14 days in extra-sunny Dordogne, Provence, Languedoc and Nice - Trip report from mr_go/ms_go
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:29 AM
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14 days in extra-sunny Dordogne, Provence, Languedoc and Nice - Trip report from mr_go/ms_go
Morning, all-
We just returned last night from a fabulous 14-day vacation to the aforementioned areas. Before work gets the better of us (and it will in short order), we wanted to share some highlights.
As a bit of background, we are in our early 40s and traveling with our 13-year-old daughter, Allie. We live in the Chicago metro area, and this was our annual two-week (give or take a few days) family vacation to Europe. We�ve been doing this since Allie was seven. Although there are many places we�d love to return, there are many more that we�d like to visit for the first time. So every year, we pick someplace new and different. We are kind of middle-of-the road travelers � not extremely budget minded, but not extravagant. We occasionally splurge on a hotel for a night or two, but most of our stays are in three-star-type places. And we generally favor casual dining to fine dining.
This year�s trip was first and foremost a visit to the Dordogne. Our airline tickets, however, were in and out of Nice, as this was what was available with frequent flyer miles. Nice is a bit of a distance from the Dordogne, so we built an itinerary of two days in Languedoc on the way there and four days and Provence/Nice on the way back. We knew that with this small amount of time, we barely would scratch the surface of these areas, but we hoped it would at least give us a little taste for future planning.
Moreover, following on last year�s very positive experience basing ourselves for a week in a rental property (Positano, Italy), we decided to do the same in the Dordogne this year.
Our final itinerary shaped up like this: two nights in Pezenas, a mid-sized Languedoc town near Montpellier; seven nights in Daglan, a very small village of about 600 in the Dordogne, south of Domme; three nights in St. Remy de Provence; and one night in Nice prior to our return. By the way, this was not our first trip to France, but all of these areas were new to us. We've vacationed in Paris twice (and Marisa has been there a number of other times), and we spent a lovely week in the Loire a few years ago.
We owe a debt of gratitude to many on this board, especially StCirq and Stu Dudley. Thank you. Your input has made this yet another vacation that exceeded expectations.
We will not recount the day-to-day details here, but we promise to provide them on our website soon. And please forgive any typos. We typed most this on the plane ride home without the benefit of being able to refer back to guidebooks and maps for spelling, proper accent marks, etc.
Highlights, in no particular order:
1) Experiencing some 25,000 years of history and prehistory � from the Cro-Magnons, to the Romans, to the Cathars, to the Bastides, to the current day � all within the span of two weeks and a few hundred miles.
2) Making ourselves at home in a small French village for a week, and feeling like we�d really settled in.
3) Enjoying inexpensive, tasty local wines � everywhere.
4) Seeing the Dordogne Valley from a canoe.
5) Feeling like we could communicate effectively in French when we had to, despite the fact that both of us studied French more than 25 years ago.
6) Marveling at the great Roman-era antiquities, such as the arena at Arles and the Pont du Gard.
7) Soaking in the vibrant historical centers of Arles and Nice.
8) Experiencing the art and symbolism of Cro-Magnon man, firsthand. Yeah, we already mentioned history, but the caves, alone, are truly a highlight.
9) Perusing the wide mix of wares at local markets, including two of the best � Sarlat and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
10) Gazing at picturesque towns, many of them dramatically set atop hills or cliffs: Beynac, St. Cirq la Popie, Domme, Les Baux, Gordes, and Carcassonne. And discovering a few gems, such as Pezenas. The whole area is a feast for the eyes.
11) The Millau Viaduct. We drove across this on the way from Pezenas to Daglan, and we took the detour beforehand that provides a sweeping view of the bridge and the town below it. Crossing the bridge did not cause Marisa the case of vertigo that she feared it would.
12) And finally, catching a glimpse of the blooming lavender.
13) Allie would give a very honorable mention to all the delicious entrecote steaks and glaces.
We just returned last night from a fabulous 14-day vacation to the aforementioned areas. Before work gets the better of us (and it will in short order), we wanted to share some highlights.
As a bit of background, we are in our early 40s and traveling with our 13-year-old daughter, Allie. We live in the Chicago metro area, and this was our annual two-week (give or take a few days) family vacation to Europe. We�ve been doing this since Allie was seven. Although there are many places we�d love to return, there are many more that we�d like to visit for the first time. So every year, we pick someplace new and different. We are kind of middle-of-the road travelers � not extremely budget minded, but not extravagant. We occasionally splurge on a hotel for a night or two, but most of our stays are in three-star-type places. And we generally favor casual dining to fine dining.
