Packed up the flat at Langdon Hills and drove down to Peter's place where we deposited some suitcases that we would not be needing while driving around France. Sold the trusty Vectra for 300 quid and got a taxi to Stanstead for our flight to Tours and the start of three weeks in France. Picked up a neat little Renault from Hertz and found our way to our Chambre D'Hote at Francueil where we were booked for four nigths.Very comfortable and delightful hosts who were delighted that Carol spoke French. This area of France is noted for it's fine Chateaus and we visited several over the next few days.Chenonceau (Above) is delightful and we viewed it from a boat travelling down the river.Cheverny,Blois,Amboise and finally the magnificent and enormous Chambord. The Chateaux are an anachronism from the past - each builder having seemed to be trying to outdo all existing buildings.
So finally, all "Chateauxed Out" - we drove down to the Dordogne where we has booked a cottage for a week at La Cave. En route we called in to see one of Carol's colleagues from Ramsey Jo Langworthy.She and her husband Rob own a beautifully restored cottage in the country near ? and we had an entertaining luncheon there with the two of them. Then it was on to La Cave a total distance of some 13o miles.
The cottage was lovely and contained every creature comfort (except a washing machine).The owner was an English doctor who lived nearby and knew the area intimately. She told us of the amusing visit by a helicopter to a beautiful chateau perched on the surrounding hill. It contained Brad Pitt who apparently thought he would drop in a buy the place!!
The nearest town was Souillac where we were able to get all our shopping needs. Nearby was Rocamadour the famous Abbey built into and on top of a sheer cliff. It is a breathtaking image when you drive around a corner and suddenly get faced with this enormous cliff and the buildings perched into and on it. The views from the top are extensive, but it was terribly crowded which detracted from our enjoyment there.
We also visited the Grottes at La Cave, an underground exploration of stalactites and stalagmites in profusion, and one cave where there was florescence.All very spectacular but poorly guided to the extent that we didn't know where the hell we were going half the time.
Made a trip to Gourdon, driving through some truly lovely country and lunched al fresco at a quite reasonable price. Also visited the Grotto de Cougnant which was a much better organised attraction and included some cave paintings from time immemorial.Fascinating.
The next day we hired a canoe at La Cave and paddled our way down the magnificent Dordogne River some 16 kms to Souillac where the canoe hirers gave us a ride back to LA Cave in a bus. The canoe trip was an absolute buzz. At times the current raced us along and as the river is mostly shallow and beautifully clear, the bottom raced past. At other places we lazily paddled and watched fish swimming along.
Next day Carol had her hair cut in Souillac and was most impressed with the skill of the cutter. It was great. A steam train trip took us along a cliff side with super views over the surrounding valleys and hills and a visit to the market at Souillac capped off a memorable few days.
Next stop was Meze on the Mediterranean
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