Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Ger's Trip Report: A Long Weekend in the Dordogne

Lascaux II

I drove back toward the hotel just a little worried about my mislaid wallet. I was fairly certain I knew where it was. I was fairly certain I had transferred it to my handbag before dinner the previous evening and then locked the handbag into my case before I left the hotel.

Driving back to the hotel, I considered the lessons I learned from this disappointment. I know at this point I should say that if you don't learn the lessons from history that you are bound to repeat them. However, in my case, I know that despite how careful I am, I will do this again! I was amused by a couple of things. Firstly, I am always careful to divide my credit cards and cash and store them in two separate places, just in case. This is I had done, both stashes of loot, however, were now locked in my case at the hotel. Secondly, this is one of those situations, had it occurred when a husband and wife traveled together, would have resulted in tears, lamentations, accusations and argument. If your spouse forgets to bring the wallet, and therefore destroys your dream of seeing Grotte du Pech Merle, you can send them to Coventry (refuse to speak to them) for a week. If you do it yourself, and you are traveling on your own, you recover your good spirits quickly as there is no-one to blame but yourself J .

Back at the hotel, I found my wallet, exactly where I had left it, and then set about deciding what to do for the afternoon. A return to Grotte du Pech Merle was out of the question, it was too far. A reasonable alternative was Lascaux II, which I had wanted to visit anyway.

I had a lovely drive to Lascaux as the traffic was light and the day was brilliantly sunny. Purchase the tickets in the town of Montignac, about 10 minutes drive from the cave.

The experience of Lascaux was very different from Font du Gaume; the experience at Lescaux was NOT in the least disappointing, but the emotional experience did not equal Font du Gaume. Artistically, Lascaux was far superior, but I could not get it out of my mind that it was a reproduction. Also, I am prepared to accept that my disappointment at NOT seeing Grotte Peche Merle definitely influenced my ability to appreciate Lasaux II.

Because it is a reproduction, there are a larger number of visitors for each tour; there were probably about 30 people in our group. The tour was conducted in French. The anti-chamber has an excellent exhibit, describing the caves and the methods used to produce the paintings, and you can appreciate the workmanship and effort that went in to creating this site. The tour guide did not have charm of the guide at Font du Gaume, It would have been difficult for him to capture the attention of a group as large ours, but there was also a commercial aspect and attitude here that was absent in Font du Gaume.

The paintings are absolutely stunning and far more sophisticated and colourful than Font du Gaume. An old abbot declared the original as the "Sistine Chapel of the Perigord" and he is right. As I stared up at the ceiling, I felt dizzy and disorientated, I was caught in the middle of a stampede and I could almost hear the sound of hooves and the shouts of the hunters. The movement of the beasts is striking, as is the way the animals are superimposed on each other. It is beautiful, beyond imaging and beyond pictures and you must see it.

But, I did not shed on tear. Although the quality and variety of the work was more impressive than that at Font du Gaume, for me it lacked intimacy and there was none of the sense of shared worship that I had experienced the day before. I would contrast it with viewing copies of religious objects in a museum, as opposed to venerating the originals in a place of worship. I was very much aware that these paintings had not been painted by the ancients and, however faithfully the paintings had been reproduced, they did not have the same impact on me.

This is not meant to minimize the wonder I felt at being there, but I would advise travelers to visit Lascaux II first, and then visit the originals. For me, they were very different experience; the first was a glimpse of the divine, the second a viewing of great art which is an accurate reproduction of the divine, but it did not touch the soul to the same degree. This is very subjective evaluation and others will certainly disagree.

I took a leisurely drive back to the hotel, drinking in the magnificent scenery, with a touch of melancholy, as I was leaving first thing the following day. I love feeling melancholic when I leave a place as it means that it has firmly established itself in my heart and I will find my way back to it again.

Back at Domme, I went shopping again, for more Foi Gras; I just can't have enough of a good thing. The town was buzzing with French city dwellers on holiday and they were stocking up on their foie grass and goose fat. I waited a long time to be served, as each patron was given the history and vintage of each can of goods. I picked up my to see if somewhere on the can the words "The goose named Pierre, from the farm of M. Dupuis in the Perigord, gave his life on January 15th, 2004 for this little can". Hmmm, in these days of sensitivity around intensive farming methods and animal rights, this would be a really interesting marketing concept. We could all alleviate our guilt by lighting a candle and saying a prayer for little Pierre as we consumed his liver. As I was waiting, a Fox Terrier darted out from the back of the shop. Madame told me his name was "Hector" and I shouted after him, wanting to meet him. He ignored me, of course. Madame shrugged and told me he never listens, which is something all owners of Fox Terriers understand. Next Fox Terrier I have I am going to name him either "Cookies" or "Walkies" and that way I may be able to fool myself into thinking he actually comes when he is called.

Before changing for dinner, I sat outside on the verandah of the hotel, sipping a glass of wine and enjoying the "remains of the day". Ahh .. surely there is no better view from Domme, than the one from the verandah of L'Esplande.

In my last night at L'Esplande, I had the full menu: Foie-grass, steak and the gorgeous Grand Marnier Soufflé. I asked the sommelier for something other than Cahors and it was as if I had slapped him in the face. I felt I had to explain: Of course, I simply ADORDED Cahors, and all of his recommendations had been superb (which they HAD) but I just felt the need for something different. He responded, in a slighted tone, that surely I did not want Bergerac. His face twisted into such a contemptuous grimace and spitted out the word "Bergerac", like I was asking for "Red Biddy", so I immediately said NO, of course not! Perhaps a Bordeaux, I whispered nervously. His face relaxed and he had obviously forgiven me, just a little. He was troubled though, as all their great Bordeaux were sold in full bottles, but he would do what he could. He finally appeared 20 minutes later with a dusty bottle and told me (nay ordered me that) I would like this. I would have agreed with him had he poured me used engine oil, but it was actually very good and I was well pleased.

I packed that night and set out early next morning for the long drive to Paris. I was so glad I had my friend with me: "The History of the Middle Ages". I tore through France at 130M/hour; what marvelous roads, listening to the last few hours of the book.

I stopped at Bourges for a late lunch and a couple of hours of exploration. I will post about that at another time, when I have uploaded the photos.

I made great time from Domme to Paris, but once again, the Peripherique was a nightmare. I thought I had made a good decision in dropping the car off at Orly, because it was closer to my hotel, at Pont St. Cloud, than CDG. As it turned out, it was not a good decision, as there was an accident at the entrance to Orly and I spent two hours doing a 20 minute journey. A word to the wise: there are MANY places you can pick up and drop off a car in Paris and please be smarter than I was and find out the locations before you make your plans. As it happens, there was a drop-off point at Pont St. Cloud, within a ten minute taxi ride to my hotel. Had I been diligent in my research, I would have discovered this and saved myself 2 hours of frustration.

Overall impressions of Dordogne
I am very annoyed at myself for taking so long to visit the Dordogne. I have been to Provence four times and, I have to say, that I think the Dordogne is even more delightful. I loved its lushness and abundance, so reminiscent of Ireland. I am fascinated by its history: One can follow the development of Western civilization, from pre-history, in a scant few miles.

There is so much to see and I spent so little time there. To do it justice, spend at least at last a week, for your first tasting. It will captivate you and call you back, again and again. I am captivated, and I will return, again and again, to this wonderful region.

The END

Regards Ger