This year�s trip was first and foremost a visit to the Dordogne. Our airline tickets, however, were in and out of Nice, as this was what was available with frequent flyer miles. Nice is a bit of a distance from the Dordogne, so we built an itinerary of two days in Languedoc on the way there and four days and Provence/Nice on the way back. We knew that with this small amount of time, we barely would scratch the surface of these areas, but we hoped it would at least give us a little taste for future planning.
Moreover, following on last year�s very positive experience basing ourselves for a week in a rental property (Positano, Italy), we decided to do the same in the Dordogne this year.
Our final itinerary shaped up like this: two nights in Pezenas, a mid-sized Languedoc town near Montpellier; seven nights in Daglan, a very small village of about 600 in the Dordogne, south of Domme; three nights in St. Remy de Provence; and one night in Nice prior to our return. By the way, this was not our first trip to France, but all of these areas were new to us. We've vacationed in Paris twice (and Marisa has been there a number of other times), and we spent a lovely week in the Loire a few years ago.
We owe a debt of gratitude to many on this board, especially StCirq and Stu Dudley. Thank you. Your input has made this yet another vacation that exceeded expectations.
We will not recount the day-to-day details here, but we promise to provide them on our website soon. And please forgive any typos. We typed most this on the plane ride home without the benefit of being able to refer back to guidebooks and maps for spelling, proper accent marks, etc.
Highlights, in no particular order:
1) Experiencing some 25,000 years of history and prehistory � from the Cro-Magnons, to the Romans, to the Cathars, to the Bastides, to the current day � all within the span of two weeks and a few hundred miles.
2) Making ourselves at home in a small French village for a week, and feeling like we�d really settled in.
3) Enjoying inexpensive, tasty local wines � everywhere.
4) Seeing the Dordogne Valley from a canoe.
5) Feeling like we could communicate effectively in French when we had to, despite the fact that both of us studied French more than 25 years ago.
6) Marveling at the great Roman-era antiquities, such as the arena at Arles and the Pont du Gard.
7) Soaking in the vibrant historical centers of Arles and Nice.
8) Experiencing the art and symbolism of Cro-Magnon man, firsthand. Yeah, we already mentioned history, but the caves, alone, are truly a highlight.
9) Perusing the wide mix of wares at local markets, including two of the best � Sarlat and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
10) Gazing at picturesque towns, many of them dramatically set atop hills or cliffs: Beynac, St. Cirq la Popie, Domme, Les Baux, Gordes, and Carcassonne. And discovering a few gems, such as Pezenas. The whole area is a feast for the eyes.
11) The Millau Viaduct. We drove across this on the way from Pezenas to Daglan, and we took the detour beforehand that provides a sweeping view of the bridge and the town below it. Crossing the bridge did not cause Marisa the case of vertigo that she feared it would.
12) And finally, catching a glimpse of the blooming lavender.
13) Allie would give a very honorable mention to all the delicious entrecote steaks and glaces.
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:32 AM
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<b>General observations</b>
The Dordogne is as beautiful and enjoyable as we’d imagined it would be. We especially enjoyed getting off the beaten path on occasion – for example, stopping to see the ruined Abbey Nouvelle near Gourdon that we’d passed several times.
Provence is beautiful, in a different way. Not as green and lush. More Mediterranean in feel. Busier. We’d like to visit again and see more, but perhaps more into the shoulder season. We’d also like to return to the Languedoc, perhaps in a dedicated trip or with some of the Pyrenees or Barcelona. And we definitely will be back to Nice, hopefully sooner than later.
We found that knowing some French was helpful in the Dordogne – particularly outside of major tourist destinations and in dealing with the rental, as the woman who checked us in and out did not speak English; not one word. Most people seemed to appreciate our attempts to communicate in French. We found English to be much more prevalent in Provence, although admittedly the places we visited there are the ones we’d expect to find many English speakers.
We encountered very few Americans in the Dordogne. Most of the other tourists with whom we talked were British or German. We ran into many more Americans in Provence and Nice - but, interestingly, most of the other guests at our hotel in St. Remy were French.
We thought that early June was a wonderful time to visit the Dordogne. The weather was good, albeit hot, but the crowds were relatively small. We rarely had trouble finding places to park. We recall entering the rather expansive parking lot at Castelnaud on our first day there and commenting that there were only about 10 cars in a lot that easily could have held several hundred. We can’t imagine what the small town of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle and the chateau would feel like with that many people there.
