Cordes for Sale?

Abandoned houses in Cordes intrigued me even more than the many lovely renovated buildings. The one above sparkled with brilliant blue, but apparently no one comes home through its cheery door.

I've always been one who likes to take a gander through old windows into empty rooms, but sometimes this wasn't possible:

Overall, we were amazed by the number of houses for sale in Cordes sur Ciel. I didn't do any research into this subject, but we must have seen dozens of homes à vendre, leaving us to assume that prices are out of sight and/or that potential buyers are not so enthusiastic about homes with lots of charm, but little or no garden, or just a patio with a view of thousands of tourists all summer.
Some owners might do better to change their "for sale" sign so it's more in keeping with the village's atmosphere:

We also saw plenty of homes that were apparently inhabited, but in need of some good renovation work:


But for some, it's too late!

I was interested to note that all of the charming properties in the Cordes area haven't been bought up already. Seriously, most places don't look like the one above! If you're interested a home in the Cordes area, take a look here.

Cordes sur Ciel 1 -- Bits of Blue in lieu of Blue Sky

Cordes sur Ciel is one of the jewels of Tarn tourism. It's easy to see why when the sun is out, and the village looks like this or this. But we visited it on a grayish and windy day, and the view of the village was a little more like this -- which definitely changed the village's atmosphere, and explains why we didn't bother to stop at the viewpoint to take the "typical" photo of Cordes.

The lower village, with its grocery stores and bakeries, was bustling. But we were there on a Monday - -when smaller shops are closed -- and just barely at the start of tourist season to boot. Factor in the blustery weather, and the upper village was practically deserted.

Frankly, I liked it that way. It was pleasant not to be distracted by the many shops and the multi-lingual throng of tourists which swarms into the village during the peak season.

We were able to focus on details...

...and appreciate the colorful decorations on the homes and other buildings, because our sky was definitely lacking in blue on the morning we visited "Cordes sur Ciel...Gris."