Two Weeks in the Corrèze, Lot and Dordogne

[frenchmystiquetour]

My two week summer vacation, the second and third weeks of August, couldn't have coincided better with the fantastic summer weather we'd been having in Paris, and most of France in general, since early July. This was a major part of why my recent vacation was one of my best, even better than your vacation. The Mrs. and I were headed to the southern part of the Corrèze département, right at the borders with the Lot and Dordogne départements. It was pretty much just by chance that we ended up here. We had only begun looking for August vacation rentals at the end of April, so most of the good stuff was already booked. We searched the few rental websites we always use, looking for stuff in our price range (less than 375€ a week) in a few different regions that interested us. With no preferred region in mind, one of the options was the Dordogne. Having visited the Dordogne several years ago, but never with enough time to fully explore, I had always wanted to go back to see more. The Mrs. knows the area since she's visited it from time to time since childhood but she had no objection to returning.

Our rental search criteria was that we wanted a house/free standing building someplace a bit rural and isolated but not more than a 15 minute drive from any essential shopping and services we required. I didn't want to be in a village or any kind of dwelling where I could see or hear neighbors. This was to be my respite from the dense and confining suburban agglomeration just outside Paris, the area I call home. There were to be no cars, no people, no buildings and no noise. I also wanted a pool or some sort of swimming amenity nearby. Didn't matter if it was a river, lake, pond, sea, ocean etc. Just a body of water for floating in the sun like the rock star I am, and hopefully not like the rock star Brian Jones was.

We found the perfect place, or at least perfect for our budget. It was a gîte a few km outside a tiny village called Jugeals-Nazareth which was itself only about a 10 minute drive south of Brive-la-Gaillarde, a pleasant, small provincial city. We had a good central location for exploring several Plus Beaux Villages and a number of other Plus Beaux Détours and noteworthy sites. Close enough to the action without being right in it. Our gîte was formerly used to house sheep and is known as a bergerie. It has been adapted to human needs, or at least the needs of humans who are less than 5 feet tall, like our landlady. The bathroom sink was at a height somewhere between my knees and my waist. My 5'2'' wife felt like a giant in front of it. But this was just one of the charming/quirky amenities the gîte offered, if you want to look at it that way. It was the isolated building in the islolated location that we wanted.

Coming down the main road if you blinked you would have missed our village. From the village you go down a one lane road, which turns into two paved tracks and after about a km becomes a dirt road. Then you hang a left at the first cow pasture and when you see the two rotted walnut stumps on your right, take a right at the first driveway after that. Yup, that kind of rural and isolated. The landlady's house was about 50 meters from our gîte and she lived alone and was a nice, sweet old lady, so no noisy neighbors. Our view was on an adjacent field where a horse roamed and cows grazed. Beyond the field were patches of forest/trees. Not an astounding view but certainly tranquil and relaxing. Plus, we had access to the owner's pool. She is around 80 or more years in age (I'm guessing) and she does water excercises in the pool once a day to keep limber and fit. So essentially we had the pool to ourselves. I was free to float or drown at my leisure without interference.

Since some people reading trip reports like mine are interested in where people stayed I'll provide below a link to the website for our gîte:

www.a-gites.com/en/advert-38286.html

I don't know if the landlady speaks English or has assistance from anyone who does but if you're interested I'm sure you'll figure out the details. I'll have more observations on the gîte, which I'll talk about shortly.


Saturday, August 10th:

So now that I've got all the background material out of the way I'll get on with my vacation. Like most people in France, I had to take my vacation from a Saturday to a Saturday since those are the days vacation rental leases start and end in the summer. Being that our rental was for the second and third weeks of August we knew we could expect peak holiday traffic heading out of and returning to Paris. The predictions were for heavy traffic heading south out of Paris on Saturday, August 10th, from 6AM to 1PM. I was ready to leave at 5AM but there was no way the Mrs. would ever be up that early so we left the house at 7:15. After smooth sailing at first on the A86 south of Paris we hit the inevitable wall of traffic you should expect on a Saturday morning in August heading south out of Paris. After spending a bit more than an hour in bumper to bumper traffic and not really getting anywhere we decided to take evasive action. The traffic was only getting worse. The traffic signs on the autoroute that give you read outs on projected travel times between upcoming major interchanges kept indicating longer and longer travel times. We were right around the exit for Orly airport at this point. We impulsively decided we were going to get off at this exit and take secondary roads south around Orly airport and then hook up with the A10 autoroute somewhere around exit 12 or 13, about 15km to 25km north of Orléans.

