Blogs from Dordogne, Aquitaine, France, Europe - page 2

We have had a great week here in Cenac with our friends Geoff and Mon. They are off to Scotland tomorrow and we are off to Paris. We went for a drive yesterday and ended up driving around the French country side for about 6 hours. It was really pretty and some of the tiny little villages were very cute. We got lost a couple of times trying to take a few short cuts! Some of the roads were more like tracks. We went to a place called Rockamadour, very impressive. The view from the castle on the hill was amazing. It was very high up, a little scary looking down. It has been quite warm here, we have only had one day of rain and that was really light. I don't think I mentioned that ... read more

We went off to the market in Sarlat this morning to go hunting and gathering for our next couple of days. I think if I see one more Foie Gras I'll turn into one. The produce was more repetitive than at the market in Uzes, but we picked up some really fantastic strawberries, raspberries and cherry tomatoes as well as more olives (of course!) and olive tapenade. I bought 2 different types of foie gras, but I wonder if we are at overload already....... There was a lovely couple at the Charcuterie stand who translated for me as I tried to tell the stall holder 'thinner', 'more', 'stop' etc. as he sliced jambon and bacon for me. We all had a big laugh at my sign language. The supermarket has been an experience - finding fresh ... read more

How beautiful it is to wake up in the Dordogne - breakfast being served on the large refectory table in the lounge/dining room area. Our friends at the table this morning were two American families. The first a mother and father visiting their daughter a nun in a closed order of nuns in Avignon. The second family were on a tour of Europe at breakneck speed. 5 mins in Paris, 10 in Disneyland and a week in the Carmargue. No time to stop or stare as the words of the poem came to mind. They would go home having visited Paris, France but only scraping the surface. Conversation flowed over the treacle tart, the sweet cakes, yoghurt and fruit. Politics and the Obama regime, the lack of a health service in the USA and any other ... read more

Blogday 9 Thursday 24th September Rocamadour, Padirac and Figeac An early start to the day. A quick breakfast in the room, packed the baggage into the Chev, checked out of the hotel and headed out of Sarlat for the last time, planning to end up in Figeac by way of two well known tourist destinations. First of all we went to Rocamadour, a popular pilgrimage destination since the Middle Ages on account of the statue of the Black Madonna in a sanctuary there. It also has a charming medieval village (another one) seemingly super-glued to the side of a 300 foot vertical cliff face. As it was only 37 kms away from Sarlat it took us less than one hour to reach there via some very winding valley and mountain roads. Roof off on the Chev ... read more

Blogday 5 Sunday 20th September La Rochelle to Sarlat in the Dordogne via much of Burgundy; by reason of getting lost a few times. This on account of my Michelin Road Atlas being somewhat out of date, like 8 years, and not showing recently constructed autoroutes. This is what happens when a boy from Cardiganshire goes on holiday (for the information of those readers who come from beyond the Welsh borders, Cardiganshire natives are famously tough when it comes to spending money.....folks from other areas of Wales describe us in rather less fulsome terms). Meanwhile back at La Rochelle: up reasonably early and on our way south on the autoroute heading for Bordeaux where we would turn east for Periguex. A brief deviation to fuel up at a nearby Carrefour (petrol at supermarkets is 15% cheaper ... read more