La Romieu

We were thankful for light rain this morning.  Jennie went to the Friday market with an umbrella and rain jacket.  Our friends, Lesley and Andy, came by at 10 for a short visit, and they were soaked.  By 10:30, the rain had stopped and I went up to rue Nationale to the market.  I picked up fresh figs, mirabelle plums, strawberries, cheese, and a few more things.  We had an Italian lunch at Cigale e Fourmi.

After lunch, we drove to La Romieu, 15 km from Lectoure.  La Romieu is a Plus Beaux village, with just 535 people.  It is a stop on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  In 1062, two pilgrim monks from Rome founded a modest priory in La Romieu.  In 1312, Arnaud d’Aux, a relative of Pope Clement, undertook the construction of the collegiate church in La Romieu, and a cloister with two floors of galleries.  The cloister was burned in the 20th century and renovated since.  We walked all about the Collegiate Church of Saint-Pierre, up the stairs to the lookout at the top of the tower.  We walked around the church, enjoying the gardens, and we especially enjoyed the frescoed walls of the chapel dating to the 1300’s.  It was a good afternoon in La Romieu.