I am always the navigator on vacation and the Mrs. is always the driver. I am an excellent navigator and she is an excellent driver. I have no GPS, or Sat Nav, or other electronic device to guide me. I only use Michelin maps and for the area where we were I only had the scale 1:200,000 maps. In a heavily developed area, like near Orly, these maps only show the major roads so you need to know how to understand the logic behind French road signage, which I find very systematic and well planned, and incorporate that into what you are reading on the map. I was steady and knew where I was on the map and followed the right road signs, successfully getting us around Orly. We continued south on the N20 until we were near Orléans where we got back on the autoroute.

Throughout the drive south we were listening to the autoroute radio station, which gives traffic conditions on autoroutes throughout France a few times an hour, or more if needed. It's 107.7 on the radio dial if you didn't know but you'll see signs along the road indicating this. Listening to the traffic reports on the radio we got off the autoroute to avoid traffic jams a few more times along the way and my old school method of map and radio got us to our gîte without ever being stuck in heavy traffic, or being lost.


The Landlady and our gîte:

Mrs. Landlady was an old woman living alone in a large house on a large piece of property that used to be a farm. The solidly built old stone barn is still standing, the center archstone in the cut block door frame inscribed with the construction date of 1858 still looks fresh. Our gîte, the former bergerie, is built in cut blocks of stone and is as solid as the day it was built. The landlady's house is equally solid looking. Behind the buildings was a forested area and to the front open fields where cows grazed and a friendly horse trotted about. The ensemble of buildings and landscape was reflective of the region's overall look and feel. It felt true to where it was.

Mrs. Landlady was about as sweet as you might imagine a grandmother to be. When we found the place on the website the Mrs. called to see if it was available for our dates, but there was no answer so she left a message. After a couple of days we sill hadn't heard back so The Mrs. called again and talked to the landlady.

Landlady (LL): ''Oh yes, I got your message. I booked the house for you''.

Mrs.: The Mrs. is thinking 'That's great. But couldn't you have let me know?' but she just said ''That's great'' instead.

LL: ''Oh, my son is away for the weekend but when he comes back he'll e-mail you the contract because I don't know how any of that works''.

It was a pretty basic, one page, undetailed contract and we sent a 20% deposit check.

The day before our arrival the Mrs. called landlady to check in but got no answer so she left a message and said

Mrs: ''Hi, this is your tenant for the next two weeks. I was calling to see what time you were expecting us and if we need to bring bedsheets and if so, what size?''

The landlady called back a while later and the conversation between her and my Mrs. went something like this:

LL - ''Oh yes, you can have the house, it's free''.

Mrs. - ''Umm, yes......I booked it three months ago. And I sent you a deposit check.''

LL – ''Oh......well yes......OK then. Come whenever you want. It would be a pleasure. And your name is?''

Mrs. - So the Mrs. gives our name and says ''But you have that already because I gave you all our info 3 months ago over the phone.''

LL - ''Oh yes!! Sorry!!'' And then she laughed and said ''Oh, you must think I'm crazy. We had a major hail storm two weeks ago and the roof was damaged and we've been so busy trying to fix the roof so I'm a little out of it. But now it's coming back to me. Now I remember. Oh dear, you must have been scared, thinking I'm crazy. But I'm glad to hear you're still laughing and not too worried. You're very much expected and you can come whenever we want.''

Mrs. - ''We'll probably arrive between noon and two, depending on traffic.''

LL - ''Oh, but then will you have eaten? Will you be hungry? Should I fix you some lunch?''

Mrs. - ''Oh no, we'll be fine. We'll eat on the road.''

LL - ''Oh, I really can't wait to see you. You're very much expected (vous êtes attendus avec grand plaisir). When you arrive in the village center just call me and I'll meet you to show you the way.''

