Your contact:	Catherine Stock
Telephone:	+33-(0)5 65 33 69 40 (France) or +33 (0)6 18 82 07 91
Fax:	same as above
Email:	Click here to contact Le Tramizal

Le Tramizal, a stone cottage in a garden of fruit trees, overlooks the village of Rignac in the Lot. Morning and evening, sheep and cows cross the road in front of Le Tramizal on their way to pasture. Behind the house is a farmyard with ducks, chickens, sheep and a barn cat.

Le Tramizal has two levels. On one side of the main floor is the kitchen and dining area. The kitchen, with its exposed wooden beams and stone walls, feels like a traditional farmhouse kitchen, but has all the necessary modern appliances a good cook requires, including a microwave, dishwasher, and food processor.

In the living area, a comfortable couch faces a large traditional open fireplace. Upstairs are a large room with two double beds and a new bathroom. A cot is also available.

Paintings, books, music and teddybears reflect the personality of the owner, a painter, children's book author and illustrator. Shelves are stocked with books and CDs, mostly classical and jazz.

Guests have the use of a free WIFI internet connection for their laptops, two bicycles to explore the area and a telescope for star gazing. (We are in the middle of the Black Triangle here, with the clearest skies in Europe.)

The owner, Catherine, has another separate cottage on the other side of the garden but she, along with two cats and Thabo, a bouncy but very friendly dog, can usually be found in her barn across the road, which has been converted into a painting studio and gallery. She is always happy to assist and advise, and Thabo is a ready companion and guide for local hikes.

Special features:

• Pets welcomed • Bilingual assistance available on site

Rignac is a small, working village clustered around an historic 12th century church. The church is classified, which means no new development can take place in the village or valley.

One can feast like royalty at La Récreation, the superb little restaurant in Les Arques. Read all about it in Michael S. Sanders' From Here You Can't See Paris to whet your appetite and ignite your wanderlust.

Three other books to slip into your knapsack are Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik,The Lost Upland, by the 'local' poet W.S. Merwin, and The Generous Earth by Philip Oyler, a classic book on rural life in the area recently re-released in paperback.

Gramat, five kilometres to the south, is the closest market town with a tourist office, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, swimming pool, brocantes, butchers, cafes, a very good patisserie, post office, doctors and dentists, and a great new cinema with frequently changing French and international movies. Next to the cinema is a media centre and library with internet access. The large swimming pool is usually empty between 12 and 2pm, and again between 6 and 8pm, and is cordoned off and reserved for swimming laps, the cost of which is €2.

The best bread in the Lot comes from the boulangerie in Alvignac, two kilometres north of Rignac. Twice a month there is a big market in Gramat, but there are other markets in the area almost every day of the week. The Paris-Toulouse train stops in Gramat which is very convenient if you don't have a car, though a car is advisable to fully explore the area.

The Lot's rich and often violent history is evident in the area's impressive castles and fortified towns. Today however, the only possible disturbances are lively village fetes or classical chamber concerts on tranquil summer evenings.

The terrain is criss-crossed with hiking and horseback trails. A lovely 3-hour walk from Rignac along the Alzou valley passes four old stone mills before arriving at the medieval pilgrimage site of Rocamadour, clinging precariously to the side of a cliff. The country roads are perfect for cyclists and the Dordogne river offers lovely swimming beaches and canoes for hire. For the adventurous, spelunking is a popular local sport. For the rest of us, a trip to the Padirac chasm is a must: visitors drift past towering stalagmites on a subterranean boat trip. Another excellent excursion is to the 20,000 year old cave paintings at Pech Merle.

The area is known for its strong and deep Cahors wines (which are excellent with cheese, especially the local goat cheese, cabécou), duck confit and magret, truffles, foie gras and walnuts.

"I believe that this great peaceful region of France will be a sacred spot for man, and when the critics have killed off the poets this will be the refuge and the cradle of poets to come. France will someday exist no more but the Dordogne will live on just as dreams live on and nourish the souls of men." — Henry Miller

The kitchen	The dining area
The barn across the road is Catherine Stock's studio and gallery	The secluded and shady garden
The terrace	The gallery in the barn
Sushi, one of the resident cats	Thabo, the resident sheepdog, under the wisteria
The gardens of the Marqueyssac overlook the Dordogne river	A watercolour of nearby Thegra, by Catherine Stock
Rocamadour is a scenic three hour walk from Rignac, past four ancient fortified mills in the Alzou valley

Your house is wonderful, surrounded by all the beautiful flowers, which you so graciously made into bouquets for us. And it was fun to be in a farm setting, hearing the cows and sheep around us.
Brooke and John D. - Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Catherine, the short note that we left does not sum up our true appreciation for how Le Tramizal inspired us. As you may have guessed, we are rather quiet people, and the pure solitude that you allowed us for our short stay was sheer joy.
Gordon and Valery G. - London, UK

We love the area and your cottage - especially its lovely wood fires in the evening!
Barbara and Andrew M. - Dorset, UK