Above all, we found the people to be exceptionally friendly, helpful, laid back and very proud of their area – not a surprise, really.
Finally, we found it fun to be in the area during the World Cup. It really does dominate evenings in the restaurants and cafes, and it doesn’t seem to matter much who’s playing. Those restaurants with large-screen televisions seemed to do well, and those without…
The Dordogne is as beautiful and enjoyable as we’d imagined it would be. We especially enjoyed getting off the beaten path on occasion – for example, stopping to see the ruined Abbey Nouvelle near Gourdon that we’d passed several times.
Provence is beautiful, in a different way. Not as green and lush. More Mediterranean in feel. Busier. We’d like to visit again and see more, but perhaps more into the shoulder season. We’d also like to return to the Languedoc, perhaps in a dedicated trip or with some of the Pyrenees or Barcelona. And we definitely will be back to Nice, hopefully sooner than later.
We found that knowing some French was helpful in the Dordogne – particularly outside of major tourist destinations and in dealing with the rental, as the woman who checked us in and out did not speak English; not one word. Most people seemed to appreciate our attempts to communicate in French. We found English to be much more prevalent in Provence, although admittedly the places we visited there are the ones we’d expect to find many English speakers.
We encountered very few Americans in the Dordogne. Most of the other tourists with whom we talked were British or German. We ran into many more Americans in Provence and Nice - but, interestingly, most of the other guests at our hotel in St. Remy were French.
We thought that early June was a wonderful time to visit the Dordogne. The weather was good, albeit hot, but the crowds were relatively small. We rarely had trouble finding places to park. We recall entering the rather expansive parking lot at Castelnaud on our first day there and commenting that there were only about 10 cars in a lot that easily could have held several hundred. We can’t imagine what the small town of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle and the chateau would feel like with that many people there.
Above all, we found the people to be exceptionally friendly, helpful, laid back and very proud of their area – not a surprise, really.
Finally, we found it fun to be in the area during the World Cup. It really does dominate evenings in the restaurants and cafes, and it doesn’t seem to matter much who’s playing. Those restaurants with large-screen televisions seemed to do well, and those without…
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:35 AM
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<b>Accommodations</b>
We did not spend a lot of time searching for accommodations. In fact, once the air reservations were locked in last October, we completed the accommodations in relatively short order. And now we’re patting ourselves on the back, as we were very happy with all.
<i>Hotel de Vigniamont, Pezenas</i>
Stu Dudley, I think, led us toward Pezenas. We picked this hotel after a look at TripAdvisor, and wow, what a find. Owners Tracy and Robert have converted this old, three-story townhouse into a lovely small hotel with four or five rooms, an attractive guest lounge and a rooftop terrace. We booked the Grand Vigniamont suite so that we would have sufficient room for three. It is lovely and well-appointed, with high ceilings and tall windows that look out onto an attractive old municipal building across the street which now houses a school (it was fun watching parents walk the kids in to school in the mornings). The suite includes two rooms, nicely furnished with antiques, and a large, modern bathroom with high-quality bath products. A tray of fresh fruit, wine, water and coffee/teas was waiting for us in the room – always welcome after 10+ hours of flying and a four-hour drive.
Even better is the warm welcome and hospitality. Tracy and Robert host a ‘raid the pantry’ cocktail hour on the top-floor terrace every evening, providing an opportunity to share the day’s adventures with other guests and sample local wines. Tracy studied at the Cordon Bleu cooking school, and her selection of appetizers is delicious, as is breakfast each morning (selection of meats, cheeses, cereals, fruit, and breads, along with eggs cooked to order). They also host a dinner each Monday, but we missed that, unfortunately. All in all, a lovely place and a great way to start the trip. We’d call this one of the nicest places we’ve ever stayed and highly recommend it. Grand Vigniamont Suite, 145€ per night for three, including breakfast and cocktail hour.
www.hoteldevigniamont.com
<i>Rental home, Daglan, Simply Perigord</i>
As we did last year, we started our search for a rental property by finding a well-regarded agency, and then took it from there. Simply Perigord offered a variety of properties throughout the Dordogne. Our primary criterion was an in-town setting in a village just big enough to have some conveniences but not so big that traffic and/or parking would be an issue. Beyond that, we looked at location, presence of a washer (and preferably dryer), and character of the property (from photos). We debated about going for a pool, but decided the weather might be iffy in early June – had we selected a property with a pool, it surely would have been; as it was, temperatures were in the 90s every day. We hit the jackpot with the house we selected in Daglan.
