Sep 15, 2012 - Free day in Sarlat

No sore shoulders! Didn't have to go anywhere today so slept in until 8:10 and breakfast about 8:45. Luxury! Enjoyed visiting with folks until 10:00 when we returned to our room to work on the blog. Ivan was on the computer so I went to the glass day room where I could spread out my papers and work on composing blog messages. About 1:15 we set out to find a lunch spot and then sightsee this old city with cobblestone streets and yellow stone and stucco buildings. It was evident this area is known for foie gras and duck. Signs everywhere...

Sep 14, 2012 - Cave; Canoeing

After another hour of riding through lovely countryside with crops and forests we arrived at a very large cave for an underground tour to see prehistoric art. The privately owned cave, Grotte de Rouffignac, does not allow photos and only takes a limited number of people into the cave on electric trains each hour. There are over 5 miles of cave with several areas of either engravings or paintings or both. Our guide, a grandson in the family business, gave us an excellent tour. The 250+ pictures/engravings were mainly of mammoths, some...

Sep 13, 2012 - Mortemart; WWII village; Sarlat

Six hours of riding today. One of the most interesting tidbits was the origin of the word, limousine. Would you believe it comes from the large, strong reddish-brown breed of cow that was once used to pull wagons and carriages? Those cows are called 'Limousin'. In the very tiny village of Mortemart (pop. 124 according to the lady mayor who came to greet us and thank us for coming) we had a great picnic lunch. Patrick bought some delicious French foods for us to try: rabbit and pork pates, 4 kinds of cheese, 2 kinds of tapandades (olive...

Oct 22, 2011 - Several Chateaux, a king and a lady with a banana skirt

Sheep Follow, Goats Lead, a play in just a few lines Setting: Nice restaurant in southwestern French town. Dinner is over and a youthfully middle aged couple are enjoying a plate of local goat cheeses with the remains of their wine. Distinguished Gent: “You know, I’m really surprised that we haven’t seen any sheep in the fields the past few days as we’ve been driving around.” Patient Wife: “Oh, why is that?” DG ( gesturing to his plate of half-eaten cheeses): “Well, where does all this goat cheese come from?” PW: “Perhaps from...

Oct 21, 2011 - Perigord and the Dordogne --just point your camera in any direction

Marilyn's Musings About a year ago, Bob discovered the author Martin Walker who has written a series of books about Bruno Courreges, a police inspector who lives and works in the Perigord area of France. On his way to solving the latest murder, Bruno finds himself involved in the life of his village and the villagers living there. Walker also wrote The Caves of Perigord which tells of the prehistoric cave painting found here. So, we headed off to Sarlat in search of Bruno, foie gras, Bergerac wines, geese and murders to solve. The British...

Sep 17, 2011 - Sarlat

Yesterday we toured around the Dordogne valley. We went to Beymac,la Roque Gageac, and Dome. We went for a ride on garbarre on the Dordogne river which was really nice sailing past castles and lovely villages build into steep rock escarpments. You can see why they made movies like "chocolat" in this area. Today was the big marketitinerary Sarlat with all the cheese,meat,fruit plus all the clothes, crafts etc the French sure know how to do a market well. Tonight is the one night of the yr the light up the old city with candles and lights so...

Sep 15, 2011 - Sarlat

Today we left Paris on the fast train a 5 hr trip to soulliac. The last part of the journey was done by bus to Sarlat winding thru the little villages. Sarlat is a town of about 10,000 with a old city in the centre. The old buildings are incredible liike something out of le miserables where part of it was filmed. It is filled with restaurants and shops for people like us! It really has atmosphere and one must sit in the town square with a glass of vino to soak it all up! There is plenty of little narrow alleyways and something around each...

Jul 7, 2011 - Road Trip to Sarlat with picnic in Montemart and sober tour of Oradour-Sur-Glane

July 7, 2011 We are on the road to Sarlat, and we have about 6 hours on the bus. But the trip was not that hard, broken up as it was with beautiful countryside, breaks every couple of hours, and stops on the way with their own special charm. For lunch today we stopped in Mortemart, a small village of only 150 people or so. Its claim to fame was it was recognized as one of the most beautiful small villages in France, and they have the sign to prove it. A large market hall graces the middle of the square, featuring 13th century construction...

Oct 12, 2008 - Our Overnight Road Trip to Sarlat

Our overnight road trip to Sarlat was very successful, we saw such beautiful country and interesting sites and villages. The countryside is alive with autumn colours, we had sunny skies and hot weather for our trip. Our first photo opportunity was the Chateau Biron, the French consider it one of the finest castles in the Dordogne area. It is an 11th century fortress complete with an 80 ft. long kitchen and it's own torture chamber. Then on to Monpazier a perfectly preserved medieval bastide town built by Edward I of England, and one of the...