Doug & Krista had been planning to leave for Andorra today, but they were enjoying themselves so much that they decided to stay the weekend in Moissac.

So we decided to take them to two of our favourite places - Bruniquel and St Antonin Noble Val.

The weather was overcast and drizzly, which called for extra care walking up to the castle at Bruniquel through the village on the cobbled paths.

But once we got inside, it was much more comfortable and all the usual sights delighted Doug & Krista. Doug’s brass ducky also took the opportunity to photobomb a shot of one of the local residents.

Even though Rita and I have been to Bruniquel many times, there is always something new to see (as the restorations proceed and the exhibitions broaden) or things to see that we had just not noticed before. This time, it was a new video about the ancient Bruniquel Caves hidden in the region, and some detailed wood carvings on the huge wooden fireplace surround that we had previously seen in one of the newly renovated rooms.

While the weather was cool and damp, Krista and Rita still seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Another visitor that was enjoying himself was this flat-shelled snail that we saw crawling along the stone wall outside.

After a few hours perusing the castle, we dragged ourselves away because we wanted to also show them St Antonin Noble Val. However as we drove along the River Aveyron, we saw a sign for Penne - a sign we had seen many times before, but never taken the road to get there. But this time, we slowed down in time to take the right turn up the hill. And boy was I glad we did. Penne is a village with an ancient castle, dating back to the 11th century, perched high on a rocky outcrop. The town population was over 2000 in 1850, but had fallen to 500 by 1950, where it now remains. The castle is currently in a state of disrepair, but in 2006 it was bought by a young architect named Axel Letellier, whose office is in the village, and who is currently restoring the castle.

I am always fascinated by people who decide to take on such projects. Often they are professionals who have been successful in their field, and who decide to plough their money back into a project which will outlive them, rather than hoard their money and take it to the grave with them. Bravo, I say!

The walk through the village was a delight in itself, with beautiful old stone buildings. A friendly cat in the square in front of the church took the idea of relaxing to a new level.

The winding streetscapes were intriguing, and the For Sale sign on the door was tempting, while the glimpse of the castle tower restoration through the gap beside the architect’s office was sufficient motivation to keep climbing.

As we climbed the steps to the castle, we saw a photographic panel, depicting a scene from years gone by, that we couldn’t resist mimicking.

As we neared the castle, we sensed that the restoration was being done in a very traditional way, with wooden scaffolding, that looked very much like the bamboo scaffolding one sees in many Asian cities.

On reaching the entrance to the castle, our anticipation of traditional restoration was confirmed as we saw the traditionally-clad stonemason working on a piece of stone, with traditional flute music in the background. It seems that this restoration project will be a dramatic production in itself.

The restoration task will be monumental, working with a large scale building in a very exposed setting, and trying to replicate the old construction methods as far as possible. But what has been done so far looks very good.

The views from the castle are impressive, with the River Aveyron on one side and the village of Penne on the other. One can easily see why they built the castle in such an impregnable position in the first place.

As we walked down through the village again, it was easy to see why Krista, Doug and Rita were left wondering!

As we left Penne, it was hard to believe that this was just a side-visit on our way to St Antonin Noble Val. But we still wanted to go to St Antonin, which is also on the River Aveyron, since it is one of our favourite villages. As always, the view from the bridge as you walk into the village is very welcoming.

As we walked past the church and made our way into the town, we noticed someone sitting of the side of the road having a chat with someone, and realised it was Garry Yelin, the Australian owner of the art gallery who we had talked to in previous years. So we introduced him to Doug and Krista, and then chatted with him as they had a look around his gallery. Sadly, it seems that this might be his last year in St Antonin as he has found a rural property in another part of France and may be moving there later this year. As we chatted, he mentioned that another Australian in the village ran another gallery, and they were having an expo (with drinks and nibbles) starting at 1800hrs, so he invited us all along (on the assumption that no Australian would ever refuse free drinks and nibbles!). So we wandered around the village for a couple of hours, checking out all the usual spots (the hat store, the cafe, the antique shop etc), then headed over to the Blue Door Gallery for the expo, where four artists (from Australia, France and the USA) were displaying their works. After a couple of hours, we took our leave and headed back across the river to drive home.

When we arrived back in Moissac, the weather was fine, so we decided to go for a walk along the Tarn and up to the port. We were rewarded by a great night-time view of Pont Napoleon.