Daglan is a tiny town of about 600 (including the surrounding area), but it has a bank with ATM, a grocery, a bakery, a meat shop and two restaurants within walking distance. But as much as convenience, it had charm with a neat row of stone and half-timbered buildings and an attractive town square with a simple fountain. The village is spotlessly clean. The residents clearly care about the appearance of their town, with beautiful flower displays at virtually every home. One evening, we sat and watched one couple spend an hour or so carefully grooming the plants in front of their house. It is located about 9km south of Domme – a bit off the river and its many attractions, but an easy drive away from many areas of interest.
Okay, so for the home…..it is an old stone building with walls about two feet thick – good when the weather is warm because the house stays nicely cool. We put it at about 200 years old, the former home of a tailor. The large dining room table was the work table. It is two stories; almost two full homes in one. There are kitchens on both levels, although the main floor kitchen is the primary one with full-sized refrigerator, electric oven/range, dishwasher, and washer and dryer. There are two bedrooms upstairs, along with a full bath. The downstairs dining and sitting rooms have several daybeds to accommodate more people, as well as another full bath. Whatever you might need – hairdryer, iron, stereo, wine openers – there are several to choose from in the house, unless of course you are baking a casserole, then there are about two dozen casserole dishes from which to choose. The decorating is a bit eclectic but tasteful. One of the best features, though, was the large back patio and yard, decorated with flowers and ivy and furnished with a table, chairs and barbeque. We spent many hours enjoying the patio – and the whole house. It is very easy to feel at home here, and very hard to leave. One week rental, including linen at mid-season rates: 858€.
Take a look: www.simply-perigord.com/house185.html
We’ll add that Simply Perigord was very easy to work with and we would be happy to recommend it as an agency.
<i>Mas des Carassins, St. Remy de Provence</i>
This small hotel just out of the center of St. Remy came highly recommended here. It did have the unfortunate distinction of coming right after having an entire two-story home to ourselves, so initially, our room seemed a little small and plain. The absolute best feature of this hotel is its grounds and lovely gardens. We enjoyed our breakfast in the garden every morning. The room was generally comfortable, although we did find ourselves tripping over all of our stuff at times. The hotel serves dinner in the garden five nights per week, including two of the nights we were there; however, we did not partake. Allie said ‘no’ to the sea bass on the first night, and although the second night’s veal menu sounded (and smelled) very good, we were all much too full to take on a four-course meal that night. We loved the very casual, laid-back atmosphere here, as well as the little bulldog who had the run of the grounds. The pool was nice, if a bit chilly. We enjoyed a quiet dip and a little relaxation after our days out touring in the area – that is, after Allie got over the shock that she would be sharing the pool area with women sunbathing topless (please note: her mom was NOT one of them). We’d probably agree with the person (robjame?) who recently said that some of the surfaces could use a little freshening, but all in all, this was a lovely place to stay. Nice, quiet location, too. Garden-view double with extra bed and mandatory breakfast: 181€ per night.
www.alpilles.fr/masdescarassins/index.html
<i>Hotel Le Grimaldi, Nice</i>
We really wished we had more time to spend here. We liked the town a lot, and we really liked this hotel. We’d reserved a junior suite, but due to a mix up, it was not available. The lesser-priced but similarly sized superior double was more than adequate; the only difference was that it had one bathroom rather than two. The bathroom we did have was quite nice. In fact, Marisa wanted to take it home. She took copious photos for future reference. It was fully tiled in the same Italian ceramic tile that we used in our kitchen, with a huge walk-in shower, a separate tub, large double sink and nice Italian bath products. Service was exceptional. Every staff member bent over backwards to make us feel welcome and to help out – for example, with our desperate attempt to locate the Hertz office and return the car. A bonus was the free Internet service in the lobby. The location is a couple of blocks off the Promenade des Anglais, but that was fine. Our sixth-floor room had both a courtyard view and a view down on to the church next door. It was a five minute walk to the Promenade and about 20 minutes to the heart of Vieux Nice. We will stay here when we return to Nice – hopefully someday soon. Superior double with extra bed, no breakfast – 215€.
www.le-grimaldi.com
We did not spend a lot of time searching for accommodations. In fact, once the air reservations were locked in last October, we completed the accommodations in relatively short order. And now we’re patting ourselves on the back, as we were very happy with all.