Catherine, thank you for creating Le Tramizal so that we could experience it - and also for your warm hospitality, and your introduction to the secret swimming hole in the Dordogne river, not to mention the Jazz Festival and the great conversation. We will miss the variety of experiences here, including the watercolor class! And we will be back soon!
Don T. and Diana T. - Washington, DC, USA

The details of your property on the Net were very enticing, but never prepared us for the warm welcome, your hospitality, and the beautiful surroundings in this area. Wonderful books too! It was a pleasure to spend some time with you and Thabo.
Lorraine T. - Scrignac, Finistère, France

We talked about Rocamadour becoming a lieu de rencontre. All Mme le Maire needs to do to achieve this is study Le Tramizal, with its wonderful mixture of South Africa, New York, and la France profonde -- a meeting place of cultures and people that exists thanks to your generosity and evident love for people and beautiful experiences. Thanks for the chance to be part of your lieu de rencontre, to meet some wonderful people who are all obviously deeply happy to have you as a friend, for the superb jam, the lovely selection of CDs, and the warmth of your welcome.
Kay and Bill G. - Maryland, USA

Thanks for opening up your beautiful cottage to us. Thanks for the bicycles, the hammock, the fresh country air, the animal sounds, the friendly neighbours, the outdoor shower, the beautiful plums and raspberries, the lunch at Madame Malet's, the tasty bread in Alvignac, the sweet jam, the lunatic sheep dog who was sorely missing Thabo, the front porch lizards, the skittery barn cats... We look forward to a return visit!
Vicky P. and Nicky M. - Dublin, Ireland

Favourite Memories of Le Tramizal:
•jug of wildflowers on the table
•listening to music in the glow of the wood fire
•lying in the hammock under the walnut tree looking up at the stars
•having a lovely picnic on the river and watching you cook sausages while the rest of us talked and drank wine
•drinking milk warm from the cow- à la recherche du temps perdu (did someone else say that?)
•watching a kaleidescope of butterflies in the meadow
•eating plums,sun warmed, straight from the tree...
Derek and Jane S. - Bournemouth, England

Our memories include Thabo turning up within a few seconds of our lifting the door latch, delicious eggs from the madam with the cleanest kitchen in the world, cosy log fires, Jaap's wonderful pumpkin and ginger soup and the great jazz. Thank you for looking after us and being lovely.
Marion and Jonathan C. - Sussex, England

We have had a marvellous time, and I will pay Le Tramizal the highest possible compliment by comparing our stay here to cherished vacations at our family cottage in Georgian Bay, my favorite place in the whole world!
Nancy H. and Joan H. - Orillia, Ontario, Canada

Thanks for making our honeymoon very special. The cottage is just perfect. Thabo is an absolute delight- taking us for walks!
William and Dalene C. - Magaliesberg, South Africa

I can still hear the music playing from the Fete de Rignac. What a joyous time for me to have had so much fun in this most beautiful part of the world. You have given me a very special summer vacation that I will hold in my heart always.
Liz R. - Florida, USA

And the sky...well, no one told us about that sky. The stars were AWESOME!
Al and David S. - UK

A marvellous time at Le Tramizal. Evenings spent reading and listening to jazz have been too long absent from our busy schedules. As I write this, I listen to Ben Webster, a dove cooing, the sheep next door, and pause to watch two jetstreams moving away in the distance. Difficult to leave...
George and Deborah M. - Ottawa, Canada

Thanks for a really peaceful and enjoyable stay at Le Tramizal last week. We were relaxed and rested by the end of our stay. The holiday will be in our thoughts for a very long time. Rignac felt like home.
Paul and Jo C. - Suffolk, UK

Le Tramizal is everything we expected and a great deal more. Your handbook of suggestions for excursions proved to be invaluable. Bonaguil, along with Peche Merle, are highlights of our lives.
David and Sue S. - Seattle, Washington, USA

Your cottage is like a museum of treasures. You and Thabo are really the part of my holiday I will remember most fondly. A lovely place, a lovely lady...
Tannis H. - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Merci mille fois for your kind hospitality and just a really good time. We will always cherish the fabulous walk to the site of the old mill.
Steve and Deb C. - USA

Thank you for making our first trip to Europe so easy with your generous hospitality. We have been so inspired here. Thank you for all the wonderful tips for places to go and paint. Every area had a unique charm whether haystacks, castles, chateaux, or churches in a small village. We dont want to leave!
Sandi and Fran G. - Brimfield, Massachusetts, USA

Le Tramizal was even prettier than the photos on your website indicated, and your thoughtful attention to detail- well stocked kitchen, maps, activity suggestions, etc really added to the experience.
Mark and Erika H. - UAE

We thought we had made a wrong turn when suddenly a large black dog appeared in front of our car, barking. At first we tried to shoo him off, but then recognised him as Thabo from his picture on the website. He was expecting us! And he led us to the front of this remarkable little house. As soon as we walked in we felt like we were home. Merci beaucoup for your hospitality and the wonderful memories.
Elise and Ari M. - Philadephia, Pennsylvania, USA