The old town of Sarlat in The Dordogne is beautiful and of course like any beautiful town in France it has its share of tourists but it is, full of character, gorgeous buildings and alley ways to explore.  Thankfully we are here early and the tourists are yet to arrive en masse.

 Hiccup of the week 

The first couple of days it was quite cold and wet …. not forgetting the temperature guage from a few days ago that was short lived. But then on the third day such excitement as the weather report said it was going to reach 29 woo hoo! and it did, so happy, beds Stripped sheets,  doona covers etc … all lovely and dry back on beds, such a lovely feeling …..fast forward a few hours …out with Allens brother Martin and his wife Marge (who were holidaying in the area which was lovely) we came back home in a torrential downpour, in our excitement with the warmer weather we had left all the roof vents open and we had the Dordogne river in Pinot !!!!! (Slight exaggeration) Everything soaked, Al Pal was getting a bit frustrated, I went into hysterical laughter ( know it was not funny but what could you do ) so we had sheets doona covers etc tied to what ever we could find and slept on a beach towel 😂 was like being in a giant cubby house, oh dear. You will have to imagine the scene as the photo would not load for some reason.

Sarlat

Market days Wednesday and Saturday ….fabulous goodies in copious amounts. But very expensive coffee at 4 euros a pop in some places ! Hey we are used to paying 2 euros for 2 ! and much nicer. 

The lovely church had this very unusual experience, instead of lighting a candle you chose a drawing pin and in my case made a wish.

We spent three nights in Sarlat then moved on to a lovely site on the river to Beynac which was the perfect spot to explore the area. Explore we did, days cycling through stunning villages… picnics … days out on Grigio and plenty of walking around Chateaus and the French countryside. market days aplenty stocked up on French wine, oils, cheeses, walnuts etc.Had a lovely couple of hours wandering around here all the box hedges are clipped by hand. Al Pal offered to help as those of you who know him well, used to love clipping his in Brookfield.Beynac

We stayed here 10 days (could have stayed another 10, but we must move on ) at the campsite Capeyron fabulous site on the river.

What a great place to park our home. This castle high above our site, sits above the Dordogne river with commanding 360 degree views.  We walked up and did the tour. Lala land has visited on a number of occasions and used the castle and surrounds in many films, the latest being Chocolat with Johhny Dep and parts of Ever After  which apparently was a good chick flick. The one I have seen a couple of times was Joan of Arc which was a cracker ( very bloody but a good film). Now more interestingly King Richard spent about 10 years living there in the 12th Century wow (probably better known as Richard the Lionheart) Went off to fight in the Crusades against Saladin then Bach to France where he was killed in battle. All the while his brother John was white anting him…..bad John was pretty much the reason we ended up having the Magna Carta drawn up…….see Mr Ridgeway, I did love your History classes.

 la Roque Gageac.Domme

Went on Grigio one day and passed through some gorgeous places but the highlight today was visiting Domme .. another wonderful place, so many villages are rated one of Frances best ! Wandering around we met the lovely Pam from California who has had a holiday home here for the past eight years.. after numerous offers to go inside we did and had a lovely chat around her very colourful kitchen table with her husband Dan. Thank you Pam and she took a great shot of Al too.

Bought a lovely French tablecloth for our table outside … ha ha of course looking at the washing instructions when we got home. made in PRC .. oh well still love it.

Daglan

Found a great bike path off the main road that was a treat …we have constant smiles on our faces. This was a lovely stop for a cool drink and explore this little cute artisan village.

Chateau Milandes

Once the home of Josephine Baker. A Black American most famous for her very risqué dance routines in the twenties wearing only a small banana skirt and no top. She didn’t have much success in her Country of birth and travelled to France where they loved her and adopted her as there own. She went on to Marry several times and in later life she adopted 12 kids from around the world. One of her beliefs was that various different races did not exist. Just the human race…! Nice. Anyway she had a very interesting life including a little stint in the French Resistance as a courier and won many accolades by the French people. She bought this beautiful Chateau built about 700 years ago. Sadly she was evicted after 20 years with huge debts. Very sad and died a few years later. She was just a very small part of the history of this place but the real facts surrounding it involved murder treachery and political and religious intrigue. Amanda told me to stop now ha ha as I’ll bore the audience….. back to you Amanda.

Lovely night out with our lovely neighbours we met during our stay at Beynac.

It’s time to move on again now do not want to leave this magical area, but we must, lots more exploring to do .

Until next time  xx