The title of this blog sounds a little strange until you hear all the little kids on vacation with their parents excitedly calling out that yes, they would like this or that. By the end of the day we were both laughing at all the "Oui Oui Oui..." we had heard!
Yes, yes, yes... we are home! Home in our cozy gite in another amazing part of France. We are staying for a week in a gite (holiday apartment) between the villages of Cenac and Domme in the Dordogne Valley. The gite is actually a converted barn with no straw to be found. It is beautiful with ancient wood beams and modern tile and plaster. Set on five acres in the country it is a perfect base to explore the area.
Now before I go on and wax poetic about the beauty of the Dordogne I must tell you that PG (our GPS) has been given a sex change. In the interest of not having two women argue in the car I decided to turn her in to a sexy man from Austrlia. Ain't technology grand?! So now, instead of trying to turn off that bossy woman I listen patiently to the instructions given. Like the woman I am I listen... and ignore them completely if I don't like where it's going. Oh... and did I mention I found the mute button. I love this trip!
Now back to the trip. After leaving Angouleme we did a drive by Mouthiers, a village where our daughter lived when she was in France. We drove around, took pictures of the chateau, the church and bought a chocolatine in the local bolangerie (her favourite breakfast!). So that one was for you, Niki.
The drive south to Cenac brought us through the vineyards of the Bordeaux area and rolling fields of yellow rapeseed. We skirted the town of Sarlat and arrived at our destination to be greeted by our very congenial hosts and a bottle of red wine.
The next day we (did laundry!!) went to market and walked up to the village of Domme. This was supposed to be our lazy day but you just can't hang around watching clothes dry. Being Saturday it was also the day of the big market in |Sarlat which meant back in the car. Sarlat is a charming medieval town. The market was right in the center of the old village and along many of the side alleys. Everything from vegetables, jewelry and clothes to (tables and tables of) foie gras. This was the perfect way to begin our week. We bought some foie gras, olives, cheese, vegetables and took great pictures. After two or more hours in the market we were still home by lunch. With lots of energy to spare and the sun shining we decided it was a perfect day to walk up the hill.
The view of the valley from Domme is amazing. You can see many of the famous chateaus and forts from the northern wall. On foot it's easy to get lost on the windy paths. Most of which have gates at the end of them. This meant great pictures and a much longer walk than anticipated especially since we found ourselves coming back via the village of Cenac.
Exhausted we sat in the evening sun sipping a good wine, munching on foie gras, cheese, fruit and planning our next day.
Day two in the Dordogne was hot and wonderful so we were off again. Packing a picnic for lunch we headed towards Beynac at Cezanac where we began our 420 picture day. Yep you read that right!
By the end of the day we had seen: Beynac, Eglise de Cezenac, a beautiful country villa, Chateau de Faynac, Chateau de Milandes, Castenaud, La Roque-Gageac, the Chateau Marqueyssac and it's beautiful garden as well as taking time out to picnic by the Dordogne River. Whew!
I won't go in to the details of each of these places because you would be well and truly bored. Suffice to say the Japanese word "Sugoi!" came up a lot (that means fantastic &/or beautiful).
If you travel to the Dordogne you must pay to go in to Beynac if nothing else. It is an exquisite medieval castle with beautiful views across the valley. We also went up to the Chateau Marquessac. Here again you get amazing views but the star attraction is the amazing boxwood, rosemary and lavender gardens.
Each place we saw had it's own beauty. The valley itself is stunning and the history grabs you and pulls you in. You can almost hear those old barons fighting with each other then making up and fighting together when a common enemy approached. Boiling oil, catapults and torture chambers... we humans are so innovative! Can you imagine going to work every day in a full metal suit? I had problems with pantyhose every day. One thing these old castles had over the ones in the Loire is actual toilets. No chamber pots for these guys... even without running water. Enough of that!