St Augustine -“the world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page”
When we are on holiday I like to read the local paper to get a flavour of the place I am visiting. That’s how we found out about the spa at Alvignac; a tiny news story about how this was being restored with an intriguing picture of the pavilion.
It took us two visits to find it as it is hidden in the countryside with no signs to direct a tourist. The first time we drove in and out of Alvignac and all around the town with no success. The second time we carried out more research and found it was between Alvignac and Miers.
It’s a long drive from our holiday base, so after the first fruitless trip we started looking out for a lunch spot. The Petit Rignac cafe in the village of Rignac seemed to be the only thing open. We ordered some food and two locals hearing us speak in English came over to talk to us. The conversation soon turned to Brexit and the general feeling that the British must be crazy. This is part of the pleasure of slow travel, being able to leave the tourist trail and make time for unexpected conversations with people.
When we finally found the spa, the beautiful pavilion sitting in the middle of an empty park was quite amazing. At the edges of the park are dilapidated buildings which were once part of a thermal waters industry. The water itself is available from a tap, rather than the grand pavilion, and like all famed thermal waters slightly odd tasting.
Next to the park is a restaurant overlooking a lake, it must be a wonderful view, but we were unable to visit as it had been reserved for a wedding. But now we have found it we will come back.
Slow Travel 