Trip Report Dordogne and more!
Jul 13th, 2006, 02:56 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 848
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trip Report Dordogne and more!
Background:
Travellers: husband and wife aged 40 & 50
Flew: Ryan Air from Rome-Gerona Santander- Rome
Drove: Hertz Golf VW
Foreword:
We spent the first half of our trip staying in a youth hostel in the Aveyron with shared toilets, broken shower and food that made me nostalgic for my school days in London so we were particularly self-indulgent during the second half!
Day 1 Drove from St Rome de Dolan (near Millau) to Conques stopping in St. Eulalie and St Colme d’Olt, Espalion and Estaing (thank-you Stu!). In Conques we stayed in the lovely Moulin de Cambelong where we had one of the best meals of our trip.
Day 2 drove to Figeac – definitely worth a visit, Martel which was one of our favourite towns and Rocamadour which we didn’t like – of course the setting is spectacular and its history interesting but we found it too overfull of junk and tourist trappings for our liking. Stayed the night at Les Granges Hautes. This is a beautifully kept property, charming and very good value for money. However don’t stay in the tiny pigionnier house by the pool! Impossibly hot , full of mosquitoes and a/c like having an angry bear in the room. Also the owner wouldn’t let us watch the football semi-final in the dining room after saying we could so I had to rush around the countryside looking for a TV with a fuming husband. We were glad we only stayed one night!
We had dinner at the Presidial in Sarlat because Meynardie was closed. Not bad at all.
Day 3: headed back to Sarlat to visit some more of the town in the pouring rain. Couldn’t do most of the things we’d planned for the day so visited Montignac which is ok and St Lèon sur Vezère which is a lovely peaceful village. We toured the Chateau Puymartin which we didn’t think worth it and then visited Roque Gageac in the evening. We weren’t too taken by RG for the same reasons as Rocamadour. Plus the traffic jams! We stayed the night at the Esplanade in Domme and ate splendidly and drank even better! We liked Domme a lot. The view is fantastic.
Day 4 rented a canoe for 2 in Cenac and canoed to Beynac despite my protests and some rain. It took approx 1 1/2 hours and I had to admit was absolutely lovely in the end though my arms hurt. We then rushed off for our 2.30 appointment at Les Eyzies to visit the Font de Gaume caves . They are the only caves we visited and found them extremely interesting and inspiring. Unfortunately by this time it was really pouring with rain so we just headed off to our hotel in Tremolat – the Vieux logis. This is a beautiful property in a lovely peaceful town. The gardens are immaculate and imaginative. The food was to die for. I had, amongst other things, an egg on toast with truffle and potatoes which I will not easily forget. Simple but perfect! We didn’t find the hotel stuffy at all and at dinner the other guests were French or American (no Scots!). After aperitifs and a bottle of wine with our meal we proceeded to drink a small bottle of Sauternes with the cheese platter and were glad (not for the first time!) that we had chosen to stay overnight in the restaurant. Drinking and driving is a big issue in France at the moment and rightly so.
Day 5 –late morning we headed off to Perigueux expecting to spend a long time there but didn’t find it so fascinating. The rain didn’t help. We got to Brantome early and saw every possible thing there is to see which isn’t much including a trip on the boat which is pretty boring but picturesque. The Moulin de L’Abbaye where we stayed is picture-perfect. Sooo pretty!! We had a small room overlooking the river and the turning wheel. After checking out the 2 other decent restaurants in the town we decided to eat in the hotel and it was good but nothing special.
Day 6 – said good bye to the Perigord and set off for Spain. Our first stop was St Emilion which we liked immensely . True it’s touristy and full of wine shops but we prefer wine shops to foie gras shops! We were also fascinated by the countryside and the vineyards possibly because we expected it to be flat and un-interesting. We drove through Bordeaux without stopping and had a rest in Biarritz which seems like a fun and bouncy town before arriving in San Sebastian where we checked into the hotel Niza. We didn’t get a room with a view despite booking 4 months in advance. The hotel is ok but not sure if I would stay there again.
Day 7 After a week in the Perigord San Sebastian is a bit of a culture shock! No peaceful haven for elderly couples but a mad race to get to your favourite pincho (pintzo) and down a chacoli (tzjakoli) before your next bar where you elbow your way to the pincho counter and start again. Then off to the beach and the old port and the new exhibitions centre and all the shops and the ice creams and the football final and off to find some other Italians to celebrate with and party all night until the police moved us on at 5am and god knows how many chacolis we drank but I felt terrible the next morning!