<i>Hotel de Vigniamont, Pezenas</i>
Stu Dudley, I think, led us toward Pezenas. We picked this hotel after a look at TripAdvisor, and wow, what a find. Owners Tracy and Robert have converted this old, three-story townhouse into a lovely small hotel with four or five rooms, an attractive guest lounge and a rooftop terrace. We booked the Grand Vigniamont suite so that we would have sufficient room for three. It is lovely and well-appointed, with high ceilings and tall windows that look out onto an attractive old municipal building across the street which now houses a school (it was fun watching parents walk the kids in to school in the mornings). The suite includes two rooms, nicely furnished with antiques, and a large, modern bathroom with high-quality bath products. A tray of fresh fruit, wine, water and coffee/teas was waiting for us in the room – always welcome after 10+ hours of flying and a four-hour drive.
Even better is the warm welcome and hospitality. Tracy and Robert host a ‘raid the pantry’ cocktail hour on the top-floor terrace every evening, providing an opportunity to share the day’s adventures with other guests and sample local wines. Tracy studied at the Cordon Bleu cooking school, and her selection of appetizers is delicious, as is breakfast each morning (selection of meats, cheeses, cereals, fruit, and breads, along with eggs cooked to order). They also host a dinner each Monday, but we missed that, unfortunately. All in all, a lovely place and a great way to start the trip. We’d call this one of the nicest places we’ve ever stayed and highly recommend it. Grand Vigniamont Suite, 145€ per night for three, including breakfast and cocktail hour.
www.hoteldevigniamont.com
<i>Rental home, Daglan, Simply Perigord</i>
As we did last year, we started our search for a rental property by finding a well-regarded agency, and then took it from there. Simply Perigord offered a variety of properties throughout the Dordogne. Our primary criterion was an in-town setting in a village just big enough to have some conveniences but not so big that traffic and/or parking would be an issue. Beyond that, we looked at location, presence of a washer (and preferably dryer), and character of the property (from photos). We debated about going for a pool, but decided the weather might be iffy in early June – had we selected a property with a pool, it surely would have been; as it was, temperatures were in the 90s every day. We hit the jackpot with the house we selected in Daglan.
Daglan is a tiny town of about 600 (including the surrounding area), but it has a bank with ATM, a grocery, a bakery, a meat shop and two restaurants within walking distance. But as much as convenience, it had charm with a neat row of stone and half-timbered buildings and an attractive town square with a simple fountain. The village is spotlessly clean. The residents clearly care about the appearance of their town, with beautiful flower displays at virtually every home. One evening, we sat and watched one couple spend an hour or so carefully grooming the plants in front of their house. It is located about 9km south of Domme – a bit off the river and its many attractions, but an easy drive away from many areas of interest.
Okay, so for the home…..it is an old stone building with walls about two feet thick – good when the weather is warm because the house stays nicely cool. We put it at about 200 years old, the former home of a tailor. The large dining room table was the work table. It is two stories; almost two full homes in one. There are kitchens on both levels, although the main floor kitchen is the primary one with full-sized refrigerator, electric oven/range, dishwasher, and washer and dryer. There are two bedrooms upstairs, along with a full bath. The downstairs dining and sitting rooms have several daybeds to accommodate more people, as well as another full bath. Whatever you might need – hairdryer, iron, stereo, wine openers – there are several to choose from in the house, unless of course you are baking a casserole, then there are about two dozen casserole dishes from which to choose. The decorating is a bit eclectic but tasteful. One of the best features, though, was the large back patio and yard, decorated with flowers and ivy and furnished with a table, chairs and barbeque. We spent many hours enjoying the patio – and the whole house. It is very easy to feel at home here, and very hard to leave. One week rental, including linen at mid-season rates: 858€.
Take a look: www.simply-perigord.com/house185.html
We’ll add that Simply Perigord was very easy to work with and we would be happy to recommend it as an agency.