When we met her in the village center she jumped out of her car and spread her arms wide in joy as if she was about to grab us and kiss us like family members she hadn't seen in a really long time. We were a bit surprised and confused so just smiled widely and reached out to shake hands. Then we felt kind of cold for just shaking hands so we decided that at the end of our stay we would kiss her profusely. She was having a hard time with our last name so she asked if we could all just call each other by our first names, which is not common for her generation. We arrived at the gîte and she showed us inside and gave us a few instructions and then left us alone to settle in.

We knew from the pictures that interior decor was not the strong point of our gîte and our expectations were met. Nothing matched and probably hadn't since the 1960's or 70's. Well, the kitchen and bath were renovated at least. But it was a nice space and had a warm feeling about it, no matter the decor, and we felt right at home within minutes. I stepped outside to check out our outdoor space. Looking back at the veranda, through which you enter the gîte.







There's a little patio, which the landlady said she was expanding.






Looking out on the adjacent field.








It has a little barbecue area, which we never used.




Our next door neighbor.




The landlady's house.




But this is the big reason I was looking forward to renting this gîte.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Sunday, August 11th:

Off to go explore the area. Just a few kilometers south of Jugeals-Nazareth is Turenne, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France (one of France's Most Beautiful Villages), so that was the first stop. There isn't an unscenic road in the region and the D8 leading south from Jugeals is a designated scenic road on the Michelin map. True that. Jugeals sits on the peak of a plateau and has sweeping views over adjacent valleys and distant hills. The road descends towards Turenne and pulling around a bend in the road you get your first glimpse from a distance.









Turenne lies in the southern Corrèze département, right on the border of the Lot and Dordogne départements. Few tourists think of visiting this département and instead head about 50 or 60 kilometers southwest and jam themselves into Sarlat and its nearby sites in the well known Dordogne département. While August truly is mobbed in and around Sarlat the tourist worthy villages and sites near us in the southern Corrèze and northern Lot were for the most part quiet with only enough tourists to create a lively atmosphere. Of course, not knowing this we pulled into Turenne expecting difficulty in finding a parking space being that it was the second week in August.




As you can see, we had no such difficulty and parked along the road right at the entrance to the village. Turenne was an important seat of power ruled by successive families of powerful Vicomtes and was one of the great fiefs of France, maintaining autonomy to the 18th century. Two Popes of Avignon came from one of the dynastic families, Clement VI and Gregory XI, and a later Vicomte, Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, was a companion in arms with Henri IV, with whom he allied when the region was a hotbed during the religious wars. The last ruling family sold the Vicomte to Louis XV to pay a gambling debt and the region lost its independence and now had to pay taxes to the king. Louis XV ordered the dismantling of the fortress and what remains of the village today dates mostly from the 13th to 18th centuries. For centuries Turenne was the region's power base and just about any town of any importance for dozens of kilomters in any direction from Turenne was within its jurisdiction.

The tourist office was closed for lunch when we arrived or we would have gotten a map and other info there. The natural thing to do is start at the bottom of the village and work your way to the fortress at the top so up we went.




We arrived in the main village plaza during the lunch hours. There were a few restaurants but none seemed to be more than one-third full. Not what you'd expect in a touristy village at lunch time.






It's a pretty steep walk uphill to get to the fortress.








As you arrive just below the fortress there are scenic views in every direction.








The fortress is open for visits but we weren't much interested in going in as our interest mainly lay in being tourists and seeing a pretty medieval village, not in learning anything.

[frenchmystiquetour]

I did, however, check out the little local history museum at the foot of the village and actually spent some time in there. There was an interesting regional architectural heritage exposition and the permanent displays presenting the town's history were well done in a manner that engages the visitor. There were a few historical anecdotes I wish I had remembered.

Once we reached the fortress at the top and decided we didn't want to learn anything there was nothing left to do but go back down and leave.






