June 21 – A Balloon Ride and another Pretty Village

We were scheduled to leave today but the balloon company managed to rebook us for the morning.  And since balloon rides are always very early in the morning, we had time to do it before we had to be out of our house.

So, we were picked up again at 5:30 and driven to a different location where there was one other balloon also being set up.  Lots of photos of getting the basket and balloon off the trailers and ready to fly. This setup was unlike others we have taken as they all had a big ground crew and the passengers sat around and watched the process.  This operation had only the pilot and the chase car driver.  So, they let the passengers help...offloading the basket, 

and the balloon, 

holding the balloon open while it was filled with hot air, 

The second balloon loading and getting ready to launch.

The pilot allowed Mary to get into the basket before the balloon pulled it upright.  That made it a lot easier for her to get in.  She was able to take few photos up close and from a very different angle.

Almost ready to board. 

There were eight of us for the ride and soon we were all in the balloon and away we went.  We had views of the Chateau de Castelnaud on a nearby hill.

There were other balloons taking off nearby, making the our flight more magical.

And we kept seeing more balloons as we rose over the valley.

The balloons followed each other across the fields and river valley.

We also had good views of the nearby Chateau de Beynac.

Sailing over the Dordogne River.

This lovely chateau, Chateau des Milandes, was once owned by the American singer/dancer turned French, Josephine Baker.

Lots of corn fields…

and wheat fields...

and the countryside. 

We eventually landed beautifully in a cleared area near fields with hay bales.  

No crops were destroyed.  Unlike other flights where they had big ground crews to unpack and then pack away the balloon and basket, this company asked the guests to help with the work.  Everyone had a good time helping to pack away the balloon.

Once in it's "bag" the balloon still had a lot of air in it.  So, the group spent some time sitting on it to pack it down. 

and load it and the basket onto the trailer. 

And then they broke out breakfast...some of the largest croissants we had ever seen, and juice and coffee. 

We were back at our room by about 8:30.  We had some breakfast and then Pascal, the owner’s husband, brought his small car up the hill and loaded our luggage into it so we didn’t have to haul it down the hill.  Mary rode with him. 

Just as we were heading out a long string of motorcycle riders drove by.

We were on the road by mid-morning.  On our morning drive we chanced across some fields of sunflowers in full bloom.

We saw signs for another Les Plus Beaux Village de France, Monflanquin, and decided to stop there.  Lovely town with narrow, cobblestones streets 

pretty, old buildings, 

a large central plaza,

and a fun souvenir shop.

The Eglise St. Andre

Near the church was a park with great viewpoint of the countryside below... 

and a concrete ping pong table. 

The Laugher of the Crimera (looks like it was made from random pieces of scrap).

The Girls School.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the main plaza.

Then headed off again. There were a lot of fields full of hay bales.

 We saw a lavender field in full bloom.  That was a treat.  We hope to see many more in Provence but this one was very nice. 

Our new destination is the town of Cahors.  The hotel is a modern building along the river with an elevator and air conditioning.  Badly needed as the heat wave is bad.  They also have a small bar/restaurant and we were able buy dinner there.  It was so hot that they provided only cold food, nothing that required cooking.  But that was ok.  It was too hot to eat hot food.