Trip Report: Lyon, Dordogne, Amboise Paris, October 2015
 

My "blog" www.herewegoagain-france2015.blogspot.com will eventually have photos.

Forewarning: I'm long-winded!

Introduction and Itinerary

In January 2015, as I was firming up plans to travel to England in late June/early July with husband and nephew as his graduation present, I was seriously missing Paris. It had only been 3 years since our last visit (which I wrote up here http://www.herewegoagain-paris.blogs...roduction.html) but even the idea of 10 days in England didn’t ease my Paris related blues.

I decided we’d just have to visit Paris and, for my birthday present, grabbed two tickets on Delta (Air France) using frequent flyer miles. I immediately felt better! My very tolerant and agreeable husband just shook his head. After buying the tickets, I had to decide what to see while we were in France. I wanted 7 nights in Paris but husband only agreed to 5. His reasoning “we’ve been there three times before, let’s see other places” was on point. My argument, “but I love Paris,” didn’t hold much sway, sigh. After some research on Fodors (Stu Dudley's itinerary, Maitaitom's trip in 2012, too many lovely Trip Reports to mention), Tripadvisor and perusing library guide books, we settled on 2 nights in Lyon, 5 nights in Sarlat-la-Caneda, 3 nights in Amboise, and 5 nights in Paris.

I booked our apartments in Sarlat and Paris and the B&B in Amboise while husband chose the hotel in Lyon (close to the Perrache train station where we would pick up a rental car). I set a reminder for July 3rd to buy our TGV tickets from CDG to Lyon and then went back to planning our trip to England.

As soon as we were back from England and the trip report “blog” was done (http://www.herewegoagain-england2015...-surprise.html ) I turned all of my focus to France. With help from the Fodors Forum Posters, I came up with a busy but possible itinerary for our time in the Dordogne which was the hardest part to plan—there’s simply too much to see and do in that area for a lifetime, much less four full days.

Our Ambitious (and Busy) Itinerary: Depart 2 October and return 18 October.

Lyon 2 nights at Mercure Lyon Centre Chateau Perrache Hotel. On the agenda: walk with a Lyon Greeter, Notre Dame de Fourviere, Gallo-Roman Amphitheatre and Museum, Musee des Beaux Arts, dinner at a bouchon.

Sarlat-la-Caneda 5 nights at Le Granier apartment. On the agenda: Rocamadour, Goufrre de Padirac, Beaux Villages (CArennac, Martel, Collonges-la-Rouge), Lascaux II, picnic at St. Leon zur Vezere, La Roque St. Christophe, Grotte de Rouffignac, Pech Merle, St. Cirq lapopie, Grotte du Cougnac, Domme, La Roque Gageac, Chateaus Castelnaud, Beynac, Milandes, gabarres trip.

On way to Amboise stop at Oradour sur Glane, and if time Chateau Valencay or Chateau Villandry.
Amboise 3 nights at La Grange Amboise B&B. On the agenda: Chateaus--Amboise, Clos Luce, Chenonceau, Blois, Chambord, Cheverny, Charmont-sur-Loire.

On way to Paris stop at Chartres for the Cathedral.
Paris 5 nights at parisbestlodge’s Crazy View Apartment on Ile de la Cite. On the agenda: Museums--Delacroix, Pantheon, Cluny, L’Orangerie, Picasso, Arts et Metiers, Orsay, Louvre, Marmottan, Army, Napoleon’s Tomb, Rodin. Churches-- Notre Dame, St. Germain des Pres, St. Sulpice, St. Etiene du Mont, Sainte Chapelle. Other--Concert at Sainte Chapelle, dinner at Alain Ducasse, walk with a greeter, tour of Hotel de Ville, Opera Garnier tour, shopping at Galleries Lafayette.

Guidebooks: Michelin Green Guides for Loire Valley, and Dordogne and Correze. Blue Guide Paris. Copies of the sections on Lyon and Chartres from the Lonely Planet France
Maps: Michelin #329 Dordogne, Correze. Michelin #518 Centre. Michelin #522 Auverge, Limosin. Garmin Benelux/France chip for my Nuvi.