To plan your visit, unlike us, to Turenne look at the tourist office website:

www.turenne.fr/itineraire-office-tourisme.html

Our next destination was the nearby town of Collonges-la-Rouge, another Plus Beau Village and one of the best known tourist destinations in the area. It's not more than a 15 or 20 minute drive there from Turenne so I got out the map to try and find a scenic route with maybe a lesser known site or two and noted a nearby château and historic church icon that could be incorporated into a pleasant detour. On through the countryside, snapping photos from the moving car..






Here's the château I saw noted on the map.




And here's the village of Saillac, where I had noted the historic church icon.




When I say ''historic church'', I mean that they are registered historic monuments and they have a corresponding icon on the Michelin maps. Here's the historic church.




It's a fortified church from the 12th century and is noted for the sculpted portal above the door, painted in polychrome and representing the biblical scene Adoration of the Magi. Next to just about any registered historic monument in France you'll always find a little plaque, or maybe a large plaque, to inform the visitor as to what you are looking at. I read so many of these during my vacation that I couldn't possibly recall everything but I believe the polychrome paint dates to restoration done in the 19th century.








It's got a pretty cool sculpted pillar too.




With a population of about 184 inhabitants, there's not a lot happening in Saillac.



I will say that like many other small villages, Saillac always has festivals or events throughout the year and the tourist office website has a list of all activities and events and suggestions of things to do. I noted they have a 14.5km cyclotourist trail that is suitable for families. Being that I do a lot of biking I noticed there weren't many cyclists on the roads, which doesn't surprise me with all the steep hills and inclines in the region. Here is the tourist office website if you want to look:

www.ot-collonges.fr/Saillac

Also just like all the other small villages in the area, at least ¼ of the village homes seemed to be for sale, like this one.




If you want to make an offer, here's the number.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Small villages in rural France have been emptying themselves of inhabitants for some time but most notably since WWII, when France shifted from an agricultural to an industrial society. Most of them lack any commerce but you can't run a thriving boulangerie in a village of 184 inhabitants. I wasn't craving a baguette anyway, just seeking the scenic route on my tourist journey.

One of the region's specialties is walnuts and you'll see walnut groves everywhere and stores selling all products walnut related.








Here's Collonges-la-Rouge from a distance.




As we approached Collonges we could see that it was very much different from Turenne in terms of crowds with people parking along the road a good 5-10 minute walk outside the village. We drove through the center and the crowd was fairly thick where people funneled themselves down the central street at the entry to the village. The paying parking lots were full and buzzing with cars looking for spaces that didn't exist. We drove right through the village and found a shady spot on a side road (for free) about a 5 minute walk from the primary village entrance. I sat in the car and ate my picnic lunch and the Mrs. went on ahead of me to look around the village. While I was eating lunch the Mrs. texted to tell me it was tourist hell, and there were even the ''living statues''. You know, those people who stand on a pedestal and look like statues, but they're not. They annoy me. If there were living statues then I imagined there were probably art galleries there too, but I didn't care. Collonges is a pretty village and that's all I wanted to see.

The crowds didn't seem too bad to me when I met up with the Mrs., who noted how just after texting me the village started emptying out. Maybe it was because it was about 4PM and the post lunch folks had finished up their visit. There were still lots of people but I kind of enjoyed that. We went to the tourist office and got our tourist map with an outlined tourist trail through the village and started walking.






Real people do actually live in these touristy village and here they are enjoying, or not enjoying, a game of pétanque.




If you're going to watch the living statue and take their picture then you owe them a little gratuity. If they happen to be in the frame of what I'm photographing the only gratuity they'll receive is the pleasure of being in my trip report.








Once we moved away from the central village street and plazas the crowds thinned and the little winding lanes and passageways revealed themselves.

[frenchmystiquetour]

As its name implies, Collonges-la-Rouge is noted for its red sandstone buildings, owing to the fact that the local stone contains 2.4% iron oxide. Historically within the possesion of the Vicomté of Turenne, it was a prominent town and its status was reflected in the quality of its buildings. The buildings are well preserved, or restored, and the notable ones are highlighted on the tourist map.






There were loads of crowded touristy places in the village center to get something to eat or drink but just moving away from there on the little side streets we found a lovely tea garden with a beautiful vine and flowered covered terrace and just a few other customers. We grabbed a table and looked over the menu, which had lots of special teas but also some really delicious-looking original fruity beverages.








