Steve throwing at Le Mourtis Last year for our wedding anniversary, Karen agreed to take some time off. Normally when we're in France she works as much or more than she does at home, but this time, she agreed to take a few days to explore some of southern France. Of course no trip these days is possible without disc golf, so we decided to at least check out two of the courses on our way from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Our first stop was intended to be a short visit to a ski resort that had a disc golf course. We had visions of the amazing course at Kirkwood, and the vistas as we wound our way up to the Le Mourtis ski resort didn't disappoint us.
Karen at Le Mourtis Unfortunately, as we climbed the mountain, the winds and clouds increased, and by time we pulled into the only open restaurant/bar, it was raining. The people were friendly and did know about disc golf, even offering to lend us discs, but they warned us that with the construction going on, the course was in a state of disrepair.
We found most of the tees, but many of the baskets had been damaged and there was lots of heavy equipment on the ski slopes. They had knocked down trees, moved huge amounts of earth right in front of tees, and scared the face of a beautiful mountain. I'm sure it will look much nicer covered in snow.
Sauveterre-de-Rouergue We left Le Mourtis disappointed but excited to get to our next destination, Sauveterre-de-Rouergue, a very small village about an hour northeast of Toulouse. We were staying at Le Senechal, a hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant. We had dinner reservations for our anniversary, the next night. Sauveterre-de-Rouergue also had an 18-hole disc golf course with baskets.
We checked into the hotel, confirmed our reservation for dinner, then asked if there was anywhere we could eat get dinner locally that evening. The owner of the four-star hotel told us that their restaurant was closed for the evening, but that there would certainly be a restaurant open in the square.
Sauveterre-de-Rouergue is a Bastide, build in the 13th century in the land of 100 valleys. It sits on top of a hill, and as a Bastide, is a small rectangular village built around a central courtyard - the 'square'. It was after 7pm and we were hungry.
Unfortunately, all the restaurants in the square were closed. We wandered around and found a small epicerie (grocery store) that was open, but whose shelves were largely empty. We spoke with the owner, who assured us that at least one restaurant was always open. The different restaurant owners coordinated the days they closed. The owner of the epicerie walked us over to each restaurant and was surprised that they were all closed. She called the owners who told her that since the high season had ended the day before, they had all decided to close for that one evening.
She took us back into her store to try to find something for us to eat. We ended up with olives, crackers, cheese, dark chocolate bars, and a 3 euro bottle of wine. She apologized for being out of wine and called the wine seller around the corner, but he, too, was closed. She lent us a corkscrew and we went back to our hotel room where we sat out on the balcony and watched a spectacular sunset as we ate our dinner. Surprisingly, the wine was quite drinkable.
We checked into the hotel, confirmed our reservation for dinner, then asked if there was anywhere we could eat get dinner locally that evening. The owner of the four-star hotel told us that their restaurant was closed for the evening, but that there would certainly be a restaurant open in the square.
Sauveterre-de-Rouergue is a Bastide, build in the 13th century in the land of 100 valleys. It sits on top of a hill, and as a Bastide, is a small rectangular village built around a central courtyard - the 'square'. It was after 7pm and we were hungry.
Unfortunately, all the restaurants in the square were closed. We wandered around and found a small epicerie (grocery store) that was open, but whose shelves were largely empty. We spoke with the owner, who assured us that at least one restaurant was always open. The different restaurant owners coordinated the days they closed. The owner of the epicerie walked us over to each restaurant and was surprised that they were all closed. She called the owners who told her that since the high season had ended the day before, they had all decided to close for that one evening.
She took us back into her store to try to find something for us to eat. We ended up with olives, crackers, cheese, dark chocolate bars, and a 3 euro bottle of wine. She apologized for being out of wine and called the wine seller around the corner, but he, too, was closed. She lent us a corkscrew and we went back to our hotel room where we sat out on the balcony and watched a spectacular sunset as we ate our dinner. Surprisingly, the wine was quite drinkable.
The next morning we got up early and walked down to the disc golf course in one of the valleys below the Bastide. The course was far beyond anything we expected. It was an 18-hole course in a setting of rolling hills, trees, and meadows with a creek running through it.
Typical signage on the course The signage was the best I've seen on any course we've played. At each tee, there is a sign with a perfect depiction of the terrain - each obstacle, tree, water, alternate pin placements, distances, recommended drives, and both pointers and descriptions to the next holes.
The course itself was lush and green, but all of the open meadows had been recently mowed. Many of the holes ran along the creek and with a few, you have to throw across the creek. Officially, the creek is not out-of-bounds.
Karen had recently bought a Vulcan Blizzard, and its flotation proved nice but challenging as at one point, I had to chase the disc down the creek. It floated too well.
The course itself was lush and green, but all of the open meadows had been recently mowed. Many of the holes ran along the creek and with a few, you have to throw across the creek. Officially, the creek is not out-of-bounds.
Karen had recently bought a Vulcan Blizzard, and its flotation proved nice but challenging as at one point, I had to chase the disc down the creek. It floated too well.
 Basket above the creek |  Tough shot through the trees |  Buildings on the course |
At the end of our first day of play, we took a beautiful trail back up to the Bastide. We had lunch at one of the restaurants on the square and were talking about disc golf when a middle-aged man approached us and asked if we played disc golf. We told him we'd just finished playing the course there and that it was one of the most beautiful and well-laid out courses we'd ever played.
He beamed with pride as he told us that he was the head of recreation for the area, that he designed the course, and that he did all the course maintenance. While he didn't play himself, he'd done extensive research on disc golf an had hosted the French national tour there.
He joined us for a drink and told us stories about the area.
That night, Karen and I had one of the best dinners of our lives at Le Senechal. Michel Truchon, the chef, introduced himself and personally explained the preparation of each dish. It was fall, so cepes (a remarkable mushroom), and chestnuts were in season and showed up prominently in most of our dishes that evening.
The next morning, we played another great round of disc golf on this very special course then returned for a sumptuous breakfast (again prepared with local ingredients by Michel Truchon) before continuing our anniversary trip as we headed south and east in search of Templar treasure. But that's another story.
He beamed with pride as he told us that he was the head of recreation for the area, that he designed the course, and that he did all the course maintenance. While he didn't play himself, he'd done extensive research on disc golf an had hosted the French national tour there.
He joined us for a drink and told us stories about the area.
That night, Karen and I had one of the best dinners of our lives at Le Senechal. Michel Truchon, the chef, introduced himself and personally explained the preparation of each dish. It was fall, so cepes (a remarkable mushroom), and chestnuts were in season and showed up prominently in most of our dishes that evening.
The next morning, we played another great round of disc golf on this very special course then returned for a sumptuous breakfast (again prepared with local ingredients by Michel Truchon) before continuing our anniversary trip as we headed south and east in search of Templar treasure. But that's another story.
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