on the Santiago de Compostela. It was amazingly full of people but the guy at the car park said it was not busy at all. Conques is one of the most beautiful villages of France and well worth a trip. It sits on the edge of the gorges of the river Dourdou. It has cobbled streets and beautiful medieval houses. We started in the tourist office where we got a leaflet in English about all that is to be seen. We also got a map of the region – Aveyron - which will be great for planning other places to visit.

Then we made our way down steps to the Place de l’Eglise where we had a coffee and could admire the front of the Abbey Church of Sainte Foy.
This tympanum represents the Last Judgement. It contains 124 figures and is one of the major works of art of the 12th century. In the centre sits Christ as judge with his right hand pointing upward to the saved and his left hand pointing downwards towards the damned - a reminder of the joys of heaven and the torments of hell.

This is modern stained glass designed by the painter Pierre Soulages and installed in 1994. The material used by the artist is a n0n-coloured translucide glass which respects the variations of natural light and suggests from both the interior and the exterior of the building a continuity between walls and windows.

Each of the windows has a different design but they are all in this shade of grey.

The remains of a fresco.

Some of the medieval houses.

Fontaine du Plo, at the doors of the Church, is mentioned in the manuscript Liber sancti Jacobi. It would have been here that pilgrims would have slaked their thirst.

Porte de la Vinzelle with its solid square tower used to defend the gateway.

The cloisters.

We had lunch – Cantal Cheese and Cantal charcuterie. Jim had a hoegarden and I had a chestnut kir.

After lunch and a wander through the village we went to see the Treasures of Conques housed in a room like a crypt.  The Treasures are reliquaries and chests and portable altars but the real treasure is the statue of Sainte Foy covered in gold, precious stones, cameos and intaglios. Of course we were not allowed to take photos.

Around 3pm we headed off for Mourjou in the heart of chestnut country. En route we stopped at a lookout point behind a French car. The people in the car noticed our car was Irish and came to talk to us. It was a Dublin woman and her French husband. They live in the Gers region of France.

At Mourjou we got out to look at the church and then made our way down to the chestnut museum. There was no one about so we wandered down admiring the chestnut trees. Then, when we got back up the museum guide asked if we wanted to join a group about to go into the mus and who was there but the couple we had met earlier. We listened to the initial talk and then decided to go on our way. It was getting a bit late so we just came on home.

And to crown the day - Charlotte and Sarah are coming to Peru with us!