The Mrs. said her tea was delicious and had a very unique flavor. I had the citronade maison, or lemonade. It was delicious and came with fruit on the skewer, which I dropped on the ground while trying to stuff them into my mouth. Nobody saw so I just picked them up and ate them. Five second rule. I was surprised that the prices were very reasonable for such a touristy place.

Touristy door photo time.




A photo through the rustic window of a dilapidated building is a very good tourist photo opportunity.








Here's the Castel de Maussac, according to the tourist map.




And the spires and turrets of the Eglise Saint-Pierre.








The tourist loop through the side streets brought us back to the central street.










Our visit complete we got back in the car and headed home. Nothing like getting back home from a great day of sightseeing, sitting by the pool and breaking out a bottle (or maybe several) of the local wine we'd purchased.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Monday, August 12th:

Since we were in a remote location and our landlady was not at all part of the computer generation we had no wifi or land line internet access in the gîte. I have a USB modem to resolve this issue but I was having problems with my SFR account and couldn't connect. I needed internet access and the only thing to do was go to the nearest SFR store, which happened to be a 10-minute drive away in Brive-la-Gaillarde. I dread going to the mobile phone / internet store. The ones in and around Paris are always full of people and you know before you even walk through the door that you're pretty much guaranteed to be there for at least 2 hours. We were surprised to be the only ones in the store when we arrived at 12:10 and got helped right away but just seconds after our arrival 3 or 4 customers showed up. The staff were great and the guy that helped us was outstanding, spending about 15 minutes on the phone with technical support to solve our problem. As the store was exceptionally closing at 12:30 for a one hour lunch break he told us to return at 1:30. This gave us time to stroll around Brive, which I knew nothing about. It's kind of a nice place. Not what I would call charming but very pleasant and it has a nice historic downtown. With a population of almost 50,000 it's also got a lot to offer in terms of stores, restaurants, services and amenities. Although being Monday, most of the stores were closed. Have a look.


















Our stroll complete we went back to the SFR store and got there at 1:20 but there were already 3 or 4 people ahead of us waiting for the store to re-open. Our helpful customer service guy saw us when he returned from lunch and as soon as he had a chance he got to work on my computer. Basically we hung around the store for an hour while my dinosaur of a computer slowly downloaded new SFR software to update my account.

We didn't feel like doing much of anything on this day so with our primary mission accomplished it was time to return to the gîte and spend the rest of the day lazing by the pool, drinking wine, eating foie gras, allowing the Mrs. the pleasure of cooking me dinner and then repeating the process, without the second dinner.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Tuesday, August 13th:

I had picked up a bunch of brochures and pamphlets from the tourist office in Collonges-la-Rouge that pertained to what to see and do in the imediate area where we were staying and I spotted a couple of small local villages I felt like checking out plus some better known sites. Our first stop was the village of Noilhac and on the way I took a couple of pictures of Turenne from a distance.






There is absolutely nothing of touristic interest in Noailhac and that is precisely the reason I went there. I like seeing traditional villages that are unaffected by tourism in any region of France I may be visiting. Noailhac is one of a dozen villages that the local tourist authorities promote as the 12 other villages (besides Collonges) of the Midi-Corrézien. These are villages that best exemplify the heritage and tradition of the region through their architecture or some other patrimonial related aspects. We pulled right into the main square by the village church and got out the camera. Here is the 12th century Eglise Saint-Pierre ès Liens. The tower you see is due to the fact that the church was integrated into a château, which was destroyed during the Wars of Religion in 1580.






Here's the 15th century Tour Leymonerie.
















Everywhere in the region are hiking trails and often when you enter a small town or village there will be some sort of sign indicating the main nearby hiking trail, or a hiking circuit. Starting in Noailhac you can do a 3.5km circuit called Le Sentier du Dolmen (The Trail of the Dolmen). A dolmen is basically an ancient burial feature from the neolithic period characterized by the large stones used in its construction. The region is rich in prehistoric features such as these.







