Thank you La Tour de Cause. I had a wonderful day and the cloudy weather did not upset me in the least. I'm from Ireland and I remember experiencing a whole decade without sunshine!

Yes, today was a perfect day to visit Castelnaud and Beynac; their brooding, threatening menace was, if anything, enhanced by the low, gray clouds.

As I drive, I am listening to an audio book on European Medieval history and it is a perfect accompaniment to the area. The book opens at the fall of the Roman empire and ends at the Renaissance. I have just come to a defining moment in European history ? the marriage of Henry II and Elenor of Acquitaine and the birth of the nation states of England and France.

Please DO come back often. My visit is short, but now that I have discovered the area, I will be back many times.

Regards Ger

Hi Ger, We will be visiting the area in June, early July. You and Tour have me in the "can't wait" mode. We are staying in Beynac. What is the name of the tape you are listening to and where did you find it? My husband and I are both history buffs, and would love something like that! Too bad we aren't at least from the same continent ...we could buy it from you!

Just for future reference...would second StCirc on le Bugue's Les 3 As, and we absolutely loved our stay/meal at Beynac's Hotel/Rest. du Chateau and also the special meal at Hotel Bonnet.

Glad you're having a great trip. Can hardly wait for the finale!

Hello all:

Another fascinating day. The weather was sunny this morning, but quickly became overcast and there were frequent downfalls.

I started the day at 9:30am at Font de Gaume, bought my ticket and took the 10 am tour. BTW, they only allow 200 people in per day, each tour takes 10 people and they are scheduled every 20 mins. If you are visiting in the high season, book ahead or get there early. Anyway, I was overcome. It defies description. It brought tears to my eyes. These are not primitive drawings, they are the works of great artists that understood perspective, musculature and movement.

The prehistoric museum is closed for renovations until July :(, so instead, I drove along the Vezere river and stopped at La Roque St. Christophe (kids would love it) and St. Leon sur Vezere (lovely little village). I then spent the afternoon in Sarlat.

Its been a long day and I am now resting before devouring another great meal at L'Esplande.

WREN: Re the audio book. It is called "A History of the Middle Ages". I downloaded it from Audible.com. Here is the specific book link.

http://www.audible.com/adbl/store/pr...BK_ACON_000026

I am a member and, for $20 per month, I can download any two books, regardless of the cost (this one was over $50 had I bought it as a non-member). I highly recommend this site. If you are interested, the very BEST book I have ever read or listened to is "From Dawn to Decadence" by Jacques Barzun ? an absolute feast of Western history, art and culture and beautifully written by M. Barzun in his 90s!

The "History of the Middle Ages" is very well constructed and an easy read. It is a great book to provide an overall impression of the progression from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance. It does not provide much depth on any one era or area, but does a fine job of tracing certain themes through time, such as:
- The settlement of the barbarians and the establishment of feudalism in the early middle ages;
- the connections between the old order (the Roman Empire) and the emerging powers (the Roman Church, Byzantium, the barbarians and the Islamic world);
- the establishment of the nation states and national "characteristics" by the 12th century.

I would recommend it as a refresher course or as an introductory course for those that plan to visit anywhere in Europe.

The narrator is quite good, although every now and then he appears to be visited by the voices of Winston Churchill and Hyacinth Bucket (Keeping up Appearances) and he pronounces some common words in a very strange fashion (e.g.: he pronounces "OFFICES" like "ORIFICES", which can lead you to misinterpret some sentences in a most disconcerting way!)

Tomorrow, I will visit Grotte du Perch Merle, Cahors and St. Cirq. Here's hoping for good weather.

Best regards ?Ger

OReilly, thanks for the info...we signed up and look forward to the audiobooks. i think we will immediately get the two you mentioned. I am quite eager to hear the condensed version of that period of history. I think it will make our trip more meaningful.