Bordeaux & Sarlat-la-Caneda _ 1 & 2 August

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DAY 1 -
It was a couple of hours train trip from Toulouse to Bordeaux. After a long day I wanted to relax, however an elderly lady plumped herself down beside me and proceded to tell me her life story, as well as giving me advise on mine. As she spoke no English it was a bit draining concentrating on following her story, but she didn't seem to mind if I responded or not! She also had never heard of Australia...

Bordeaux is well laid out with a zippy public transport system including 3 fast tram lines around the city. It seemed a bit like a mini Paris due to its wide boulevards, public squares, pedestrianised streets and imposing monuments.

I recommend "Hotel Touring" (as per Lonely Planet) as it is run by a friendly family and the room I had was very comfortable and roomy for the price.

Rue St Catherine - Europe's longest pedestrianised shopping street
Jardin Botanique - The botanical gardens were green and flower-filled. There was a lake with bridges and lots of ducks and ducklings. I was detained for an hour by a french guy who wanted to chat so nearly got locked inside the gardens which closed at 9pm.

Miroir d'Eau (Mirror of Water) - This was an enormous wading pool situated next to the 4k long esplanard which runs alongside the Garonne River. The water level is regulated to bubble up to varying degrees, so that sometimes the area is nearly dry and at other times it becomes a wading pool. The kids ( as well as adults) were having a ball running around in it.

Cathédrale St André - The cathedral dominates the city and is a world heritage site. There is also a 50m gargoyled belfry which you can climb for amazing views over the city.

Esplanade des Quinconces - a vast square with a massive fountain monument.
Place Gambetta - A central open area zith park benches and flowers, surrounded by cafes and brasseries.

DAY 2 - As Sarlat is high up on the tourist route, I was unlikely to get accommodation there, so I went there on a day trip from Bordeaux. I wouldn't recommend it though, as it took 3 hours each way and the schedule meant I had to catch a train at 7am in the morning. It didn't help that I was just getting my cold and was hard to drag myself around all day.

The town was worth it though. Its one of the most attractive and best restored medieval towns in France. It is a maze of cobbled alleyways, honey-bricked buildings and many little shops and galleries. There are many historic buildings, some of which are Unesco-listed. In fact everywhere you looked was picture-perfect.

The main street, "Rue de la Republique", cuts through the centre of the Cite Medievale (Old City), and was host to a street market, including tourist sourvenirs such as clothes and regional produce and specialties such as foie gras and truffles. Some stores showed evidence of the regional truffle trade - "Diamant noir" (Black Truffle) which is a rare fungus which is notoriously fussy about where it grows and is literally worth its weight in gold.
Saugages - donkey, duck and bull among others!

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