Here's some more info about what you'll see on The Trail of the Dolmen:

www.noailhacpatrimoine.fr/nos-projets-et-realisations/le-sentier-du-dolmen


If you want to do a longer hike here's a 14km circuit starting from the village:

www.noailhac.a3w.fr/Main.aspx?numStructure=40077&numRubrique=541605

[frenchmystiquetour]

Sometimes the smallest villages can have the best websites and Noailhac is a good example of this. There are some interesting things to see in and around the village and the town website gives great information on such places with photos and historical descriptions and it shows that you can really enjoy a few hours walking or hiking in the area and find things of interest along the way. Have a look at the website and see for yourself:

www.noailhacpatrimoine.fr/notre-patrimoine/chateau-de-la-coste


But we weren't doing any hiking today. We were on a journey to see a whole bunch of towns and villages in the area and Noailhac was the first of several we planned on visiting. After leaving Noilhac and passing through the crowds in Collonges we arrived in Meyssac, which we knew nothing about. I'm not sure we even planned on stopping here but on driving through it looked really interesting. It's got the red sandstone and fine architecture of Collonges but seemed full of locals and not tourists so we pulled over to take a look around. Meyssac is a Chef Lieu de Canton, which means it's the chief town of all the nearby communities. This designation also usually means it's the main service provider for the surrounding towns and villages so it was no surprise it seemed to be full of local people. Apparently we arrived on market day.






Strolling around the market place in the village square we noticed plenty of cafés, bakeries, butchers, shops and all the stores one would want to have a lively village. Despite the charm of the place we didn't see more than a handful of tourists. Meyssac was part of the Vicomté of Turenne from the 12th century and was one of the powerful towns in the region. As such, powerful people built impressive homes in the town and that was evident in glancing at the buildings around the village square. We spied some windy streets branching out from here so off we went to explore.




















I couldn't find much in the way of fascinating history about Meyssac but that didn't detract from the pleasure of exploring this pretty little place. People on travel forums often ask what village would make a centrally located base when they want to explore ''xyz'' region. Essential criteria are that it is quaint, charming and lively with restaurants, cafés, bakeries, shops, markets etc. and only locals. A real off the beaten path place that has everything a tourist would want without the other tourists. In retrospect, after exploring this region the Mrs. and I agreed that when people ask this question then the answer is Meyssac. For a small place (population under 1,300) it's got ample stores/shops/services and is centrally located to many towns/sites worthy of exploration in the area, all within an hour's drive. If you drive an hour and a half you can reach Sarlat and many of the more popular (and crowded) places in the Dordogne.

Our next destination was the Plus Beau Village of Curemonte. Didn't know anything about it but figured it must be worth looking at if it got this rating. On the way we passed by a little village perched on a hillside called Marcillac-la-Croze so I took a picture.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Curemonte is a medieval village perched on a rocky promontory with 3 castles, 3 churches, ramparts, bell towers, turrets and old buildings. It's a scenic view on the approach.




Then we spied the castle towers of Curemonte in the distance.



In the early 14th century the important family of the village began construction of a castle and for the next few centuries other important local families added their own impressive buildings, including two more castles. The 3 churches in town have been restored and each maintains some original and noteworthy elements of detail.






With all the beauty and pleasure of life we were experiencing it was a perfect mood enhancer to read the sign on the cemetery gate, telling potential Curemonte visitors that the voices of the dead are calling out to remind you that you'll be dead one day too.



Nothing like the voices of the dead to ruin an otherwise pleasant experience. Full of thoughts of my own mortality, I marched on to the village to meet my fate.







If the whole ''voices of the dead'' greeting at the entrance to the village is supposed to scare off visitors it seems to be working, as there weren't more than a handful there. They seemed to have frightened away shopkeepers too as I think there were only 2 or 3 stores, one of which was a restaurant more or less to facilitate tourist buses and groups. We were going to eat there but they were fully reserved for lunch, even though it was empty at the moment. The restaurant is on the right in the next photo.




So we just continued walking around looking at impressive buildings.










There are scenic views of the surrounding area due to the village's hilltop situation.

[frenchmystiquetour]

After our cheerful visit to Curemonte we headed off to Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, one of the Plus Beaux Détours de France. Here is the view on approach.




