Dordogne

Tuesday, 6 August and Wednesday 7 August.

Tuesday
This afternoon we drove along the Dordogne River, heading west, and visited some of the recommended villages - along with a few thousand other people. There are several villages of the Plus Beaux Villages de France association within a short distance of each other in the Dordogne.
First stop, La Roque Gageac which nestles at the base of some rather high cliffs and even kind of blends into the rocky landscape.  This village has something of a micro-climate and there is an exotic garden containing some familiar plants -weird to see bananas and cycads growing here!


La Roque Gageac

The village is separated from the river by the very narrow main road and is the departure point for the electric gabare tourist boats that ply the river for a short distance.  The Dordogne River is highly protected and only electric or man powered boats are permitted. Rather sadly (in my view) the local authorities have seen fit to extend the bank of the river to incorporate a footpath - yes it was rather dangerous before with cars and pedestrians competing on this thoroughfare. It is in a not quite finished state and is particularly raw and hideous.  Maybe in time it will look better.  Another battle for a car park here and we had a walk around but were not encouraged to stay - too many people in a small place!

La Roque Gageac with its new riverside walk

Further along the road we could see the mighty castle at Beynac on the skyline.   Here again there was traffic chaos on the narrow riverside road and the car park looked very full so we carried on and ended up in Siorac-en-Perigord visiting the Carrefour for a few supplies. The day had clouded over and was quite gloomy looking by now.
Next stop was Belves (Plus Beaux - like La Roque Gageac and Beynac) which is on top of a hill several kilometres south of the river. 

Belves

 We parked at the top and had a wander through the pedestrian streets to the main square where the ancient covered market and many of the streets were gaily decorated with crepe paper roses. The covered markets are a sight to see with their intricate roof structures and centuries old timbers.  It is easy to imagine the markets that took place under their roofs in days gone by -the medieval equivalent of a shopping mall no doubt!

Ancient covered market and modern paper roses, Belves

 Belves is interesting but much like many other villages in the area so we took to the road again and drove further south to the bastide village of Monpazier.  Surprise, surprise, another where shall we park mystery!  We found a little street outside the town walls and only had a short walk into the centre - and it was free!  Crowds of people in Monpazier and in the central square preparations were being made for a night market (lots of white plastic chairs and trestle tables).  This kind of detracted from the charm of the place.   Night markets are very popular in this part of the world.  People bring their own plates, cutlery, glasses etc and buy food and wine from stalls that are set up -apparently there is a great variety of local foods and entertainment - a good night out!

Monpazier - preparing for the night market

Monpazier's main square is surrounded by stone arcades and medieval buildings.  These fortified towns date from the time of the Hundred Years War and quite a number remain intact in this region. 
Following our afternoon ice-cream we drove home via a rather tortuous route through hills and dales on narrow roads - as directed by TomTom.

Ancient arcades, Monpazier

The Dordogne is a lovely region of France but I must admit to some disappointment this visit  - the traffic and the crowds take away from the tranquil atmosphere of the ancient stone villages and lovely river scenes.  I much prefer the Dordogne in the autumn when it seems far less "touristy". 
Tonight we had a big thunderstorm and the power supply was fluctuating madly.

Wednesday
No power this morning and no gas for the cooktop!  After consulting with Chantal next door we found that the whole area was without electricity supply and that our gas tank was empty.  Chantal and I managed to change the gas tank but couldn't get the gas to flow.  Fortunately the power was  soon restored and  fellow called Steve arrived to check out the gas.  Problem solved: the security switch was off
Today we had arranged to meet up with Sue, Tony and Jamie Tomkys from the UK  in Monflanquin which is an hour and a half drive from Cenac.  Sue and Tony are staying with relatives in the Lot-et-Garonne area and had a similar drive to our rendez-vous.  Maree and Mel decided on a quiet day at home so Jess and I set off on the twisty roads in time to arrive in Monflanquin at noon.  We found our way easily and there was a car park only a short walk from our meeting point - yay!
  . 

Monflanquin - flowery town centre

 
Monflanquin is a very pretty bastide town on a hilltop and surrounded by lovely countryside - fields of sunflowers, corn, cows etc.  It was absolutely lovely to see Sue, Tony and Jamie again and we spent a very enjoyable few hours at a nice restaurant in the middle of town (another arcaded square) eating lunch and catching up. Hopefully it will not be too long before we see them again - maybe in their French farmhouse - who knows!
We were not keen on twisty roads for the return journey so we took a more substantial road to Lalinde on the Dordogne River and stopped off  for a coffee.  Lalinde was bedecked with yellow and purple crepe paper roses - it must be a thing in these parts! After a cool but mostly sunny day there were signs of another storm approaching with ominously dark clouds in the west. 

Storm clouds, Lalinde

So, into the car and an easy drive home, eastwards along the river.   Fortunately the stormy clouds did not follow us and we arrived home without any sign of rain.  Maree and Mel have located some English language telly channels so it was nice to watch a bit of Sky TV and some familiar shows before bed.