And, I’m happy to report, it mostly went according to plan!

Looking forward to it. "Long-winded" is a good thing.

((H))

Thanks, maitaitom. I'm a concise work-related writer (and speaker) but can't seem to do the same when writing about travelling.

Arrival and on to Lyon

Day 1: Arrival, waiting around, first train ride, walking in Lyon, Italian for dinner.

We flew from Houston on Air France to CDG in Economy on the 777-300ER. It was a mostly miserable flight because it was so very hot in our section (seats 28HG). The entertainment system was limited. The food was palatable but weird. The seats were cramped. But the biggest problem was the excessive warmth. Oh well, next time we'll spring for the Premium Economy seats. We arrived at 8am but by time we were getting into the buses to the terminal it was 830am, when we were supposed to arrive.

Customs and Immigration control took about 1.5 hours. Our train to Lyon didn't depart until 1158 so we had time to kill. We bought a French SIM card at the Relay store, we walked around the train terminal, we got coffee, we were bored stiff. The train was delayed 20 minutes but finally we were onboard. I'd bought the tickets in July and paid E45 each for first class. It was nice. Much more roomy that Air France economy! The weather was gloomy and I was tired so I slept most of the way to Lyon.

We arrived at Part Dieu 20 minutes late then took the metro to Perrache where our hotel was located. We had debated hard about staying more centrally (and had booked the Hotel des Artistes) but decided on the Mercure Lyon Centre Chateau Perrache because it was newly renovated, a good price, and close to where we'd pick up our rental in a couple of days.

It turned out to be a very good decision (husband was vindicated!). The room was spacious, pretty and modern. It had a big comfortable king-sized bed. It had two sets of double glazed panes for the one window so no noise from the highway or street penetrated. The view was actually very pretty (once the weather cleared). It had a good sized bathroom and nice toiletries. It had the biggest TV we've ever seen in a hotel or apartment in Europe. The wifi worked. The location was perfect for us. The only weird thing was that the toilet was in its own room in the entrance foyer, while the shower/sink were ensuite, and did not have a small sink in there, although there was plenty of space for it. So we kept some hand wipes in the toilet room.

After we checked in, we wanted to explore. We got a map and the concierge helped us find a grocery store to buy some toiletries that were left back home. We grabbed delicious pastries at a convenient patticerie. This was an interesting stop because the attendant did not touch our money; rather we placed it in a machine that automatically dispended the change. That way she kept her hands clean--brilliant! We passed by Pizzeria Napoli and decided to try it for dinner. We stopped at the Orange store where they helped us activate our SIM card. We walked all the way to Place Bellacour and took the metro back. The weather was ugly, rainy and cool.

After showers, drinks in the bar, and catching up with the family at home, we walked to Pizzeria Napoli (45 rue Franklin). It was 645pm. Thankfully we arrived at that time because the restaurant was fully booked. But they took pity on my sad face and my very limited Italian, ("mangiamo rapido"), and allowed us in since we would be quick. We were too tired to linger, seriously.

We shared a caprese salad, pasta al'arabiata and a pizza with mushrooms, plus wine and beer. It was all delicious and reasonably priced. It was a fun atmosphere and as we sat there, the place filled up. The Lyon Marathon was the next day so I guess the runners were carb loading. We walked back to the hotel and crashed.


Take Aways:
1. We did not love taking the train--we had a long wait between arrival at CDG and train departure. It was cheap only because we bought the non-refundable fare far in advance but you pay way more for flexibility: we could have made the 958 departure but didn't want to take the risk with a non-refundable fare. We like having our own wheels.
2. Make reservations for dinner! So many places were fully booked that we missed out on well reviewed options.
3. Waiting for an attendant at the Orange store was worth it. We didn't know enough French to activate our SIM card and they did it easily. Having our phone for in-country communication was worth the effort.
4. Big beds are fabulous!

