Author: taraabit

September 5th 2017

Today we visited Brantome a pretty town about a 90 minute drive to the north west of us. We were last here a few years ago as a family and decided to enjoy the hire of canoes and paddle around the outskirts of the town as many tourists do. Unfortunately a decision was made for the three daughters to share a canoe, working together isn’t one of their strengths and when they came to the part where you had to get over a weir, they got stuck on the top.

This provided great entertainment for many people who were site seeing and enjoying the views of the river, when after approx 10 mins following many instructions they managed without elegance to slide down the weir there was spontaneous applause from all the onlookers. Needless to say they blame each other!

Today we avoided the canoes.

Brantome is a town almost completely encircled by the River Dromme, it has a former Benedictine Monastery which is built in front of a troglodyte section which originally housed the religious buildings and living accommodation. It has a church belfry built in the 11th century which is the oldest in France.

After our 45 min tour of the monastery at a cost of five and a half euros each it was time for lunch which we took in a very pleasant restaurant overlooking the river.

Adjacent to the river is a very pretty park with some very old trees, 

The following are other photos around the river.

September 2nd 2017

Following a visit to a local market and supermarket we headed to Duras arriving in time for lunch.

We found a bar restaurant which did light lunches with a menu that allowed everyone to to choose something that suited them.

Our prime reason for visiting Duras was to visit the ancient Chateau, of course it was shut for lunch so after we had eaten we went for a wander around the town, nothing was open  and the streets were empty. This gave us the opportunity to walk the streets and take photos at our leisure.

On the dot of 2pm the ticket office opened and three of our party went in to explore the Chateau, with the number of steps it wasn’t suitable for the 94 year old, and two of us had been round before, so we sat in the sunshine at a picnic table made out of a huge slab of stone 5m x 1m.

The Chateau is well worth a visit, it was purchased by the local commune in the 60’s after failing to sell at an auction, it is slowly being improved and the community encouraged to use it for formal functions, weddings etc. The views are superb and you can see for miles across rolling countryside.

After we returned home we fired up the pizza oven and cooked home made pizzas.

September 1st 2017

Yesterday was the birthday of middle daughter Sophie. In her honour it was decided to have a rest from DIY and spend the day out like proper tourists, of course no birthday would be complete without a birthday cake.

Now any day out when there are a multitude of adults involved has to be organised to prevent chaos, or especially taking so long to get ready the day is almost over before you begin and despite all agreeing to showering the night before and be prepared, two party members showered when they got up! However I’m pleased to say we were on the road, driven by our amiable chaufeur Will in his 7 seater Ford Galaxy almost on the agreed time.

The first part of our day out involved circumnavigating Bergerac and heading for Lalinde, along the route there is still evidence that it was the route of one of the stages of the Tour de France, with decorated banners, bicycles hanging from trees and cyclists names painted on the road.

From Lalinde we took a small road to Sarlat which wasn’t along the Dordogne Valley, it was very scenic with many small chateaus evidence of the wealth of the area, until we arrived at Sarlat where we were able to find a parking space close to the centre.

We spent almost three hours in Sarlat hardly scratching the surface of what’s there is to be seen, with its beautiful historic buildings,  we then enjoyed lunch in an Italian restaurant before heading off to Domme, where unfortunately the battery on my camera died so I only managed a few photos.

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…Domme is classified as one of the most beautiful villages of France, it is perched high up with views down onto the River Dordogne, it is a fortified town and the walls and narrow entrance gateways still remain. Underneath the centre of the village are caves – Grottes – which can be explored.

A short journey away is Roque Gageac a perfect picture post card village. There is a troglodyte fort set 40 m up on the cliff face which at the moment is unfortunately inaccessible but plans are afoot to re open in the future. The village has its own micro climate with cacti, banana trees etc growing in profusion. A  beautiful place I enjoy visiting on a regular basis, fortunately I was able to take the following photos with my iphone.

The village borders the Dordogne river and here you can hire canoes or go on a boat ride on a traditional “gabares” river boat.

We then took a leisurely drive home where there was the traditional “Happy Bithday” song followed by an enjoyable slice of cake.

August  31st 2017

We are well into our fortnight back at the ranch with our guests who arrived by car or plane  last Saturday and Sunday.

First meal together.

 

Of course no meal comes free and everyone has been mucking in keeping the old homestead going for another few years, even the 94 year old is kept fully occupied.

new fence at the top of the drive

Why is it we decide to bbq on the hottest day?

Of course it hasn’t all been about work, we visited the vide grenier in Ste Foy La Grande on Sunday and came home with a haul of goodies including two pine dining chairs which matched our existing four, they cost one euro each!

goodies we purchased

When our guests arrived so did our English post and Michelle received a card from our good friends Arzu and Wolfgang in Germany in celebration of her freedom from work.

Why did the butterfly, flutterby?

Finally to Arturo, night skies not living up to their normal best, very little shooting star activity and definitely nothing in the bifurcated range!

August 24th 2017

Tonight we are at another aire by a leisure lake, Base de Loisiers Roufflac near Angoisse, again it is completely free, the beach was wonderful this afternoon with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees. There is a cafe/bar/restaurant and we have had a few drinks there to cool off. We have German, French, Belgian and English neighbours, Mark is an Englishman from Barnsley and enjoys a good natter.

This morning on the way here we stopped at Emoutiers another small and interesting French town where we enjoyed a ramble for an hour and did a small shop for food, today we travelled 60 miles and the roads were much better.



August 25th 2017

Last night we had a humdinger of a storm, thunder and lightning and heavy rain, it passed over us twice n the night, sounds very loud hammering on Homers roof.

