Blogs from Dordogne, Aquitaine, France, Europe

Frankfurt Airport I'm on a four-hour layover waiting for my connection to Marseille, mindlessly following signs, mindlessly following crowds. Occasionally the crowds bunch into queues, queues for shuttles, queues for information, queues for coffee. I've come to accept the dozens of communication failures that happen daily when I'm traveling abroad. My first of this trip came when I summoned my best German to order coffee mit cream and got a cup of thick black ink instead. On the flight I watched a documentary about how we fail to appreciate the miracle of modern aviation. (No doubt produced by some airline consortium.) Each gate in an airport should be seen as a portal, the film suggested, a portal that allows us to step from London to Abu Dhabi, from Montreal to Lima, from Shanghai to Honolulu. The ... read more

Run, wine repeat A few years back while on an amazing cycle tour with Tom, Rolande, Don and Debbie we had lunch in lovely park in Pauillac France. Our guide, Jean Phillipe told us about the world famous marathon that takes place here every September. A unique and fun marathon that’s course not only takes you through some of the most beautiful and famous wineries in the world - but also gives you samples of their wines many being Grande Cru status. Where do I sign up I wondered... and how many people can I convince to join me ?. As usual I would have to wait for the right time to plant the seeds that a holiday that included a marathon (to my mostly non running friends) was a great way to vacation. Oh and ... read more

We rolled into St Pierre-Toirac, our house in the Dordogne, on Monday afternoon, being greeted by our lovely hosts, Gisella and Jacky, who showed us around, gave us information and wine, and left us to our own devices. The village, though not very big with only a cafe-cum-bar-cum-bakery (which closed on the 7th for the month) has a wonderful old (12th century) church whose bells are rung at 7 am, noon, and 8 pm. We're here in the area for 10 days, so Tuesday we spent driving and getting to know the area. Driving along the Lot river is a treat, with many small villages built into the sides of the walls above the river. The main town near us was Figeac, and all roads led there. We went to the supermarket and got supplies, including, ... read more

Sunday, July 6, 2014 - Font de Gaume - Off we went in my cute little automatic rental to Font de Gaume in the Dordogne. Font de Gaume is an art cave dating back to prehistoric times, much in the same vein as Lascaux, in the same area. http://leseyzies-tourist.info/dordogne-caves-and-shelters/font-de-gaume Now, the interesting thing is that they aren’t taking reservations. Over 6 months ago I got online to them and mentioned that we were coming from New Zealand, could only understand English, and had to make many associated reservations in conjunction with the visit to Font de Gaume and I NEEDED reservations. I got them, but I don’t recommend you try it…There are many restrictions being put on the entrance to the cave now - visitations are limited to about 80 people per day to prevent further ... read more

Arrived at our B&B at Grolejac having a wine with dinner.... read more