We pulled into the pleasant village square and were happy to see several restaurants with nice terraces where we could have a nice lunch. We took a seat at one of them and had a nice lunch and then hit the tourist trail around town.









With an abbey founded in the 9th century and owing to its climate, position on a river and being on a major trade route, in the 12th century a village develops around the convent buildings protected by walls, towers and a moat. It becomes a thriving secular center of commerce and with a bourgeois population the town is fought over by greedy local counts, later suffering during the Wars of Religion when it was a Protestant base and restoring itself as a center of commerce again in the 17th century when many more prestigious residences were built that define much of what the visitor sees today. Not knowing anything about the town before I arrived I walked around the side of the church and saw the coolest tympanum above the door. The tympanum depicts The Last Judgement and is supposedly one of the finest in France. I'll agree. I totally dug it.
















We went inside to visit the church, which was pretty churchy, and then moved on.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Then we arrived at the banks of the river and you see why the town name translates as ''beautiful place on the Dordogne''.






We decided to cross the footbridge over the river to get some profile photos of the village.








The other side of the river had a large campground/resort complex of the upscale variety that seemed to have attracted a lot of Brits. What is it that the British like so much about campgrounds? We crossed back over the river.....



...and worked our way back to the village center and towards our car to enjoy a scenic drive back to our gîte, where I engaged in my post-exploration vacation ritual of floating in the pool and drinking wine. Our landlady was too old to clean all the bugs out of the pool so I did regular pool cleaning maintenance, skimming the surface with a net and always rescuing the hapless insects that were unintentionally bathing in the pool with me. One of the creatures I rescued was a really cool Praying Mantis. He was grateful at having been rescued and showed his gratitude by posing for a few pictures.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Wednesday, August 14th:

Today was off the beaten path day. Or maybe not since we had no idea if what we were doing was on or off the beaten path but the Mrs. wanted to revisit the Château de Hautefort northwest of Brive, (which she had seen as a child and is most definitely on the beaten path), so I looked through the tourist office material I had acquired and looked over my map and sort of planned a rough route we could explore along the way that would be sort of off the beaten path. Heading northwest of Brive on the D901 I saw an icon on the map for a château called Castel Novel so we pulled in for a look. Over the centuries it has been owned by many powerful families from the area. An owner in the 20th century married the famous French writer Colette, who wrote several of her novels at the château. The present family has owned it since the 1950's when it became a hotel/restaurant and is also used for hosting receptions and seminars.




Our first planned stop was the Plus Beau Village of Saint-Robert and along the way I snapped a few photos of the countryside from the car.








After rounding a bend in the road Saint-Robert was visible in the distance.






Another medieval hilltop village, meaning nice distant views:






We parked below the peak of the village and walked up a windy narrow lane towards the village square.






There were one or two restaurants and cafés and a few other shops but overall pretty quiet and as we had come to expect in this region we were among the handful of tourists in the village.

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The notable monument in town is the 12th century fortified church, part of an ancient benedictine priory that was a stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.








The church had a really cool 13th century carved Christ on the Cross, of Spanish origin.






There was a scenic terrace behind the church.




We continued our stroll through the village.










Many of the buildings retain original detail such as this one, which was an ancient medieval shop.

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The road from Saint-Robert to our next village of Hautefort is a designated scenic road on the map.




As we entered the village of Badefols-d'Ans it seemed kind of nice so we made quick turn into the village.




The map showed that there was a château in town so we decided to have a look.










We circled the château looking for an entry but just kept seeing the tower of the château. The closest we could get was the high wall next to the village church.



The best view of the château is from a distance down the road as you drive out of town.




Not long after we got our first glimpse of Hautefort.




And here's a glimpse of the Limousine cows for which the region is noted.

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We arrived in the village square, which was just as uncrowded as the other village squares we'd seen, and parked next to the church to start our exploration.


















A few weeks before we arrived the region had experienced devastating hailstorms which caused severe roof damage to many of the traditional tiled roofs of the region, including our landlady's. At least half the roofs in Hautefort were covered with tarps.








The big draw in Hautefort is its château, to which its history is inextricably linked.