Next: Walk with a Lyon Greeter, Beaux Arts Museum, "no reservation" and a fun bouchon

I'm along for the ride and impressed by the itinerary....Lyon, The Dordogne, The Loire, and Paris. You must be very organized and spent a lot of time planning this trip.

We had Lyon on the radar for a while so I'll be taking notes. The Dordogne and The Loire are some of our fondest memories. Sorry your Sarlat apt. wasn't what you expected but the charm of the town probably helped.

I am ejoying your blog and look forward to some photos.

TPAYT, I resemble both of those remarks ;) And since we don't get a lot of leave, I try to make the most of every day on vacation. We relax once we get back.

Lyon was lovely and I wish we had another day there.

The Sarlat apartment would be fine for many others but we were disappointed. The location and the town, though, are outstanding, esp. with the low crowds in October.

Lovely Lyon

Day 2: Walk with a Lyon Greeter, Beaux Arts Museum, "no reservation" and a fun bouchon

Before we left I submitted a request to the Lyon Greeters for a walk. It came through at the very last minute but our Greeter, Nathalie, was lovely. Having that in-country phone was helpful for making our plans to meet at the Place de Terreaux by the Fountain. We bought an all day metro pass and took it to Hotel du Ville. The marathon was going on so we got a little turned around trying to find the Place de Terreaux. It was turning out to be a pretty day.

I had asked to see traboules, trompe l'oeil murals, Vieux Lyon and Notre Dame de Fourviere. Starting at 1030am, we saw all of the above. The trompe l'oiel mural was astonishing--a really impressive work of art. We walked across a bridge to Vieux Lyon and into a square near where Nathalie lived (pretty), we passed by Le Sathonay where we had reservations for dinner that night, we walked by the busy shops and went into the Gadagne Museum for the rooftop medieval garden, a nice surprise. We walked down to the miniatures museum and admired the intricate sets on display. I was a bit grossed out by a display of the silk worms hanging out at a nearby shop. At some point we went through the "longest" traboule, the only one we saw on this tour (which was ok).

Nathalie showed us the Roman Ruins behind the Cathedral St. Jean. It was just a block off the main drag but quiet and peaceful. We walked about in the church which was pretty. The square had the most beautiful cream colored building with blue shutters. We took the funicular up to Fourviere and toured the Basilica of Notre Dame. It's a much newer church than most we've seen and we both really liked it--it's filled with light and had a very happy vibe, to me. The view from the terrace was gorgeous.

We headed to our last stop with Nathalie, the Roman Amphitheatre. She pointed out the "oldest road" in Lyon and then took her leave of us. We thanked her profusely because we really enjoyed our walk and saw more than we might have on our own.

Since the Gallo-Roman museum was right there we toured it. Very interesting building and beautiful displays. It was somewhat confusing but that's par for the course with us and museums. The mosaics were outstanding and I loved that we actually got to walk on one!

Afterwards we walked back to Notre Dame to get a few more pictures and take the funicular back down to Vieux Lyon. We were hungry by now so stopped for a leisurely lunch at Le Krepiot where we had delicious crepes, cider and beer. We crossed the river, looked at the trompe l'oeil building again and made our way to the Musee Beaux-Arts. We only had about 1 1/2 hours before closing so did the blitz tour and very much enjoyed the gorgeous displays. It merits much more time that we had but we were glad to see what we did.

It was now 6pm and time to relax before our 8pm dinner reservation at La Sathonay. We took the metro back to the hotel and husband set out to find the Hertz rental car counter. He had no luck because it's not in the train station itself like Avis, Europcar, or Sixth. We asked the day concierge and thankfully he knew that it was located outside the terminal on the opposite side of where we were staying. It was not as convenient as the other agencies, truthfully, and I'd rent from Avis on a return trip.

We refreshed then had drinks in the bar (nice Nacer gave me a free glass of wine) before heading back out for dinner. We took the metro again and got to La Sathonay just at 8. I had made the reservation online via tripadvisor and received confirmations and reminders but the staff at Le Sathonay had no record of our reservation and could not (or would not) accommodate us, even after I showed them the email. They weren't rude, just blasé, and didn't seem to want our business.

