day 18 – draft
Saturday, 23 April 2016
Marsolan to Larressingle
33 km today - 508 km to date

Despite carefully reading the map I successfully, yet again, head off in completely the wrong direction.  After a correction I am soon on the road to La Romieu and arrive well before 10 am.

La Romieu is an ancient small village with an imposing (by comparison) church built in the early 1300s.  It was the foundation of a man who had, in turn, held the offices of abbot, diocesan bishop, metropolitan of France (and cardinal) and then chancellor  (chief executive) of the Vatican and kept that show going for two years between the death of one pope and the election of the successor.  During some of this time he was also confessor to the then queen of England, as this part of the world was ruled by the King of England at that time.  Shortly after the election of the successor pope our man retired and set up a college of 14 priests to live in community but with “secular“ rules.  Both the church and its cloisters are stunning more than 700 years on.

I got a fair bit of the way to my lunch stop of Condom (yes you did read that right) when it started to rain.  I had deployed my poncho and walked for about 5 minutes when a car stopped and offered me a ride  (he had already picked up my gite companion from Marsolan): I accepted quickly and we were in Condom about 12h30.  The church is open so go and say the morning office.

Across the square I find a bar, which is where you get coffee, and eat kiwi and banana I had bought at La Romieu.  And, shock horror, I leave forgetting to put some money beside my cup.  Leaving this town is easier than Lectoure, even though it is well above the bridge over the river.

While it is still early the 5 km to my stop for the night seems to take for ever and a pain is developing on the front of my right leg where it joins the foot.  The gite is a kilometre the other side of the village: it seems purpose built and quite new and the many well meant rules cut across the initial enjoyment.

Larressingle was once a small castle keep and fascinating church both within high walls: there are also some domestic buildings.

There are ten of us in the gite for dinner, including an American couple from the west coast.  And we have a singing competition.

And so to bed.