Hi we got back from France a week ago.It was a month of mostly bliss like I knew it would be. <BR>Paris was wonderful.I cried my eyes out in Notre Dame the night before we came home. <BR> <BR>The Pyrenees were spectacular beyond my expectations. <BR> <BR>The Dordogne and the valley of the Lot were lovely,But you have to be fit It is very hilly walking most of the time.Thankyou to the person who mentioned Cirque la Popie.It was one of the most spectacular places we saw.A sight I will never forget. <BR>Domme at midnight under a full moon was also unforgetable. <BR>I loved the cornfields full of poppies and the fields full of fat geese.We tried not to think about their fat livers destined for the plate. <BR>Sarlat was a dissapointment.I expected a small village,but it is a big town and it was full of tourists. <BR> <BR>The Loire valley was nice.We liked Chinon and Loches best of all.Amboise was busy and full of tourists.The traffic in Tours was a bit of a nightmare.I had to close my eyes a few times.Thankgoodness my husband is a good driver with nerves of steel. <BR> <BR>These are the places we visited if anyone has questions.Lourdes,Cauteret,Gavarnie,Luc St Saveur,Auch,Cahor,Cirque la Popie,Peche Merle,Rocamadour,Carrenac,Castle Brentoux,Lascaux 2,Sarlat,Montignac,Les Eyzies,Beynac,Catelnaud,La Roque gageac,Domme,Poiters,Amboise,Blois,Chinon,Loches,T ours,Chenoncau,Samur,Chambord,Montrichard,Azay le rideau,Sache,Villandry.I forgot the Jardin de Erynigac. <BR> We enjoyed the Fodors meet in Paris.It was so nice to put a face to names. <BR>It was more expensive for food than we thought you can only have so many picnics.The whole trip cost us about,12,000 canadian dollars.It was worth every cent. <BR>

Catherine, <BR> <BR>I haven't been to the Dordogne in many years. What did you like about Cirq Lapopie (I've never been there). What made this town special? <BR> <BR>Thanks, Adrienne <BR>

Catherine: while in Amboise, did you visit the Clos Luce, da Vinci's home? Is there a cafe/restaurant there? If not, can you recommend a good place for lunch?

Sorry,for the original typing.I don't know why that happened.It dosen't make for easy reading. <BR>Adrienne,we loved Cirque Lapopie because <BR>it was the perfect French village.All the houses are medieval or have been restored to look that way.It is an official beautiful village of France.There were flowers everywhere.Mostly roses and honeysuckle.It is built on top of and down the side of a very high cliff.There is an old ruined castle and the view from there was really lovely, down in to o the deep valley where the Lot flows.We got there at 0830 am no other tourists were there.Birds were singing,church bells were ringing.A thick mist filled the valley that slowly cleared revealing the spectacular view.I said to my husband that if I had just died and God said this is heaven I would have been ecstatic.If I hadn't read about Cirque Lapopie on Fodors we probably wouldn,t have gone.We left about 1130am and some tour busses were just starting to roll in.I am glad we got there early to see it without the masses. <BR> <BR>Elvira,we did go to Clos Luce.I thought it well worth seeing.It's a lovely chateau and the furnishings are interesting.I wasn't interested in Leonardo's inventions,But my husband enjoyed looking at them.I did wonder about the relationship between Leonardo and Francis the !st.There was a secret tunnel from Clos Luce to the palace so that Francis could visit Leonardo in secret!!! Also Leonardo was said to have died in the arms of Francis.I thought it was odd as Francis was reputed to be a great womaniser. <BR> <BR>We stayed 2 days in Amboise and one day we had a picnic.There are plenty of Charcuteries and bakeries in Amboise.The other day we had dinner at the hotel.So no recomendations unfortunatly.There did look to be a lot of nice resturants.There was a resturant at Clos Luce.I think it styled itself as a creperie.I didn't look at the menu or prices.If it's anything like the resturant at Chenonceau it will be not very good and way overpriced.We made the mistake of eating there. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps a bit.

Speaking of food in Amboise, there's a great farmer's market there on Sundays, great for stocking up on the usual suspects. I was eyeing a rotisserie chicken, but common sense said this is too much food for a two-person, pre-chateau picnic lunch, and besides the cheeses, pates, etc. beckoned. That market was great -- Elvira, maybe you should plan your Amboise visit to fall on a Sunday. Never tried a restaurant there, nor did we make it to the Chateau nor Clos Luce (so many chateaux, so little time . . . )

Catherine - please tell us where you stayed in Amboise - just received a hotel list from their tourist office, so difficult to make a choice. There are a couple with lovely gardens, but according to the map, they seem very close to busy roads. Can you help?