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The earliest written record of a castle dates from the 10th century when it was described as impregnable. One of the first seigneurs was a famous troubadour, Bertran de Born, whose legend was immortalized by Dante in The Divine Comedy where he was presented as roaming in hell with his head in his hand. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries it transformed from a medieval fortress to a Renaissance pleasure palace. The seigneur at the time built a hospice and was known for his generosity to the townsfolk, inviting them once a year to a great festival and lavishing them with gifts in a custom that continued through successive generations. The townsfolk later repaid this generosity during the Revolution by defending the château when the villages nearby gathered in force to attack it, thus saving it from destruction. It remained in the same family from around the 11th century to the end of the 19th century when the last descendants sold it. Let's have a look around.










One of the traditionally famous products of the region are Aubusson tapestries and Hautefort has an excellent collection of them.








The château also has a notable formal French garden.

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If you're not a frequent traveler in France you may not be aware of the wealth of information that you'll find in the local tourist offices. At any town or village I had visited to this point I always raided the tourist offices and had begun amassing a fine collection of research material to explore the region.






You've got to stop at as many as possible because each little ''pays'' (country) has its own sites to explore. Always look for the Guide Touristique.




And there are the brochures that will outline every type of activity that could possibly be of interest as well as lots of events, concerts and festivals throughout the various seasons of the year.




Always get the Carte Touristique. These are excellent at placing icons on a regional map to denote the particular sites and attractions each town in the region offers.








Thursday, August 15th:

Being that we had explored a few days in a row and felt like relaxing a bit we got a late start and left the house around 2PM. We didn't know where to go but just felt like seeing someplace nearby so we looked at the map and decided to head just north of Brive to do a bit of exploring, starting off in the village of Donzenac.




Without going into history I'll just say that Donzenac is your typical medieval village ruled by successive lords or counts. The focal point is the church in the central square and narrow windy lanes radiate out from there. It still has some homes from the 13th and 14th centuries.

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Walking around town you'll see plaques in front of notable buildings that recount some history. Here's La Maison du XIIIe siècle.












It was pretty hot and the village kids were cooling off in the fountain.






Donzenac has the designation of a Ville d'Art et d'Histoire (Village of Art and History) and is also a Village Etape. If you're not familiar with this concept, a Village Etape is usually someplace along a major autoroute that makes a good place to stay overnight to break up a long journey. They always have lodging and restaurants and usually have enough of historic and/or architectural interest to give a visitor a place worthy of a couple hours of exploration.








Here's the 15th century house.

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Here's the 14th century Chapel of the Penitents.










Small country villages are not usually reputed centers of fashion. The local coiffeur seems to abide by this sentiment. I imagine it's been a while since they've taken any continuing education courses on current hairstyle trends.



Vintage 1970, or earlier, right down to the radio.




Just stick your head in the hair dryer that looks like some sort of weird sensory deprivation chamber......



…....and voilà! Your stylish new hairdo!



If I hadn't just cut my hair I definitely would have gone for the stylish cut I saw in the poster. Instead of a bad makeover I opted for continuing down the road to see something else. I had no plan other than to head for the nearby Gorges de la Vézère so I picked a route on the map that had some designated scenic roads. We passed through the village of Allassac and got out to have a look around.






Here's the 13th century Tour César, the sole survivor of the 17 towers that used to encircle the village.

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Here's Le Manoir des Tours.




Even the châteaux are for sale in the small villages.




We picked up the scenic road I saw on the map and it turned out to be one of those roads Michelin will rate as scenic simply because it goes through a forest, which I find totally uneventful as there's nothing to see. Here's the one scenic view descending into the gorge.




Cliff-lined gorges can be spectacular but I find the narrow gorges with tree lined slopes to be dark and oppressive places and I was happy to ascend back out of the gorge, where we saw the Château de Comborn, or at least what remains of its entry gate. It's one of the oldest seats of power in the region dating to its time as a Gallic oppidum.






Feeling that I might be late for my evening pool / wine ritual we headed back home on the fastest route but I took a couple of photos of the village of Vigeois on the way, which is classed as a Ville d'Art et d'Histoire and may be worthy of more than the few photos I took.