So we took it elsewhere and ended up having a very nice time, and enjoying the food, at the busy Le Laurencin in Vieux Lyon. We had green salad, meats and pickles and onions salad, fish with rice, sausages with delicious potatoes, cheese plate and crème brulee for desert. All good and filling.

After dinner, we walked back to Hotel du Ville metro stop (we didn't have a map with us) and back to the hotel to crash. It had been a busy but fun and interesting day in Lyon.

Take Aways:
1. City Greeters are wonderful.
2. Lyon really deserves more than one day.
3. Even with "confirmed" reservations, sometimes you're turned away. Have a back-up plan and don't sweat the small stuff!

Next: Finding Hertz, we have GPS!, signs signs everywhere there's signs, not dead in pretty Sarlat

We drive to Sarlat

Day 3: Finding Hertz, we have GPS!, signs signs everywhere there's signs, not dead in pretty Sarlat

After another good night's sleep, we were up, breakfasted and ready to go early because we had a long drive ahead of us. We still did not really know where the Hertz rental counter was but thankfully the clerk that checked us out did.

We dragged our bags through the Perrache train station, down one escalator to the elevator because the second escalator was broken, across the train tracks, through a parking lot to a locked elevator that would take us down two flights of stairs to the Hertz office. Thankfully someone was going into the elevator and let us on so we didn't have to figure out how to call Hertz to let us in. This was a pretty inconvenient location for a car rental agency, in my opinion, and I would not chose Hertz at Perrache again. Avis, located right in the main terminal, would be my choice.

Anyway, we checked in with the less than friendly attendant who explained we had another E132 in charges over what we'd already paid through autoeurope. We were expecting only E54 so I was an unhappy camper. She didn't do a good job of explaining what the extra charges were for but we vowed to contact autoeurope after the trip to iron the matter out--we had little choice but to accept what felt like a rip off on the spot. The attendant almost reluctantly handed over a map and a notation that there was a scratch on the bumper. Definitely not renting from Hertz at Lyon Perrache again...

The car, a Renault Captur, was clean. The garage was dark so we missed two small dings in the doors. We couldn't fit our two suitcases (24" and 21") and two small carry-ons in the trunk which was very annoying. We turned on the GPS and it worked--we didn't pay extra for it. Our Garmin also worked so we felt well covered.

Following the GPS, which totally died in the tunnel under the train station, lol, and our map, we made it onto the highway to Sarlat easily. We stopped at a rest station pretty early on for coffee, water and snacks but really just drove without detours. Except that every time husband saw one of those pretty signs for a sight or castle or beautiful village he wanted me to take a picture and find it on the map so we could visit. We also took pictures of the view but the weather was not gorgeous. We also were fascinated by the special bridges to help animals cross the highway. Husband proclaimed it an easy drive until we listened to the GPSs and turned off the autoroute too early and were sent on small back roads to Sarlat.

We were meeting Barry at the Sarlat train station and made it there just about on time. He lead us to the free parking nearest the apartment and helped us shuttle our luggage to the apartment, a 4th floor walk-up. Barry carried my bag up the stairs while husband handled his own (the bigger one). I went ahead with the carry-ons. I was at the top when I heard a very loud noise and a yell. And Barry asking if husband was ok. As husband trudged up the spiral staircase, holding on to the rope railing, the railing gave away and he almost down fell two flights of stairs. Thankfully he let go of the suitcase so it fell instead of him. Hearts racing, and thankful that he was ok, we made it up to the apartment.

Le Grenier looked just like the pictures on the web. But it was a bit more run down and dustier than I expected. The shower was primitive with the shower head hanging off a beam by large nails and a plastic tie. The sink was loose from the wall. The lighting was really poor. There were no hooks to hang towels or anything else. The washer was not a dryer so we had to lay out towels and anything we washed on a drying rack with a fan running. The toilet seat prevented the separate toilet room door from closing easily. The TV was so tiny it could have been a computer monitor. No Wi-Fi. No phone in the apartment. The bed was hard and smaller than we had expected. The broom broke when I tried to use it. I did not choose well in Sarlat (sadly) except for the amazing location right in the middle of town and the friendliness of our host, Barry, who had stocked the apartment pretty well. It was also reasonably priced at E80/night. We would not stay there again.