<i>Mas des Carassins, St. Remy de Provence</i>
This small hotel just out of the center of St. Remy came highly recommended here. It did have the unfortunate distinction of coming right after having an entire two-story home to ourselves, so initially, our room seemed a little small and plain. The absolute best feature of this hotel is its grounds and lovely gardens. We enjoyed our breakfast in the garden every morning. The room was generally comfortable, although we did find ourselves tripping over all of our stuff at times. The hotel serves dinner in the garden five nights per week, including two of the nights we were there; however, we did not partake. Allie said ‘no’ to the sea bass on the first night, and although the second night’s veal menu sounded (and smelled) very good, we were all much too full to take on a four-course meal that night. We loved the very casual, laid-back atmosphere here, as well as the little bulldog who had the run of the grounds. The pool was nice, if a bit chilly. We enjoyed a quiet dip and a little relaxation after our days out touring in the area – that is, after Allie got over the shock that she would be sharing the pool area with women sunbathing topless (please note: her mom was NOT one of them). We’d probably agree with the person (robjame?) who recently said that some of the surfaces could use a little freshening, but all in all, this was a lovely place to stay. Nice, quiet location, too. Garden-view double with extra bed and mandatory breakfast: 181€ per night.
www.alpilles.fr/masdescarassins/index.html
<i>Hotel Le Grimaldi, Nice</i>
We really wished we had more time to spend here. We liked the town a lot, and we really liked this hotel. We’d reserved a junior suite, but due to a mix up, it was not available. The lesser-priced but similarly sized superior double was more than adequate; the only difference was that it had one bathroom rather than two. The bathroom we did have was quite nice. In fact, Marisa wanted to take it home. She took copious photos for future reference. It was fully tiled in the same Italian ceramic tile that we used in our kitchen, with a huge walk-in shower, a separate tub, large double sink and nice Italian bath products. Service was exceptional. Every staff member bent over backwards to make us feel welcome and to help out – for example, with our desperate attempt to locate the Hertz office and return the car. A bonus was the free Internet service in the lobby. The location is a couple of blocks off the Promenade des Anglais, but that was fine. Our sixth-floor room had both a courtyard view and a view down on to the church next door. It was a five minute walk to the Promenade and about 20 minutes to the heart of Vieux Nice. We will stay here when we return to Nice – hopefully someday soon. Superior double with extra bed, no breakfast – 215€.
www.le-grimaldi.com
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:41 AM
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<b>Activities</b>
We tend to stay busy while on vacation. This trip was no exception.
<i>Caves and prehistory.</i> We set out to visit two caves, but ended up visiting four: Cougnac, Pech-Merle, Lascaux II and Font de Gaume, in that order. Cougnac and Pech-Merle are somewhat similar, except for the scale; otherwise, these offer three very different experiences. One thing that is very interesting is that many of the caves, while close in proximity, have a predominant theme – bulls in Lascaux, bison in Font de Gaume, etc. All the guides stressed one important fact: there is much that we don’t know about the motivations and meanings behind these drawings. The caves were a real highlight for all of us.
Cougnac was a spur of the moment decision. It is located in Gourdon, near where we were staying. We stopped in at the very end of the day and ended up with a private tour for just the three of us – a great experience. A good option if you don’t want to drive all the way to Pech-Merle, which we had planned to do the following day, anyway.
We’d reserved our entry to Pech-Merle via Internet several weeks before, but it probably wasn’t necessary. At most, we would have had to wait one tour to get in. This was definitely worth the drive down to the Lot valley. The quality and clarity of the drawings is amazing, as is the variety, and the cave formations themselves are worthy of visiting (although we’ve seen some similar ones at Kartchner Caverns and Carlsbad Caverns). The spotted horses are unique to this cave, and it also features some very clear silhouettes of hands as well as some footprints. The drawings here are between 14,000 and 25,000 years old – amazing when you think about the similarity of activity carried out over a period of more than 10,000 years. The tour is in French with English-language (and other) written handouts, but our guide did speak some English and used it to highlight a few points and answer questions. Skip the restaurant; overpriced and not very good.
Chris has wanted to see Lascaux II since he was small, so this was a must. Marisa was a little skeptical about the experience of seeing a reproduction, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. The care and attention to detail that went into creating this cave is beyond compare, and the style of the drawings is very different than what we saw at Pech-Merle (different material, too, that makes it more difficult to date). Whereas Pech-Merle felt like something created as part of a ritual or ceremony (but who knows?), this felt like we were looking at art. Amazing. As an aside, we drove to the ticket office in Montignac thinking we’d have to get tickets for another day that week; we weren’t exactly hurrying to get there, in other words. By accident, we parked right next to the ticket office, walked in, and were told that we could buy tickets for the next English-speaking tour in 30 minutes. I’ll bet that doesn’t happen in July and August.
