Caves and Castles Day 5 - Sept 25, 2009

This was our last full day on the Caves and Castles tour. The morning was all archaeological caves, so there are no photos, of course.

First we visited Font de Gaume, which may have been the most impressive cave we visited. It featured over 200 multi-coloured wall paintings (to quote Steve). This is an excellent link to photos and information to Font de Gaume. Thanks to Don, whoever you are.

Megan's pages on Font de Gaume are here  and here. The second page also starts her description of Les Combarelles, which is mentioned further along in this blog.

After the cave tour, we had a bit of time to kill, so we stopped and bought some Pate Foie Gras at a very reputable location near Les Eyzies. There are stories of the Perigord geese being force fed and living in misery, but the photo below shows the truth,

We then had a workman's lunch near Les Eyzies. In France a two hour lunch is customary, and this one included 4 courses and wine (of course). Steve told us that a good restaurant could be identified by the number of workmen's white vans parked there at noon.

After lunch, we made a brief side trip to another archaeological site called a Micoque. This was a lovely spot in the woods, where I searched vainly for any sign of bird life.

Then, it was on to Les Combarelles, our last cave tour. This site features engravings in the cave walls. This was a very personal tour as it was just the six of us and a tour guide.


Here is Megan's blog on the site. I could not find any other good web link for Les Combarelles.

Our last tour stop was at a flint maker's shop, where Bernard Ginelli demonstrated the tool and weapon making techniques employed by prehistoric man.

Finally, Judie joined us for a glass of wine by the Vezere River. Thus ended the Caves and Castles tour.
 

My photo album for the day can be seen here.

Many thanks to Steve and Judie Burman for the excellent time spent on the tour. Both Edith and I heartily recommend their tour to anyone reading this blog. They offer varying types of tours depending on your interests, including tours into the Bordeauex region.

For more information, check out their website at http://www.cavesandcastles.com/ .

Caves and Castles Day 4 - Afternoon and Evening - Sept 24, 2009

After lunch we headed for Beynac to see Castelnaud. This was our first castle that was intact. It featured a comprehensive medieval weapons collection including giant crossbows, cannons and trebuchets (catapults).



There was an interesting sign at the entrance apologizing for the parking rates:

 The view from the top of Castelnaud looks across the Dordogne River to Castle Beynac, which is impressive from afar, but according to Steve is empty inside and in disuse.

In the evening we were taken to dinner at Auberge de Layotte. This restaurant is located down narrow gravel roads in the French countryside. The menu featured "cuisine savage" which included home made pates, edible flowers, wine served in ordinary drinking glasses and homemade digestives afterward.


The Proprietors were another couple, Regis and Sabine. At one point Sabine brought out their son to have

Steve and Judie check and help with his English homework. I can only imagine how hard these two work every day, and the long hours they put in.


Pictures from the meal are courtesy of fellow traveler Jack Brumit, as I neglected to take my camera again.

The link to my photo album for the second part of the day is here.