Day 8 Quick stop in Bilbao to see the Guggenheim feeling groggy before taking our flight back to Rome and some more celebrating.
I’d like to thank everyone on this board who helped with our trip. Everything went really smoothly. We were very happy to see the Dordogne area which we would have skipped had it not been for the insistence of some Fodorites! Of course we couldn’t do everything and I’m sure there are some important things we missed. We did rush around a lot but then again this wasn’t really a vacation for us! we are so lucky our proper holidays start tomorrow!
If anyone would like more details on any of the places we stayed please get in touch [email protected]
Travellers: husband and wife aged 40 & 50
Flew: Ryan Air from Rome-Gerona Santander- Rome
Drove: Hertz Golf VW
Foreword:
We spent the first half of our trip staying in a youth hostel in the Aveyron with shared toilets, broken shower and food that made me nostalgic for my school days in London so we were particularly self-indulgent during the second half!
Day 1 Drove from St Rome de Dolan (near Millau) to Conques stopping in St. Eulalie and St Colme d’Olt, Espalion and Estaing (thank-you Stu!). In Conques we stayed in the lovely Moulin de Cambelong where we had one of the best meals of our trip.
Day 2 drove to Figeac – definitely worth a visit, Martel which was one of our favourite towns and Rocamadour which we didn’t like – of course the setting is spectacular and its history interesting but we found it too overfull of junk and tourist trappings for our liking. Stayed the night at Les Granges Hautes. This is a beautifully kept property, charming and very good value for money. However don’t stay in the tiny pigionnier house by the pool! Impossibly hot , full of mosquitoes and a/c like having an angry bear in the room. Also the owner wouldn’t let us watch the football semi-final in the dining room after saying we could so I had to rush around the countryside looking for a TV with a fuming husband. We were glad we only stayed one night!
We had dinner at the Presidial in Sarlat because Meynardie was closed. Not bad at all.
Day 3: headed back to Sarlat to visit some more of the town in the pouring rain. Couldn’t do most of the things we’d planned for the day so visited Montignac which is ok and St Lèon sur Vezère which is a lovely peaceful village. We toured the Chateau Puymartin which we didn’t think worth it and then visited Roque Gageac in the evening. We weren’t too taken by RG for the same reasons as Rocamadour. Plus the traffic jams! We stayed the night at the Esplanade in Domme and ate splendidly and drank even better! We liked Domme a lot. The view is fantastic.
Day 4 rented a canoe for 2 in Cenac and canoed to Beynac despite my protests and some rain. It took approx 1 1/2 hours and I had to admit was absolutely lovely in the end though my arms hurt. We then rushed off for our 2.30 appointment at Les Eyzies to visit the Font de Gaume caves . They are the only caves we visited and found them extremely interesting and inspiring. Unfortunately by this time it was really pouring with rain so we just headed off to our hotel in Tremolat – the Vieux logis. This is a beautiful property in a lovely peaceful town. The gardens are immaculate and imaginative. The food was to die for. I had, amongst other things, an egg on toast with truffle and potatoes which I will not easily forget. Simple but perfect! We didn’t find the hotel stuffy at all and at dinner the other guests were French or American (no Scots!). After aperitifs and a bottle of wine with our meal we proceeded to drink a small bottle of Sauternes with the cheese platter and were glad (not for the first time!) that we had chosen to stay overnight in the restaurant. Drinking and driving is a big issue in France at the moment and rightly so.
Day 5 –late morning we headed off to Perigueux expecting to spend a long time there but didn’t find it so fascinating. The rain didn’t help. We got to Brantome early and saw every possible thing there is to see which isn’t much including a trip on the boat which is pretty boring but picturesque. The Moulin de L’Abbaye where we stayed is picture-perfect. Sooo pretty!! We had a small room overlooking the river and the turning wheel. After checking out the 2 other decent restaurants in the town we decided to eat in the hotel and it was good but nothing special.
Day 6 – said good bye to the Perigord and set off for Spain. Our first stop was St Emilion which we liked immensely . True it’s touristy and full of wine shops but we prefer wine shops to foie gras shops! We were also fascinated by the countryside and the vineyards possibly because we expected it to be flat and un-interesting. We drove through Bordeaux without stopping and had a rest in Biarritz which seems like a fun and bouncy town before arriving in San Sebastian where we checked into the hotel Niza. We didn’t get a room with a view despite booking 4 months in advance. The hotel is ok but not sure if I would stay there again.