Feeling lucky, we stopped by the ticket office of Font de Gaume after our Lascaux visit (this was on a Monday), and were surprised to be able to buy tickets for an English language tour that Thursday. This is a much different experience than the others – the art is faded and more difficult to make out without commentary from the guide, and the cave is much more intimate. At times, you are literally inches from the drawings. Only 200 people are allowed in each day in small groups of about 12. We are very glad we had this opportunity to visit.
We also visited La Roque St-Christophe, a series of caves in a Vezere-valley cliff that have been occupied since prehistoric times and that became an important fortress in the Middle Ages. You can do a self-guided tour using the handout (provided in various languages). This was very interesting, as well. Marisa couldn’t help but think about how easy it would have been to fall over the edge, but then again, she has a thing about heights.
Finally, we took time to visit the very new museum of prehistory in Les Eyzies. This is not a large museum, but it has an amazing collection of artifacts dating back many thousands of years, and it displays them very well by period. An excellent museum in the center of a very nice small town and a nice follow-up to the various caves.
<i>Chateaux.</i> We visited a variety of chateaux, from the medieval to the relatively modern: Castelnaud, Beynac, Marqueyssac, des Millandes. Each chateau had its own interesting physical aspects and history, with Beynac in particular dating back more than 1,000 years. Particularly striking is the setting of Marqueyssac, on a hill overlooking the Dordogne with stunning views in all directions – when you aren’t looking at the beautiful gardens, themselves.
<i>Canoeing.</i> What better way to see the Dordogne Valley than from a canoe? There are operators galore; we opted for one that provided service from Vitrac to Beynac, about 15kms. We parked in Beynac, took the company van to Vitrac, and we were off. We are not experienced paddlers, to say the least. We had a little trouble getting in synch, at one point ending up going backwards. But we did get the hang of it and enjoyed a leisurely, three-hour trip down the river. We packed a small picnic lunch of crackers, cheese and salami and enjoyed it on the rocks across from La Roque Gageac. Cost: 41E, including the use of a waterproof container.
<i>Towns.</i> Beyond those activities, we did a lot of driving and visiting towns large and small: Pezenas, Carcassone, La Roque Gageac, Castelnaud, Domme, Gourdon, Daglan, St. Cirq la Popie, Sarlat, Montignac, Les Eyzies, Le Bugue, St. Cyprien, Villefrance en Perigord, Monpazier, St. Pompon, Belves, St. Remy, Les Baux, Arles, Gordes, Nice. And, of course, no visit would be complete without a stop at St. Cirq le Bugue
Some of our favorites:
Pezenas: a relatively un-touristed town near Montpellier, with a very nice pedestrianized ‘old town’ on a hill, inside the city walls. Some interesting boutique shops and a variety of restaurants.
Carcassonne: kind of the opposite of Pezenas. It’s all tourists – at least in the old town, and there’s plenty of debate about the authenticity of the restoration. But it is striking to look at and it has a very interesting history. Allie’s been very interested in the Cathars, and this was one opportunity to get a bit of a taste for that. Try to get a bit away from the main tourist route, and walk down across the bridge for great views of La Cite.
Daglan: our little home away from home. We’ve described this above under accommodations. Although it is a bit south of many of the Dordogne attractions, we found it to be an outstanding base and a nice small town for ‘hanging out.’ There are some rentals and campgrounds in the area but no hotels.
Beynac: we enjoyed the views up the hill to the chateau, as well as walking the medieval streets – of course, we preferred walking down to walking up. We found ourselves coming back here a few times, particularly in the evening. Coincidentally, Allie (who consumed about four Michael Crichton books during the trip) was reading <i>Timeline</i> while we were there, only to learn that at least half the book takes place in or around Beynac.
Monpazier: one of the best-preserved former Bastide towns, with an attractive central square with colonnades and a wooden market. We’d like to spend some more time here.
Sarlat: we only saw it on market day, but by looking above the crowds, one can still appreciate the medieval architecture.
Arles: we’d heard mixed things, including that Arles has become a bit run down. But we loved the vibrant city center for more than just the Roman arena and theater. We were there on a Saturday and watched as crowds greeted the bridal parties arriving at city hall. And we enjoyed the historic Saint-Trophime and its peaceful 12th/14th century cloister. It felt a bit like an Italian city, maybe Verona.
St. Remy de Provence: one of the magnets of the area, but with good reason. History in the center, along with a lively evening scene. We were there in the heart of the World Cup, and that tended to dominate activity in the bars and restaurants in the evening.