We refreshed ourselves and headed for the Tourist Information to use their Wi-Fi and get information about the gabarres. They were closing up since it was almost 5pm but did say the gabarres were done for the day. It was a very pretty afternoon so we wandered into the church, the cemetery (which thank the universe husband would not be buried in) and around town. Such a cute town. There were not a lot of other people about. We had a drinks on the square at Café de la Mairie and watched some police officers with a dog come running through. We slowly made our way to L'Bistroi l'Octroi for dinner which was very good.

Back to the apartment, up four flights of stairs, not holding on to the rope railing, to try to sleep. We were liking Sarlat already.

Take Aways:
1. Hertz is not well located at Perrache train station in Lyon.
2. Driving in France is easy but pricy on the autoroutes. Those tolls do add up.
3. Be more careful with the apartment selection especially in the lower price range. Always ask for the dimensions of the bed, not just the size name.
4. Say fervent thanks to the universe for keeping us safe on vacation (we don't want to check out how good our travel insurance is!).
5. Make the best of your not so great decisions!

Next: more back roads, a gouffre, a vertical town, and lots of pretty villages

Nice TR -- thanks! I loved Lyon and hope to get back there oneof these days.

Interesting TR! Thanks for sharing so many details.

Great trip report! Never too many details for me. I'm along for the ride.

Really enjoying your report and love the details and takeaway points. We will be in France in May and are trying to decide between the Dordogne and Burgundy regions.

Did you make it to the Sarlat market?

hi nola,

just found this and am enjoying it very much. as you say, make the best of a bad sit and don't worry too much about little set backs.

I was interested to read about Lyon - not got there yet - and Sarlat where we have been and liked a lot, though we stayed outside the town in a gite which was fortunately fine.

and I like the format - lots of interesting detail and those points at the end - very useful.

Nice TR, nola, I also like the detail.

Thanks for your nice comments, everyone.

@yestravel, I think yours was one of the trip reports that put Lyon on my radar. It does not seem to be a super popular tourist destination but it has its charms. I'd like to go back one day.

@topeater, we walked through the Sarlat Market on Wedneday and Saturday, our apartment was really centrally located, but didn't linger. It looked nice. I remember lots of pretty vegetables and foie gras vendors. We're not shoppers so it was wasted on us.

Amazing cave and pretty towns

Day 4: More back roads, a gouffre, a vertical town, and pretty villages

So we really didn't know what to expect from this area of France. When we told people we were going to the Dordogne (Sarlat, the Perigord Noir) they all looked at us with blank faces. But I was convinced by my research that we would like it. And today proved it!

We had a 1030am reservation to tour the Gouffre de Padirac. We didn't sleep well so got a later start than we'd hoped and were not able to pass by Rocamadour first. We plugged in Padirac into the GPSs and off we went. The GPSs lead us on small back roads, the white ones on the Michelin maps, that twisted and turned through beautiful countryside. We figured there were bigger roads around but just trusted the GPSs which were quite in sync with each other. One was still in French (we figured out how to change the language a few days later) and wouldn't verbalize, the other verbalized too much. Comical but frustrating at the same time. Anyway, we drove through the pretty for about an hour and made it to Padirac in time for our tour.

This was the cave I was most excited about and it was perfect as the first one. We collected our tickets and elected to walk down into the cave. The opening is huge and deep. Our legs were trembling when we finally made it down but I'm glad we walked. Fantastic introduction to this amazing place. We made our way slowly to the boats. We were the only two people on our boat. It was very quiet in the cave. Pierre (of course) gave us a good overview of the cave and what we were seeing. He even stopped a couple of times so we could hear the silence and feel the drops of rain falling. Very cool. Spectacularly beautiful. We were the only two people on the walking tour which was very well lead by Anjeline (I think). We lingered as much as we could and ooh and aahed at the magnificence of this place. She delivered us back to the boat launch and Pierre took us back to the exit dock where 50 people were now lined up. We were very luck to have our private tour! We bought the souvenir photo (of course) and spent some money in the gift shop before exiting.