Day 7 After a week in the Perigord San Sebastian is a bit of a culture shock! No peaceful haven for elderly couples but a mad race to get to your favourite pincho (pintzo) and down a chacoli (tzjakoli) before your next bar where you elbow your way to the pincho counter and start again. Then off to the beach and the old port and the new exhibitions centre and all the shops and the ice creams and the football final and off to find some other Italians to celebrate with and party all night until the police moved us on at 5am and god knows how many chacolis we drank but I felt terrible the next morning!
Day 8 Quick stop in Bilbao to see the Guggenheim feeling groggy before taking our flight back to Rome and some more celebrating.
I’d like to thank everyone on this board who helped with our trip. Everything went really smoothly. We were very happy to see the Dordogne area which we would have skipped had it not been for the insistence of some Fodorites! Of course we couldn’t do everything and I’m sure there are some important things we missed. We did rush around a lot but then again this wasn’t really a vacation for us! we are so lucky our proper holidays start tomorrow!
If anyone would like more details on any of the places we stayed please get in touch [email protected]
Jul 13th, 2006, 03:24 PM
#3
Nice report!! We stayed at the Niza in mid-June but lucked out & got an ocean view room I probably wouldn't have liked the Niza as much if we had a back room or if it was located away from the beach.
Glad you had a nice trip.
MY
Glad you had a nice trip.
MY
Jul 13th, 2006, 07:00 PM
#4
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,363
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Carrom, thanks for taking time to report. Can you tell me a bit about the Hotel Niza? I booked rooms there for October, requesting a sea view. I would love to hear a bit more about the place, or perhaps another option that you saw and would have liked better. Thanks!
Jul 14th, 2006, 12:20 AM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 848
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
About the Niza...the location right on the beach is good but it's a pretty long walk to the old part of town where all the bars are and even farther away from the old port. The hotel itself is quite nice but the fact that the rooms with view and balcony are the same price as the noisy ones facing the street on the back and no matter how early on you book they won't guarantee you'll get one annoyed me. In our room we couldn't open the windows for the noise. The bathroom and room were a good size and ok, nothing special. BUT it seems cheap at 120 but when you add 20 euros for breakfast and 13 for parking + tax it's not that much cheaper than the Londres. I didn't go into the Londres but it's better located as it's on the same beach as Niza but more towards the old part of town. If I could get a balcony room there for sure i would go for it. San Sebastian is a lot bigger than I imagined. In october you probably won't find the crowds and traffic - there were mile long queues for public parking! You probably also won't be going to the beach all that much so maybe you could look at an option inside the old town itself. This is probably where I would stay if I were going out of season. But you might get lucky at the Niza...so who knows!
Have fun!
Have fun!
Jul 14th, 2006, 06:15 AM
#6
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,363
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Carrom, thanks so much for your reponse. I wonder if Maribel has any comments on this...... I will look into options closer to the old town...after all, tapas are the primary reason we are making this trip! You are correct, we will not be going to the beach and will not have a car, but I did not realize that the NIZA was such a long walk from the casco viejo. I will look into the Adore Plaza, for one.
Jul 14th, 2006, 06:36 AM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,037
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nice report, thanks. I know what you mean about not seeing dordogne except for the push from posters on this board. I'd never heard of it until I started reading posts here. Dordogne would be a terrible place to miss.
Jul 14th, 2006, 06:36 AM
#9
Dear ekscrunchy:
We were just at the Niza last month. As I mentioned, we lucked out and got a bayview room. There is nothing wrong with the place. The bathrooms have been updated and the rooms are decorated nicely. But there is some indication of dry rot and I think a major renovation will be coming in the future. I probably wouldnt be as wild about the place if I had to stay in a street room.
It is a bit far from old town, but we walked there in about 10 minutes.
Click on my name if you want to check out my trip report. It is long, but you were very helpful when I was planning.
MY
We were just at the Niza last month. As I mentioned, we lucked out and got a bayview room. There is nothing wrong with the place. The bathrooms have been updated and the rooms are decorated nicely. But there is some indication of dry rot and I think a major renovation will be coming in the future. I probably wouldnt be as wild about the place if I had to stay in a street room.
It is a bit far from old town, but we walked there in about 10 minutes.
Click on my name if you want to check out my trip report. It is long, but you were very helpful when I was planning.
