After the marathon drive on Saturday & arriving in such a lovely place we decided to have a quieter Sunday.
Interestingly, having closed all the shutters on the house it is incredibly dark in the morning. Also - we noted on Saturday night that the sun didn't set until after 7:30, so we expected that the sun would not come up too early. Too early?? The sun made its appearance at about 7:45 am - long after I was up. It is the end of daylight saving here - so just like at home it stay pretty dark in the mornings. But we absolutely love the late sunset times.
We'd read in the book of all things about the house that there was a nice 2 - 3 km walk to the next village called Lalinde, so decided to go for a stroll.
We walked alongside the canal which parallels the Dordogne River - about 500m away. It was a lovely walk & at the end of it we found a patisserie open & bought a lovely lunch (quiche & raspberry custard tart) which we ate down by the river. We also bought some other products because they looked too good. We found a little wine store open & bought a couple of bottles. We then headed home. We both commented that the 2 -3 km estimate seemed a little short, as it seemed to take ages to get home. I looked it up on Google maps later & it estimated that the walk was more like 4.5 km each way. Not that we're complaining - given the food we're been eating every km is required!
We had time last night to read a few of the books in the house about the area & decided to go on a 110 km round trip up the Dordogne River valley to see both the Chateau de Beynac and the medieval town of Sarlat. (Google both of these places and look at the pictures - which of course can never do justice to the real thing but they're pretty good). Both were amazing and worth the drive / visit. The owners of the chateau commenced restoration work in 1961 & believe it will take them until 2030 to finish it. Richard the Lionheart lived there for a time.
I should just mention that the drive up and down the "almost a cliff" to get to the house is really daunting! The car's proximity warnings beep at times showing that the car thinks we are too close to houses on both sides of the very narrow single lane as we try to navigate the tiny streets. And I agree with the beepers - way too close. Rhonda wants to get out and walk! This morning on our way out of town we came across a truck blocking the one way road. He moved about 5 m forward and we squeezed around him - with only cms to spare on each side. So starting and ending each drive is a bit of a challenge. Likewise, on the road at the bottom of the chateau a large tourist bus went past us. I think for about 3 kms I held my breath it was so tight!
We had a late lunch in Sarlat so didn't need much for dinner. We decided that we would cook at home so called into a supermarket on the way home. That in itself was an experience. We're actually missing some of our staple meals like a Thai green chicken curry, but could not find the ingredients. And there were none of the sauces we'd use in a stir fry either. (having said that there were heaps of fantastic products that if we were here longer we'd love to try.) Given what we could find we settled for some pan fried chicken with a green pepper sauce and some roasted vegies. And they were really great - simple and familiar.
So - a fairly low key day with a bit of very rewarding sight seeing.
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