Blogs from Dordogne, Aquitaine, France, Europe - page 4

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Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne September 6th 2009

Prior to planning our trip to France, I had never heard of the region called Dordogne. Provence, the Riviera, Normandy, Burgundy, and the Loire Valley were all well-known in my mind and to everyone else. It wasn't until I saw a television show that Rick Steves had produced on the Dordogne that I knew we were definitely going to go out of our way to ensure we would visit. The picture-postcard scenes I saw of people lazily paddling down a serene river with a golden-hued stone village as its backdrop captured my attention immediately. As I drooled over the images, it appeared as though it would be a photographers dream setting, so I was quite looking forward to photographing it myself! The Dordogne is an area of south-west France that is located within the region of ... read more
Chateau de Castelnaud
Beautiful building in Sarlat
Autoire

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne August 23rd 2009

Kanotur, det var eg jo på i helga som var. Eg vart plukka opp etter skulen, og vi sette nasen mot ein campingpalsse ved Liemeuil, som ligg ved elva Dordogne (som for øvrig renn ut i elva som munnar ut ved Bordeaux; Garonne.). Landskapet var nydeleg, været betre, og folka kanon. Faktisk framstid det meste eg såg som eit psot kort, nærmare ein karikatur av den berømte sørfranske landsbygda. Smale gater, små mursteinhus, mange upraktiske løysingar og ikkje minst eit lass med koselege spisestader! Eg fekk verkeleg nytta høve til å praktisere fransken. Eg registrerar at dersom det er ein temabasert samtale kan eg være med, er det berre preik om alt og ingenting har eg lite å fare med. Eg sov ute, det var kjempe, og fekk straks hardhaus stempelet. Dei skulle berre visst kva ... read more

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne July 15th 2009

The drive out of the Loire took us through some serious agricultural land. Miles and miles of crops and villages the landscape had a golden glow due to the wheat and sunflowers. The last 50 kilometres of the drive was our favourite as the road headed into the hills and passed through hill top fortifications and walled villages. Once again, surprisingly quiet roads that were a pleasure to drive. We have decided to stay inland and visit the Dordogne Valley instead of heading back out to the coast. Yes, of course, the Dordogne Valley is listed in our book ‘1001 Natural Wonders you Must See Before You Die’ Terrible title but some great places to see. Now I know I said I have already found my favourite part of rural France, well in the last few ... read more
canoeing down the Dordogne River
The Dordogne Valley - agricultural land
Canoeing down the Dordogne River

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne July 12th 2009

12/07/2009 - It had been ages since Hannah and I last had a decent break from work so we decided to go with some friends to Hannah’s parents in Bergerac, southwest France. I was so excited because I love coming here and especially this time of year for Bastille Day. There were 7 of us altogether and we all arrived roughly at the same time so Hannah and I gave a tour of the converted barn. For the first few days we spent most of our time sitting by the pool enjoying the relaxing atmosphere in the beautiful weather. We cooked delicious meals together and spent the nights playing games and drinking loads and loads of local wine. The 14th July was Bastille Day, a French national holiday where they celebrated all over the country by ... read more
Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne April 25th 2009

Seeing the prehistoric cave paintings was the primary reason for staying in the Dordogne River Valley. However it is much more than cave art. The countryside is very beautiful and consists of farmland, nut orchards, vineyards, forests, medieval villages and many, many castles, some dating from the 1100's. The river valleys are lined with limestone cliffs, and some of the villages are built right into the cliffs. The most famous of the caves is Lescaux, but these are closed to the public because of deterioration. The government has created exact copies .for the public to tour. Another cave just outside the village of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac has limited access to the public, and we were able to get tickets for the tour of the cave. Unfotunately, the tour guide only spoke in French, and I missed a ... read more
Le Roc
Dordogne River Valley
The Dordogne River

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne April 24th 2009

On our last day in Paris we went to the Louvre. It is the biggest museum in the world, and one day wasn't enough. But one week wouldn't be enough time to see all there is to see. We concentrated on the Dutch and Flemish painters, and I especially liked the Art Nouveau collection. Yesterday, we left Paris and took a five hour train to the Dordogne Valley. We're staying in a charming little hotel above the town of Sarlat. Unfortunately, the network here is not good, so we won't be able to uipload any pictures for a few days. I can say that the area is beautiful - woodsy, with wisteria and other flowers in bloom, and the trees are light green with spring foliage. In Paris, it was a gamble to enter a restaurant, ... read more
Interior courtyard at the Louvre
Hotel Meysset

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne April 9th 2009

July 2007 - We get married on the 15th of July. An amazing day in the sunshine. It was genuinely battering down with rain every day in July except our wedding, it was glorious sunshine, so strong and warm that there wasn’t a drop of damp anywhere and we had a fantastic day. A 20 piece brass band playing outside in the Sun with my father law conducting, a 20 a-side game of football on the huge lawn with all my family and friends, great food and plenty of drink, a wonderful band who turned the evening reception into more of a gig than a party and a fantastic time was had by all. July/August 2007 - Our honeymoon in France, three fantastic weeks, we flew to Paris and hired a car, we drove down the ... read more
ceremony
with this ring...
all the kilts

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne February 22nd 2009

Sarlat is the Dordogne town close to here that held the Truffle Festival. Today was the first ever Festival of the goose. "Oie" is French for goose, as well as being a French word that is almost impossible for an English speaker to say. The raising of geese for the production of foie gras (goose or duck liver) is very important in this area. When you drive in the country you pass numerous farms advertising foie gras for sale, in all of the various forms. Almost every town has one or more stores selling products of the region, of which foie gras, duck or goose, is predominant. Other regional products are walnuts, wine, duck meat, truffles, liquors of fruit and nuts. Almost all of the menus of the area feature foie gras. This festival included demonstrations ... read more
Goose Herding
Goose Herding
Goose Products

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne February 14th 2009

There are many touristy things to do in Dordogne, even in winter. Some of the more popular activities such as canoeing on the Dordogne River or camping are seasonal, but others are available. Some are even better in the winter, due to the limited number of tourists. Cave Visits The cliffs of Dordogne are riddled with caves and rock dwellings that were occupied by prehistoric people for thousands of years. Humanity's beginnings are revealed by archaeological finds and in large natural caves and grottoes. Sophisticated paintings and drawings of now extinct animals have been discovered. Some like Lascaux have been sealed from public view to prevent further degradation of the art found within. Lascaux has been accurately recreated in a replica cave that is marvelous. Font-de-Gaume, near Les Eyzies, is a cave that is considered among ... read more
Font-de-Gaume
Chateau
National Museum of Pre-History

Europe » France » Aquitaine » Dordogne February 12th 2009

Our daughter, Tracy, came to Dordogne to visit us for three days before the three of us went by train to Paris for a week. More of that later. Being her first time to France, we decided to take her to three different restaurants in the area. Now Tracy is not at all adventuresome in her eating. Her idea of risk-taking gastronomically, is to switch from raspberry to strawberry jam on her peanut butter sandwich! When she was a teen she once phoned a special restaurant that we were all going to, to see if they had hamburgers. She has been stressing about her trip to France, worried that her dad was going to cajole her into eating something unfamiliar. But she was in a quandary as she was visiting us and I was paying for ... read more
Bistro de L'Octroi
Bistrot d'Epicure
La ferme Bareil




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