TUESDAY 23RD MAY 2012

Today we decided to head off to Sarlat-la-Caneda and just spot the weather on our way. Given it was going to be a walking around the city event it didnt matter too much about rain as there were bound to be plenty of places to shelter eat and drink hot chocolate. We headed off at 9'ish which was a record for this week and our we got there along quiet roads and highways.

First stop along the way was Campagne, a little hamlet on the way to le Buge. The village had a nice hotel, restaurant and shop. The Churchof Saint-Jean-Baptiste opposite was very old with post 10th Century type foundations and almost untouched from medieval times. It was so peaceful inside despite being so close to the road. It is so nice to be able to enter these village Churches and find peace to meditate or pray without a crowd around you. Adjoining the village was the Chateau Campagne which was undergoing restoration at a cost of E4.9million. It didnt look that bad to us without the restoration.

We chose the same parking spot on the ring road as yesterday and it was there, right next to the campervans that inhabit this town. We passed a Dutch restaurant on our way into the ancient part of the town munching on croissant beurre. The cameras soon came out as we came upon the Place de Libertie which has a moving tribute to the men from Sarlat who died to free the region from enemy occupation in WWII.

Up into the narrow streets we charged with delights abounding around every corner, nook and rubbish tin. This town dates back a couple of millenia with visible construction dating back to 8th Century. We spent the first two hours photographing every speck of history, architectural carving, enclosures of Our lady of the Sacred heart up on building walls, pieces of aged and rotting timber beams or beams that might rot in the next 500 years, dates, obliterates family shields above doors. You name it we took a photo. We invented a new language - "Ooh", "Aahh" "Looook" "eeeee" being the first four words. The main Church in Sarlat was quite grand inside having been cleaned up in the last 14 years since Guy's visit in 1998.

By 12 the restaurants started to cook and a quick rece of the ones at hand and there were hundreds to choose from saw us pick one that we could smell delights drifting from. The one that won us was La Petit Bovie mainly due to the wafting odour of onion, garlic and potato hitting us and the friendly owner who was outside and spoke to us about the menu. We were quickly seated next to a nice couple from Bern in Switzerland who struck up a nice converstation with us whist we pondered and dithered over the menu. Finally the matre-de said that Guy should have the foie-gras because he was in Sarlat and Caroline had the omlette with local mushies.
The place served salads the size of wheelbarrows and the Swiss lady got one of those. Our meals arrived in good time and the foie-gras was as good as I thought it could ever be whilst the omlette looked awesome. Accompanied by poached apple, pineapple and a confit of potato and something else the foie-gras was magnifique. The Swiss man said GuyI should have the nut cake and so did the matre-de because Guy was in Sarlat. Caroline had the choclate mouse and it was devine.

Replenished we hit the other half of the medieval city blazing away until there was nothing left to photo. We really were flagging now so a hot chocolate and crepe in the sunny square beckoned. Here we watched how Europeans spend their after lunch time - watching everyone else walking by and conversing with the table next to them. Afer exchanging photos with the couple next to us we walked to the not so old ( only 700 years old part of the town ) and like chickens leaving not leaf unturned we flattened another camera battery.


Next stop was Le Buge, a riverside village of some proportions and age. We got some provisions at the corner store and then wandered down the old section of the village. The obligatory stop at the catherdral before spotting a laneway that lead down to a small bridge. It was a piece of Prague in the making with water coming down a stream ebing diverted into a small lake then a waterfall before going down a Vnice like canal to the river Vezere. A friendly group of women offered to take our photo. We headed back to the car and found the impossible to find alleyway to the top of the hill homewards.

But.......on the way coming out of another forest we spotted a sign for St Cirq. We found this hamlet, one of the famous sites for the Sorceror's Cave up the hill and the medieval Church down by the lake and streams. A Frenchman helping his daughter ride a minature pony told us about the place which was very interesing and we had look around the Church its graveyard and the ornamental lake and underground springs. This village lost five men in the great war and it would have just about decimated the population then.  We started home at 8pm in the glow of the evening light and were greeted by an excited Scooby. A long day over.