Directly south of the Loire Valley sits perhaps the most beautiful landscape in France — the Dordogne (once called Perigord). It is beautiful, rolling and high hills, rock bluffs, rivers and caves . We stayed at an over-the-top resort that we took advantage of, especially the terrace. We skipped going out to dinner and ate on the terrace outside our room — great for tired bodies!
The next morning we had tickets to see the Caves of Lascaux. These are caves that hold prehistoric art of the Neanderthals that was done about 17,000 years ago. The caves were discovered in 1940 accidentally by four boys whose dog sniffed at the opening. There are detailed and complex paintings of animals and humans. Wrap your head around that for a minute — older than you can even imagine!
We were not allowed to take pictures while in the caves, but could once we were in the museum. This was a mind-boggling experience and one I will never forget. John saw the caves on a trip with his cousin and aunt and uncle when he was 16–if you’re scoring at home that was 61 years ago. The original cave still allowed visitors at that time, but closed to the public two years later. What we entered was a 2016 museum with an underground reproduction of the 1940 original discovery, but so well done that you would swear you were in the real thing! This was a highlight of the trip!!! After emerging from the cave we entered a ground level museum with reproductions and displays which we allowed to photograph.
Not only is the museum an incredibly beautiful building but the information given is very well done and extremely interesting. By the way, when you are walking through the cave, it is very narrow and, at places, not very tall; it is still more comfortable to pass through than the original. Do go there if you get the chance.
After lunch at the museum, we drove into the town of Sarhat-la-Caneda and walked around awhile.
On the way back to the hotel John stopped to buy some cheese and breads. I told him that it reminded me of when my mother would let my father go into the bakery on Sunday mornings after church; we always ended up with a lot more goodies!
I think we must have had another picnic that evening. By the way, I have watched a lot of BBC and CNN. Also, this is a good time to mention the driving in France — it is truly wonderful! Everyone drives in the right lane ALL THE TIME, except to pass. They must pop out WITH A BLINKER to the next lane, pass and pop right back in, after putting on the right blinker. I LOVE IT.
On May 16th we visited the Chateau des Milandes. It was the home of the entertainer Josephine Baker and her fourth husband. She worked for the French resistance during World War II. She adopted 12 children of all races from all over the world. Even though she entertained constantly to large crowds she made it a point to never be away from her adopted children for more than a week at a time. She also saw that they went to the best schools. We were given iPads with information about each room, so — even though I could not go everywhere — I could hear the stories! It was lovely.
The first of our misfortunes happened immediately after we had seen the chateau. My bike just locked up. The front tire would not move. However, the lunch there had come highly recommended so we went to eat. I had a croque monsieur and John had a beautiful tomato salad.
There was a bird show which I always love. So I hobbled down the hill to the show!!!
Afterward, a man helped John carry the bike to the car and we put into our car’s gps — bike shop near me. And, voila! The best repairman ever!!! He put a new brake wire connection on the bike, oiled everything to remove lots of rust and basically made it like new.
So onward we went to visit the Chateau de Beynac; I couldn’t even get past the gate even though I had already bought the ticket. Just as well — very rough road. And, boy, we were high up.
Afterward we headed back to the hotel where I took a couple shots:
We joined our normal yoga zoom meeting taught by my sister Anne — at 10:00 a.m. in Texas and at 5:00 p.m. in France.
And, of course, another terrace picnic in the evening!
On the next day, we were lazy and got out slowly. We walked around Sarlat-la-Caneda some more and ended up at La Cremerie — the number one restaurant in town with in excess of 500 5-star reviews. We had a great lunch sitting outside!
I ordered camembert — wasn’t expecting it melted. It was delicious!
Then disaster struck; as I was getting up, there was a large umbrella stand with no umbrella between our table and the next — very close to each other. I was trying to get around it and stumbled, falling onto the sidewalk and bringing down the table, glasses and plates with it. I had on navy stretch pants, so I made my way (with help) to the toilette. When I pulled down the blood soaked pants I could see a 4 inch by 1 inch cut on my right kneecap. In the meantime, I could hear the ambulance arrive (which the restaurant called). Yes, I needed stitches, so they whisked me away to the hospital and sent John with my scooter to the car and then to the hospital. The paramedic used his translator app to talk to me and I downloaded the same app…..knowing I would need it to speak to the hospital. I didn’t know ANY of those words 🙂
So I took a few pics from in the hospital. I was there for five hours; they insisted on x-rays, then more waiting, then 7 stitches. Poor John was in the hall, unable to come back with me. It must have been even more boring for him. On the advice of my daughter Melissa (and my own common sense) I have not included the pic of the gash — trust me, it is graphic! Oh, the hospital took off my pants, so the nurses kindly wrapped me in a fabric to get back into the hotel. The doctor prescribed antibiotics, multiple gauze and other bandages, sterile water and extra strength acetaminophen. We then reached the pharmacy in town just before it closed at 7:30pm and headed back to the hotel–a long lunch. I augmented the prescriptions with a drink as soon as we hit the hotel.
That blouse and those bloody pants were immediately relegated to a plastic bag to be next seen in Austin. In the morning I took a couple of pictures of the area near the hotel which I liked. Then, we were off to Bordeaux by way of St. Emilion. I AM ONE TOUGH COOKIE!
Love,
Beth
Yes, our group of teachers from all over the U.S. was taken there, spent the afterno