The weather was now absolutely gorgeous: clear blue skies, perfect temperatures in the low 70's high 60's. We decided to head to Rocamadour and view it from L'Hospitalet. It was about noon when we arrived, so the views were not the best but it's beautiful from that vantage point. We parked by the castle and took the funicular down to some stairs to the bottom. We found a café and had a quick (E20!) lunch of sandwiches, coffee and a soda. Then we meandered the touristy main street admiring the pretty buildings and views. We hiked up to the church and toured all of the open areas. We then took the funicular back up to the castle and decided to hit some more pretty towns.

Our first was Carennac. It's situated right on the Dordogne river and was just picture perfect. We parked alongside the church and walked all about the deserted town, taking pictures and admiring. Wouldn't want to stay there off season, too quiet, but it sure was pretty.

Next up was Martel. This is a bigger, busier town than Carennac. We parked in the lot across from the Tour de Tournemire and followed the Michelin Guide tour of the town. Very interesting history and super cute. We popped into the church and I took one of my favorite pictures of the trip--sunlight reflecting through the stained glass onto the church floor. The day was still pretty but we were getting tired so we had drinks before deciding on the next thing.

After our refreshing halt, husband wanted to keep going and see more pretty. We decided to go to Collonges-la-Rouge and it was worth the drive. All of the buildings are a beautiful red sandstone. Collonges has the similarly picturesque buildings as you might see in other towns but they're more striking and interesting because of the color. We did the Michelin Guide tour, loved on the neighborhood cats, and took lots of pictures. There were few other people about.

It was late by now so we turned on the GPSs and they directed us back to Sarlat. They again routed us on small roads which was annoying. We got turned around trying to find the parking lot (we would get turned around every night except for the last!). We decided to have dinner at L'Instant Delice and it was very good. I had cepe ravioli and husband had foie gras starter and duck with delicious potatoes for his main. I ate some of his crème brulee but did not like it because it had walnuts in it. We made our way back to the apartment for the night (and hopefully to sleep).

Takeaways:
1. Small roads are scenic but time consuming. We developed a love/hate relationship with our GPSs.
2. Off season is fabulous. Pierre at Padirac said they have 6000 people per day in high season, whereas we were the only two on our tour.
3. Rocamadour is super touristy but still very pretty. It was pretty cool to hike the same steps as Saint Anthony of Padova to the church.
4. There are way too many pretty villages in this part of France!

Next: a cave, a picnic, a troglodyte roque, another cave, and a star dinner

" L'Instant Delice..."

Really enjoyed that restaurant, too.

((H))

We were in Lyon at the same time! We arrived on Friday! We did a lot of what you did. I always forget that you have to arrange the city greeters 10 business days in advance, so we were on our own.

While you were there too short a time, we were there a bit too long. We arrived after long flights from Jo'burg and an uber ride to our apartment on Rue St. Antoine.

We were there a week; 4 or 5 days would have been sufficient. We found that if you arrive just at 7 pm you could get into a cafe without a problem. There are LOTS of cafes along Rue de Mercerie, a block in from the Soane.

We head to Paris in 2 weeks, looking forward to hearing about your time there.

Enjoying your TR. We want to get to the Dordogne and your TR has some good info. Glad our TR may have helped you with Lyon.

We'll be back in Paris in about a month so looking forward to hearing about your time there.

Thanks for continuing to follow along...

@maitaitom, your TR put L'Instant Delice on our radar! Yum.

@DebitNM, two or three full days in Lyon would have been enough for us, I think. Weather sure was nice our one day. Paris is too cold for me right now but I can't wait to return!


