The area that we have been staying in is the Lot/Dordogne region. This area is very spectacular. The NW region of this departement (county/state) is renowned for its castles (chateaux), caves and evidence of prehistoric settlement. We seem to have overdosed on medieval castles, fortified villages and houses built into caves and hillsides.
The views over the Dordogne valley are spectacular. We only wish that it had been at least 10 degrees warmer during some visits. However, this has meant that we have had the place to ourselves. Below is the fortified town of Rocamadour which perches rather dramatically on top of a cliff. Apparently it is heaving in summer. Due to the wind chill factor of about minus 10 we were the only people there!
The boys have particularly enjoyed the more bloodthirsty aspects of castles (dungeons, cannons, weapons of mass destruction such as the trebuchets below - these are like giant catapults, used for flinging boulders at the castle ramparts.
It's not all history though. Toulouse is not too far away and there is a rather splendid space museum there. We have learnt all about rockets, the moon and visited a replica of the MIR space station.
Not everything has revolved around war, destruction and faraway places. Some of the medieval gardens have inspired a certain amount of envy. If only we had a garden....Oh for a herb garden like this.
Never mind, we will just have to make do with the herb and spice stall at the local market.
Inspired by our pictures of sitting outside to eat lunch before Christmas, the grandparents decided to pay us a visit. Unfortunately they managed to pick a rather tempestuous week to come to France. We sought shelter in Sarlat (rain and sleet).
.We failed dismally to get a view over the Dordogne river due to low visibility.
We had a go at making some homemade meatballs. The only thing you can really do in the middle of nowhere in bad weather is to get experimental with your cooking!
In our quest for gastronomy a real truffle was procured. I cannot believe how incredibly pungent it was. Absolutely everything it came into contact with now smells. The lady at the market did advise me not to keep it next to my cake making flour, so I should have been warned!!
Then we had a huge storm: 'La Tempete Hivernale', It was so bad that it was actually named....'Quentin'. We had no electricity for 36 hours and hundreds of trees were blown over locally. We had a gust of wind that sounded like a jet aircraft going past, followed by the loud crash of several roof tiles flying across the field.
"Torrential rains and winds of up to 184km/h (114mph) were reported. Some 1.3 million homes in France suffered power cuts while road and rail links were blocked and airports closed..." We were lucky as some outlying houses didn't get their electricity back for a week.
We continue to be amazed by the ambiance (even in the depths of winter) of French towns and villages. They take crumbling, ramshackle buildings and peeling shutters to the heights of elegance. It is a stunningly beautiful country. The photo of the cafe below could of been taken in just about any town around here.
As usual we seem to find ourselves in plenty of cafes (mangling the language) 'deux babycino merci'
At half term, we went on a bit of a road trip north to the Charente region, near the brandy making town of Cognac. Unfortunately everything vaguely touristic was shut for winter, sending us to the local canal for entertainment.
Still, the canal lock mechanism kept the junior engineers intrigued.
Finally, we found a tourist attraction that was open. The Zoo at Palmyre (near to Royan on the Gironde estuary) was a lovely way of spending a day. We had the place to ourselves (due to the subzero temperatures) and the animals were a big hit with the boys.
As usual the boys get carried away trying to be sleeping flamingos.
Which ones are the cheeky monkeys?
We saw lots of animals, however predictably the highlight of the day was a...
Steph celebrated her 40th birthday by finally seeing her hero's boat, 'Joshua' sailed by Bernard Moitessier. The last time we went to the La Rochelle Maritime Museum, the roof had fallen in, we were thwarted in our quest to see the boat. This time, the museum was shut for winter, but cunningly they had moved the boat into the yard for renovation. The yacht 'Joshua' was sailed round the world in the golden globe race (this was the race that Donald Crowhurst went mad and sailed in circles round the Southern Atlantic). Bernard Moitessier was famously in the lead when he decided that the hoo-haa was too much for him so he sailed off to Tahiti instead.
I know it is a bit boring, but Moitessier really was my hero and I was chuffed to bits to finally see his yacht. It is a piece of yachting history.
Back home, we have taken advantage of the improving weather to make camp in our 'wild woods'. Chris has introduced the boys to the joy of camping and roasting marshmallows.
Due to the illness of Chris's mother, we have been visiting lots of churches on our travels to make a special prayer and light lots of candles.
I know that we will be tempting fate by saying this, but now (mid march 2009) the weather finally seems to have perked up. The blossom is out on all the fruit and walnut trees, the sky is blue and the temperature has soared to the dizzy heights of 20 degrees. It is time to say 'Au revoir' to France and wend our way southwards back to Oomu. The lure of the sea is calling us once more. We have had a wonderful time here and made lots of friends.
