Blogs from Dordogne, Aquitaine, France, Europe - page 5

We have spent several holidays in France, including twice before in the Dordogne area in the SW of France. The last time we rented an apartment here in Carlux from a couple originally from Toronto. They manage two other properties in Sarlat as well as their own. These can be seen at www.yourfriendsinfrance.org They spend the months of January and February in South Africa and we were presented with the wonderful opportunity to stay in their home during that time. This is a large stone house set on hill among wonderful gardens, with beautiful landscaping and two pools of goldfish. There is a date 1782 carved in one of the stones but this may date from a renovation with the actual building being older than that. There is an outbuilding, a bake house, Le Fournil in ... read more

The storm that is remembered is the storm of 1999. Exactly 10 years later is the next great tempete. Caught unawares last time there was plenty of advance warning for this one. We are situated in the South eastern portion of Dordogne, most of the devastation was south-west of here, stretching down past Toulouse into Spain. We have experienced more severe winds in Florida and even in Northern Ontario where our cottage is located. However we were on the fringe of this one and there were trees and forests destroyed and lives lost. Our immediate neighbour had the wind catch his satellite dish like a sail, pulling down part of the chimney which, in turn, shifted the tiles on the roof. Surveying the damage he mused that he would have been better off if he hadn't ... read more

Sarlat is hosting the International Truffle Festival today and tomorrow. This two day event included two truffle markets, a re-enactment of truffle hunting, art depicting the truffle, cooking demonstrations, truffle products and truffle sampling. If you have never smelled a truffle, the odour is very distinctive and was quite evident when we got close to the market. Trying to describe it would be impossible. Truffles were on display and purchasers were picking them up and smelling the individual products. Prices ranged from €600 to €1000 a kilogram and are down this year due to a good harvest. Dogs are used more extensively than pigs and a re-enactment showed how adept theses canines are in searching out the buried truffles. The dogs begin digging but the owner quickly takes over, rewarding the pup with a biscuit or ... read more

After a couple of days in Paris we headed south to the Loire and then on to the Dordogne. If you like wine, food, beautiful countryside, hot weather and charming villages then the Dordogne is for you. No wonder the Brits have invaded, yet again! This is a great place for a holiday particularly at this time of year when there is so much activity here. Days have been spent visiting villages and shopping in the street markets. Loads of "foie gras" and fresh fruit. We have also had a great canoe trip down a particularly nice part of the Dordogne. As we paddled along we passed under stone bridges and looked up to the castles. In the evenings everyone heads off to one of the local villages for the evening food markets. This involves long ... read more

After spending weeks visiting World War II and Communist sights, we felt that it was time for a change of pace and headed to the quaint city of Salzburg nestled on the edge of the Austrian Alps. As Salzburg is known for its classic composers, Janice had been lobbying to visit the city for several weeks and when we found out that our good friends, Tim & Sarah, were going to be there as part of a soccer trip, our decision was made. A short train ride from Munich later, we arrived in Salzburg and were disappointed to find the city shrouded in grey clouds, cold and with intermittent rain - not what we were expecting from a European summer! Once we had dumped our stuff at the hotel, we headed back into town to arrange ... read more