Prehistory and great food

Day 5: a cave, a picnic, a troglodyte roque, another cave, and a star dinner

We got a better night's sleep, thankfully, and were on our way fairly early. Today was market day in Sarlat. We walked past all the very pretty displays but did not linger. It seemed to be mostly vegetables, fruit and foie gras! We're so not shoppers...

First order of business was Lascaux II. It was an easy drive now that we were dictating to the GPSs instead of the other way around. By this I mean we used our lovely Michelin #329 map to plot our course onto big roads, used the GPS to tell us how to get to those roads and then followed the signs for the town we were headed.

We stopped in Montignac to buy the tickets to the cave but at this time of year, you actually buy the tickets at the cave. We have a 40 minute wait for the next English tour. We used the time to walk past the original cave entrance to the closed restaurant (?B&B) down the hill for scenic views (not worth it). By time we made it back, the tour was about to start. I think there were 50 people on the tour. It was very well lead by a woman who spoke excellent English. Very interesting to see how the cave was discovered, almost destroyed, then recreated, and how long it all took. I know it's "fake" but wow! were the paintings astonishing! Spectacular! So glad we got to see it.

It was getting on lunch time so we headed to St. Leon sur Vezere for a picnic. This is a super scenic little village on the Vezere river. We popped into the church then grabbed salads, wine and beer at the restaurant with picnic tables on the river bank. You can bring your own food and drinks, and had we been thinking ahead might have picked up stuff at the Sarlat Market, but nonetheless, we very much enjoyed this break.

Husband reluctantly agreed to go to the next stop: La Roque St. Christophe, the troglodyte city, overlooking the Vezere river. It was an easy drive from St. Leon. I really liked this place--the views are spectacular! The thought that people lived there since like forever ago was fascinating. I also loved the models of the medieval weapons (they're all catapults to me!). Harsh way to live but, even back then, location really was everything.

We tried to get into Font de Gaume but it was sold out for the day. So we called the Grotte de Rouffignac and they were still open for tours. We made it a few minutes before the last tour (5pm) and had a little time to walk around looking at the displays and reading the information on the ipod before the tour (in French only) started. I estimate 30 people were loaded onto the electric trains for the tour into the cave. It was very cold and dark and it was hard to see the bear claw marks and the scratches that made up most of the drawings. Not a lot of color here. The two herds were pretty cool. Husband liked it more than me. It would have been better if the information on the ipod were in audio format so I wouldn't have to read the bright ipod screen then try to make out the markings on the walls.

We drove through Les Eyzies de Tayac--so freaking cute--but kept heading back to Sarlat. We had dinner reservations at Le Grand Blue at 730pm. It's the only Michelin star restaurant in Sarlat. It's located down by the train station so kind of a longish walk from where we were staying, and of course we got turned around a little bit on the way there.

The place is modern and comfortable. It was pretty empty when we arrived but by 830pm was 3/4 full. Weirdly, one table of 6 sat down, had the amuse bouche, then got up and left. It didn't look like the staff were sad to see them go!

The amuse bouche was their version of sushi (tasty). The soup was leek with an asparagus ice cream and a spicy foam--delicious. My starter was shrimp, some were a little raw but tasty, and one was fried perfectly. Husband's starter was caramelized pigs feet which he liked a lot. My main was John Dory fish with rice with avocado, very good. Had kind of an Asian flair. Husband had beef with figs and really enjoyed it. I loved my dessert: macaroon filled with strawberries with the richest chocolate ice cream imaginable. Husband's pear soufflé was prettier but less tasty. Overall, this was a very nice experience. The food was quite good, the atmosphere was elegant and calm, the service was excellent. The only thing they could improve is their silverware--kinda looked it something you'd get at Target (and not the most expensive stuff there either).

Slow walk back to the apartment for the night. It had been a really fabulous day!

Takeaways:
1. Use your map and the directional signs instead of the GPSs only, duh.
2. Splurging on nice restaurants is nice. :)

Next: More caves and vertical towns

Enjoying your report!