MY
Jul 14th, 2006, 06:51 AM
#10
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
About Niza hotel and Old Part. I live in San Sebastian, and in my humble opinion the walk is not so long. It takes around 10/12 min.
Here in SS, we are used to walk to every part of the city, so maybe that´s why I belive it is not so far!.
I think the situation is one of the best for exploring the city
Here in SS, we are used to walk to every part of the city, so maybe that´s why I belive it is not so far!.
I think the situation is one of the best for exploring the city
Jul 15th, 2006, 12:40 AM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 848
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's true the walk to the old town from Niza is not that long 10 to 12 minutes(longer for the port) and it is a very nice walk but if you have to do it backwards and forwards 3 4 times because you want to drop something back or rest or whatever or if it's raining it kind of becomes tiring! I just didn't think there was anything special about the Niza price-wise or otherwise unless you get a balcony room to make it the best option in SS.
Jul 15th, 2006, 12:49 AM
#12
Your reference to La Meynardie reminded me of our stay in a gite in Montignac; we arrived on a aunday/monday, so it was the only restaurant open in the area and there were no shops open to buy food for supper so we ended up there. Our children were about 12 & 15, the younger one quite a fussy eater, and we were all tired from the journey. Needless to say it was not a resounding success! So every time I see it referred to on this board, i tend to wonder why it is so popular, but I suppose we didn't experience it in the best of circumstances.
Jul 15th, 2006, 01:13 AM
#13
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,707
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry you didn't experience La Meynardie under the best circumstances. I think that with many French restaurants you do need to have time to appreciate them, and arriving in a tired state isnt the best start. Also, probably not a good choice for a fussy eater either. We took relatives there who didnt know French food, were not interested in anything duck, including foie gras, and asked for their steaks well done. Unfortunatly French meat is at its worst well done, and so I dont know that our guests appreciated it either.
However it is a lovely restaurant, a great setting, nice service, good food. And still one of the best in the area. Not only my opinion, but that of most of our friends and neighbours here.
However it is a lovely restaurant, a great setting, nice service, good food. And still one of the best in the area. Not only my opinion, but that of most of our friends and neighbours here.
Jul 15th, 2006, 04:23 AM
#14
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,363
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks everyone who answered about the location of the Hotel Niza. Since I do not see any better options for the same or less money, I think we will stay there. I live in Manhattan and am used to walking around a lot. If anyone has another option closer to the Casco Viejo, please let me know. We were planning to take two singles at Niza but since that would probably guarantee strret-side rooms, I will ask for one double for two.....would that be called a twin if we are not sharing a bed? Thanks so much, once again.
Jul 15th, 2006, 04:57 AM
#15
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,680
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, there are no distances in SS, and it´s of course much smaller than Manhattan. Hotel Niza is centric, close to everything, facing the beach and the sea, within a extremely nice walking distance to almost anywhere in SS. I wouldn´t change it. And if you´re lucky and get a sea view room, you can´t ask for more.
Jul 15th, 2006, 05:22 AM
#16
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,363
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Muchisimas gracias, Mikelg. It is funny that I just opened my New York Times for Sunday and found an article on San Sebastian which mentions the Niza. I think I will post it on another thread and ask for comments on the information contained within. The Niza will be fine for me, I am certain.
Jul 15th, 2006, 03:33 PM
#17
ekscrunchy:
The single rooms at Niza are inside rooms with NO WINDOWS. I inquired for our stay: a triple & a single. When they wrote back - no window - I said no thanks and reserved the two doubles. Ours had the two beds pushed together. My aunt & daught had the two single beds. Hope this helps.
MY
The single rooms at Niza are inside rooms with NO WINDOWS. I inquired for our stay: a triple & a single. When they wrote back - no window - I said no thanks and reserved the two doubles. Ours had the two beds pushed together. My aunt & daught had the two single beds. Hope this helps.
MY
Jul 15th, 2006, 04:25 PM
#18
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,363
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks, Michelle. I am going to ask them for one double for the two of us, rather than two "doubles for one person use," as their web site states. Hopefully since we will be there in October, I can snag a double room with two beds and a sea view. (We are two friends traveling together)
Jul 16th, 2006, 11:50 AM
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 848
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If I were you I would try, since it's October and won't be high season to insist they give you sea front rooms. it's not only for the sea view but to avoid the traffic noise which was really bad though with the windows shut it was ok. Also don't miss the pintxos bars in the new area across the river- they are some of the best! We also really liked the view from the funicular if you get a clear day. if you have time Biarritz is also great.
