Charley, Kelly and I are happily back in France after several weeks in other parts of Europe. This is the third night of our two-week self-guided walk in the Perigord... we've finished two of our 12 days of walking. We spent two weeks not far from here in 2004 and visited some of the places on our walking route. We're looking forward to a more indepth experience in the Dordogne and the Lot.
We began with a night in Montignac and started the walk the next morning in St Leon sur Vezere, walking 21 km to Les Eyzies de Tayac. We stayed at a great little hotel with a wonderful restaurant: Le Moulin de la Beune. This is just a two star hotel, but absolutely perfect... tucked away on a small river, the restaurant in an old mill. We had a superb meal, part of the demi-pension plan. (A little foie gras creme brulee as the amuse bouche, risotto with truffles as an entree, magret de canard for the main course, and pain perdu for dessert.)
We arrived in Beynac mid-afternoon today, a fairly short day. Kelly and I climbed up the village to the castle. It's everything a medieval castle should be, with wonderful views across the river and other castles. In 2004 we actually had lunch at the hotel-restaurant where we're staying tonight. The meal tonight was excellent! (I had garlic soup, foie gras, stuffed pork with walnut sauce, and clafoutis.)
Tomorrow we have a longish day to Vitrac. We'll pass by Castlenaud and also Domme, both places we visited five years ago. We're having great weather so far... it's warm, but a nice breeze, and much of the walk is in shady areas.
Sorry for being away from the forums these last few weeks. We've had limited internet access, and it's always a thrill to find a hotel where we can get WIFI. I'll post again when we have another opportunity during our walk.
Kathy,Charley and Kelly- This sounds just dreamy. I'll enjoy vicariously through you. I do love that part of France. In 1999, I think, we rented there for one week, in Urval (on the grounds of a castle called La Bourlie). It was like a fairy tale. We look forward to a week in Lot in May 2010, already booked. As I sit here rehabbing quickly from knee surgery, you inspire me to return to my hiking roots! Have some duck confit for me. Linda
Fixed trip date by request - marta
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Posts: 939 | Location: Outlying area of Chicago | Registered: 15 September 2004
Hi Kathy! Thanks for checking in. The walk in Dordognes sounds wonderful. I was wondering how your trip was going. How was the drive from Provence to Austria?
(Marta, I just posted about our drive from Provence to Austria here.)
WIFI at the tonight's hotel, so I'm able to check in again. We had a fabulous day of walking today! Great weather and beautiful scenery. Other than the climb up to Domme, the walking was mostly level. 19 kilometers today, about 11.8 miles. We walked along the Dordogne from Beynac to just below Castelnaud, then across to La Roque-Gageac, where we had an early picnic lunch in a park along the river. This is a beautiful village! We walked up along the top of the village (lots of lush, tropical plants), taking back roads to reach Domme.
We had visited Domme in 2004 and loved the views from the top. In 2004 I bought four pottery cigale napkin rings at a shop in Domme, and always wished I had bought more. The same shop was there, still with the napkin rings, and I bought eight more!
We are staying tonight in Vitrac, at a wonderful hotel on the Dordogne, Hotel Plaisance. This is only a two-star hotel (Logis de France) but we have a large, well-furnished room, a great bathroom, air conditioning, and free WIFI. After a long day of walking, a great shower is always appreciated! Our meal here at the hotel was excellent (five courses) and very enjoyable on the terrace.
Tomorrow we'll walk a kind of roundabout route to Sarlat, 17 kilometers. We haven't been to Sarlat before and we're really looking forward to it. We're getting in the groove of the walking and really enjoying this beautiful part of France.
And this was taken from the top of Domme-- a beautiful perspective of the Dordogne River and the countryside. We could see La Roque-Gageac (where we ate lunch) in the distance and trace our afternoon's walk. We crossed the Dordogne on the bridge below.
This was the payoff for the the strenuous climb up to the top of the village!
It's Sunday morning here in Souillac, and we are moving slowly to get ready to begin today's walk. There was a concert (a good one) here last night, in a square just below our hotel window, so we stayed up later than normal. We're at the halfway point in our 12 day walk.
Yesterday we crossed over from the departement of the Dordogne to the departement of the Lot. There was actually a sign on the GR6 trail, marking the border.
We enjoyed Sarlat very much, and I understand why so many Slow Travelers gravitate there. The architecture is just beautiful! From Sarlat we walked to a hamlet on the river below Carlux for the night, and then yesterday we had a good walk to Souillac. We like Souillac very much-- it's more of a working town, not so touristic, with a very interesting cathedral. We arrived early enough for a late lunch here at our hotel (The Grand Hotel), which has a really nice terrace under big plane trees on the main square. We have demi-pension at most of our accommodations, so we had an enjoyable dinner on the square too.
The countryside here is very agricultural: corn, tobacco, walnut and chestnut trees, fruit trees, strawberries, vegetables. There are cows, geese and ducks, some sheep. We've seen lots of signs forbidding the picking of mushrooms (and a few big mushrooms too). I'm especially enjoying all the flowers, that seem to surround every house. I am determined to plant hydrangeas when I get home, as they are absolutely beautiful right now.
The sound of cigales is fainter here than Provence, but a familiar friend.
Today we will walk 19 km to Cales, and then the next day we'll be at Rocamadour (actually at L'Hospitalet).
Enjoy your report as we just returned home a week ago after spending a month abroad,two weeks in the Dordogne & Lot. We rented a house in La Roque Gageac and found the area entrancing, the food fantastic and not enough time to explore it all.
Posts: 18 | Location: Southern California | Registered: 04 January 2009