Hi, <BR>I was wondering if you could tell me where Cirque La Popie is? What is the closest city to it and how long a drive would it be from that city to C.la Popie. <BR>Thanks, Catherine.

Sorry to be so tardy with the replies.The weather here in Canada is glorious and I have learned that you have to make the most of it.Also the dog <BR>hasn't quite forgiven me for leaving her for so long.I have been trying to make friends again by taking her for long walks. <BR> <BR>Lydia,we stayed at the Ibis in Amboise it is about 2 miles out of the town.When we drove through Amboise to look for somewhere to stay,it was so busy and crowded that it put us off.Parking was difficult too. <BR>We liked Ibis hotels a lot they are a bit more expensive than regular 2 stars 400ff a night,but the cleanliness,consistency of service and the great buffet breakfast with unlimited coffee!!! was well worth it.Now the Ibis at amboise is not in a scenic location.It is close to a road at the edge of an industrial estate.We were not there though to use the hotel as a resort.Site seeing was the big priority with the trip.If I was staying in one location for a week,then the Ibis would not have been good for ambience. <BR>We found that the sites in the Loire valley are quite far apart.Blois for instance is about 58km from Amboise.Azay <BR>le Rideau would be about the same.We preferred to stay a couple of days here and there,rather than have a base,for a week. <BR>We should have had a better guide book for hotels.Most of the time we chose wisely just by driving around and picking what looked good.However in the Dordogne we had a Fawlty Towers experience at a hotel that was a 2 star 2 fireplace Logis de France.This made me want to choose chain hotels like Ibis and Best Western. <BR>The only guide book we had for hotels was Lets Go and really we didn't have to go that cheap.I wish we had had the regular Fodors or the red Michelin.Most of the time though we were lucky choosing by site. <BR>It seemed to me that hotels in Amboise were on the main roads.It is a very busy place.It's where we met the most Americans outside of Paris.I think if I wanted a base for a week,I would choose something not in the town. <BR>Well what a rambling to your simple question. <BR> <BR>Hi Elsa,I noticed someone else answered this question on the other thread.Yes Cahor is the nearest big town to Cirq Lapopie.I think it was about a 25 min drive away.Close to Cirq are the caves of Peche Merle.They should be seen if you are going to be in the area. <BR> <BR>I have never seen such fantastic stalagmites and stalacites,hope I spelled that right,there might be a geoligist reading.The cave paintings are wonderful.I was surprised to feel awe and wonder looking at them.Before we went I thought cave paintings oh hum!! However,the sense of prehistory and mystery is very strong at Peche Merle.I loved it.Only 700 people a day are allowed to visit so in the summer I would get there early.

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Thanx, Catherine - I appreciate the info - allow me to ramble on about Amboise - I rather fancied two hotels along the N152 Tours - Orleans (nice gardens and pretty buildings)- is this a crazy location, very noisy? What is your gut feeling (English is not my first language - often hear this expression on TV - OK?) - will Amboise be just as busy at the beginning of May? Otherwise - what did you think of BLOISE - also busy?

Can anyone give me an idea of the driving time, at a reasonably fast but safe speed from Orly Airport to Perigueux? Where should we stop for lunch on the way?

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Hi Lydia, the N152 is a long road that runs close to the Loire.I think that if the hotels have nice gardens they probably will be set back off the road.My gut feeling is they will be Ok. <BR>Everywhere in the Loire except some D roads we found to be a lot busier than the Dordogne or the Pyrenees. <BR>Blois is a bigger town than Amboise.It was busy with locals more than tourists. <BR>I liked it,but wouldn't rave about it.The francois 1st wing, of the chateau was closed, until the end of july, I think.It was what I most wanted to see.Blois is quite pretty,But the traffic is a pain and the parking was difficult.Cheverny which is close to Blois is lovely and we saw it with only 4 other tourists.Chenonceau which is by far the lovliest chateau,was seen with what seemed like 4,000 other tourists. <BR>Azay le Rideau and surrounding area would be a nice place to stay.Azay is more of a village than a town.The chateau wasn't too busy when we saw it.There is a beautiful hotel on the road to Azay, near a place called Monts.I think, it was called The Chateau D'Artigny.It looked like it would cost major dollars,but I don't know. <BR>Yes I do think the Loire would be busy at the beginning of May.As well as American tourists, there were lots of British and German. <BR>To sum up I would check the hotels you like in a guide book or a couple of guide books.Fodors is pretty reliable in it's reviews. <BR>If I can help anymore just let me know.

Jon,I checked that distance in my yellow Michelin.I had to check from Paris to Brive The closest combo.It is 483km and will take 4hrs and 34mins with no stops.Sorry can't help with lunch,but I would choose somewhere at the half way point.I would estimate that Perigueux is another 30-40mins from Brive.