I stayed awake till 0001h, having Pinched’n’Punched Rita for August, then wished her a happy Swiss National Day and Horses Birthday. Then I turned over and promptly went to sleep after a job well done!

In the morning we set off to ride to Belleperche Abbey, about 6km to the west of St Porquier on the River Garonne. While Rita had read a bit about the Abbey, I knew nothing about it and so was looking forward to learning about it. As we rode along the back roads, we encountered a Shetland Pony roaming freely in front of a farmhouse. He seemed quite happy, with no desire to wander further (we hoped). So, we got a Pinched’n’Punched Swiss in the same picture as a horse on August 1 - how appropriate!

As we rode over a bridge crossing the Garonne, I wondered what the large building on the left was. My map showed the Abbey in another location, so I wondered what this one was. From its size and design, it looked like a large factory of some sort.

We rode around the back of this building after we crossed the bridge, but were still none the wiser from the look of the other side (it looked like a large government building from this side) until we saw a sign saying that it was in fact The Abbey. I was surprised, to say the least.

So we parked our bikes and went inside, not knowing quite what to expect. We parted with our 2euro/head entrance fee, and I quietly thought to myself that at that price, there couldn’t be very much to see. Boy, how wrong was I? We wandered through a few small exhibition rooms that told some of the story of the Abbey. We then walked through a non-descript door, and entered another world. The old grain store was now a large pavillion/ballroom. The view from the windows in this room over the River Garonne showed the road bridge to the left and the railway bridge to the right, both of which were built long after the Abbey fell into disrepair. Luckily, the two bridges had no impact on the structures themselves. The remains of an older road bridge, under the span of the new bridge, demonstrate the power of the Garonne when it is in flood. The viewing balcony of the Abbey shows the great views in the railway bridge photo.

Walking through a door from this room leads one into the dining room, which has been restored to near original condition. One can see that the monks didn’t seem to lead a very austere lifestyle (pretty much like the Catholic Church today). The dining room then led into the Games Room, where one can see a chess table in readiness for action. Both rooms have French doors leading onto the balcony.

Having been very impressed already, we exited the games room to be back at the front entrance foyer, where we took a winding staircase up to the next floor. As we entered the first door, we were blown away by the very modern room in which we found ourselves. At first, we thought it was rather out of place, until we saw the name of the room, The Graffiti Room, and then examined the walls, which were covered in graffiti carved into the plaster of the wall. These tell the story of the Abbey and its inhabitants over several hundred years, including its darker periods during WW1 and WW2. These stories have been lovingly preserved on the walls, and are totally complemented by the modern design of the art gallery/museum which houses them. In the rooms off either side of this gallery are a range of temporary and permanent exhibitions, covering the history of table etiquette, Chinese pottery and a range of other themes. One could spend many hours reading the graffiti and looking at the exhibits, but alas we did not have many hours at our disposal.

So we reluctantly dragged ourselves downstairs and went to see the Cloister, constructed of stone and brick, and still undergoing restoration. At the end of the Cloister archways in the photo at left below, is a box containing polystyrene foam “bricks”, which visitors can use to build an archway and see how the professionals build the real thing. At the left of the higher section at the left of the photo at right below, is where the original church was built. Built largely in the 13th Century, it must have been a grand structure, 75m long and 20m wide, with an octagonal belltower modelled on the one at Saint Sernin in Toulouse. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed in the early 1800’s as collateral damage of the French Revolution, and all that remains now is part of one wall on the back of the structure at left, and some polychromatic floor-tiles which are gradually being recovered in current archeological explorations.

The Abbey is far from just an historical site, and is being used for many purposes today. While we were there, they were setting up a stage and lights for a concert that would be held in the Cloister on the coming weekend. As Rita sat on the edge of the stage, I’m sure she was wondering how a steelband would sound in those environs.

Much as we would have liked to stay longer, we finally dragged ourselves away just before 1300h. It’s not often that you want to pay a second entrance fee on the way out to say how good the experience had been. But we satisfied ourselves by buying a book outlining the history of the Abbey, and then started the ride back to the barge.

We got back in time to make a 1345h start, and the journey to Moissac was smooth sailing. We knew we were approaching Castelsarrasin when we saw the water tower at the end of the canal.

We were reminded of an important precaution when entering downhill locks, to close all the side windows in case of “piddling lock walls”. Luckily, these two just had enough power to piddle on the side decking.

It was a feeling of "home sweet home” as we entered the port, having just come through one of the nicest canal entrances to any town we have seen.

We got a mooring close to the Capitainerie with good wifi reception, since we need to catch up on some work that requires good electronic communications (thanks, Jim!). However, since all work and no play makes Tony a dull boy, I also took out a one-week subscription to AFL live-streaming, so that I could catch up on all the Hawthorn games I had missed in the past month or so!