We drove home via Perigeux, where for a short while we were heading in the wrong direction but we managed to recover and stopped off in Mussidan to fill up with diesel and popped into Lidl for a few basics.

Seems strange after a week away to be sitting in a lounge that’s bigger than the whole of Homer, never mind Senior Domestic organiser is happy the washing machine is whirring away, one of her pleasures in life.

We now have two weeks enjoying family visitors before we hit the road again.

August 23rd 2017.

We had a lazy start to our day today with Michelle giving Homer a sweep out and spruce up, we then set off to Aubusson, the Sat Nav directions took us off along a small country lane which went on for mile after mile with no chance to turn round or turn off until we reached the point it was easier to go on. I averaged about 20mph and the road surface was very rough, I was glad when it coughed us out on a main road just before Aubusson.

Aubusson is famous for its tapestry weaving, its products are exported world wide and it was commissioned to weave the enormous tapestry for Coventry Cathedral, needless to say everything was out of our price range. Unfortunately the town wasn’t very exciting but it made a pleasant stopover for lunch.

We then headed for an Aire at Auphalle which is on the side of a huge lake, unfortunately the road there was also narrow and uneven, I’m not looking forward to the journey out tomorrow. 

The aire here is run by the adjacent campsite, it costs the very acceptable sum of 5 euros per night with free use of the facilities on the camp site with its super modern toilet/shower blocks.

The lake is called Lac de Vassiviere, which is a bit of a mouthful, and has been formed by damming a small river. There is a beautiful beach with a cafe and restaurant, you can catch a free ferry out to a large island which has a cultural centre on it and art exhibitions, there are boats to hire and all in all with today’s sunshine it is a very pleasant place to relax, certainly hope to return one day.

August 22nd 2017

We are parked up for the night at Chatelus le Marchiex a small village in the middle of nowhere in the Creuze area, part of the Monts de Ambazac, which are really just high hills which are covered in forests.

This morning we hauled ourselves up the 500 m steep walk into Bellac, again a very old town. There were houses built into the rock faces and still being modernised, as well as many ancient buildings, but a town obviously suffering from lack of trade as many shops were permanently closed.

Although there is a free Aire here at Chatelus we have opted to stay the night on the municipal camp site which is next door and pay the huge sum of 11 and a half euros for the privilege, that includes all the electricity hook up and free showers.

After we had set up we went for a walk to explore, everything was downhill, the village only had a few commercial outlets and they were closed, most only opening for a few mornings per week, even the bar only opened from 5.30 to 8.30pm each evening! So we carried on downhill as we knew there was a river in the bottom of the valley, we were hot and sweaty on arrival as it was 32 degrees, we were pleased to find a small leisure area and we grabbed an ice cream to cool us down.

Unfortunately when we had enjoyed an hour sitting by the river we had to walk the mile or so back up the the long steep hill, I was ready for a beer when we got back.

These are the views from Homers window tonight.

August 21st 2017

Our first stop today was a town called Rochechouart which has a pretty impressive chateau, we parked at the bottom of the town and walked approx 1km up a very steep hill to get there, unfortunately the chateau was only being used currently as a modern art museum so we didn’t pay to go in.

The towns other claim to fame is that it is built on the edge of a crater created by a meteorite that hit the area approx 200 million years ago!

When we left we drove a further 10 miles or so to Orador-sur-Glane which has a very sad history. In June 1944 a group of soldiers from the SS Panzer division entered this large village and slaughtered 642 men,women and children, burning their bodies and the whole village afterwards. No-one to this day knows the precise reason why they did this although there are several theories, one being retaliation to resistance activities.

After the war President Charles de Gaulle ordered that the village remain as it was as a permanent memorial and museum honouring those who died. You enter the village through the modern museum and walk out into the streets preserved as they were, some houses are marked up with the names of the original inhabitants or their uses, shop, garage, cafe etc. Even the church wasn’t spared as all the women and children were herded into it and murdered before being set on fire. There are still a few relics from that time slowly rusting away, cars, beds, sewing machines etc.

There is a stillness about the place and people walking around spoke quietly and showed respect, it didn’t seem appropriate to take lots of photos so I just took the following two.

Our stop for the night wasn’t much further on at a town called Bellac, there are two aires here and we managed to get on the prettiest one which is on the edge of a park and only has room for five motorhomes, ever since we arrived there has been a steady stream of motorhomes looking for a place, lots of disappointment. It has the advantage of being free. The following is the view we are sitting looking at in wonderful warmth.

Tomorrow the forecast is for 30 degrees and as it is a 500m walk up a steep hill to Bellac I think we will be doing that reasonably early.

August 20th 2017

We are on the move again. 

Our first stop today was Nontron which is situated in the Perigord-Limousin Regional Natural Park in the north of the Dordogne. The town has existed for around 1100 years and although being a fortified town on top of a hill it has been invaded and occupied many times during its existence. It is well known for its manufacture of cutelery, similar to Lagouile, again expensive and high end quality. Every summer it has a festival to celebrate the cutlery tradition.

Visiting at lunchtime on a Sunday meant it was very quiet but allowed us to walk the streets easily and take lots of photos, we were tempted by two cakes in the boulangerie which we bought for tea.

After leaving Nontron we drove a further 10 miles north to an aire near St Mathieu, it is situated by the side of a lake with a cafe. After parking up we went for a 2.5km walk around the lake and later after our evening meal another walk in the pleasant evening sunshine. This aire is free so all we have spent today is 4 euros 75 centimes on cake!