Nice: we particularly loved Vieux Nice with its very narrow streets. It kind of reminded of us Naples, which we visited last year, with laundry hanging above, people scooting around on Vespas, ornate churches occupying practically every block – the main difference being that some of the poorer aspects of central Naples here are replaced by upscale shops.
<i>Markets.</i> We visited two of the biggest – Sarlat (on a Wednesday) and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, as well as one of the smallest, the Sunday market in Daglan with about six vendors but still a major attraction for the people of the town. The big markets are fun, with a vast mix of food, clothing, souvenir, flower, jewelry, and other vendors. Isle-sur-la-Sorgue also is a major market for antiques. You can find just about anything here. We shopped for a few small souvenirs, such as lavender products and prints. One vendor had the largest array of scented soaps we’ve ever seen. We debated whether the ‘opium’ scented soap would make it past the customs beagles at O’Hare, but decided not to test our luck.
We were lucky to arrive in Sarlat relatively early and were able to park nearby. Try as we may, we did not arrive in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue until about 10:15, and we had to park nearly a mile away. If you are visiting these big markets, make the effort and get there early!
<i>Lavender hunt.</i> We never made it to the more expansive lavender fields near Sault, but we did make the obligatory stop for photos at the Abbaye de Senanque near Gordes. This was on June 18, and the lavender was blooming but probably just a bit away from its peak. We figured it would be in full bloom within a week or two.
We tend to stay busy while on vacation. This trip was no exception.
<i>Caves and prehistory.</i> We set out to visit two caves, but ended up visiting four: Cougnac, Pech-Merle, Lascaux II and Font de Gaume, in that order. Cougnac and Pech-Merle are somewhat similar, except for the scale; otherwise, these offer three very different experiences. One thing that is very interesting is that many of the caves, while close in proximity, have a predominant theme – bulls in Lascaux, bison in Font de Gaume, etc. All the guides stressed one important fact: there is much that we don’t know about the motivations and meanings behind these drawings. The caves were a real highlight for all of us.
Cougnac was a spur of the moment decision. It is located in Gourdon, near where we were staying. We stopped in at the very end of the day and ended up with a private tour for just the three of us – a great experience. A good option if you don’t want to drive all the way to Pech-Merle, which we had planned to do the following day, anyway.
We’d reserved our entry to Pech-Merle via Internet several weeks before, but it probably wasn’t necessary. At most, we would have had to wait one tour to get in. This was definitely worth the drive down to the Lot valley. The quality and clarity of the drawings is amazing, as is the variety, and the cave formations themselves are worthy of visiting (although we’ve seen some similar ones at Kartchner Caverns and Carlsbad Caverns). The spotted horses are unique to this cave, and it also features some very clear silhouettes of hands as well as some footprints. The drawings here are between 14,000 and 25,000 years old – amazing when you think about the similarity of activity carried out over a period of more than 10,000 years. The tour is in French with English-language (and other) written handouts, but our guide did speak some English and used it to highlight a few points and answer questions. Skip the restaurant; overpriced and not very good.
Chris has wanted to see Lascaux II since he was small, so this was a must. Marisa was a little skeptical about the experience of seeing a reproduction, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. The care and attention to detail that went into creating this cave is beyond compare, and the style of the drawings is very different than what we saw at Pech-Merle (different material, too, that makes it more difficult to date). Whereas Pech-Merle felt like something created as part of a ritual or ceremony (but who knows?), this felt like we were looking at art. Amazing. As an aside, we drove to the ticket office in Montignac thinking we’d have to get tickets for another day that week; we weren’t exactly hurrying to get there, in other words. By accident, we parked right next to the ticket office, walked in, and were told that we could buy tickets for the next English-speaking tour in 30 minutes. I’ll bet that doesn’t happen in July and August.
Feeling lucky, we stopped by the ticket office of Font de Gaume after our Lascaux visit (this was on a Monday), and were surprised to be able to buy tickets for an English language tour that Thursday. This is a much different experience than the others – the art is faded and more difficult to make out without commentary from the guide, and the cave is much more intimate. At times, you are literally inches from the drawings. Only 200 people are allowed in each day in small groups of about 12. We are very glad we had this opportunity to visit.
We also visited La Roque St-Christophe, a series of caves in a Vezere-valley cliff that have been occupied since prehistoric times and that became an important fortress in the Middle Ages. You can do a self-guided tour using the handout (provided in various languages). This was very interesting, as well. Marisa couldn’t help but think about how easy it would have been to fall over the edge, but then again, she has a thing about heights.
Finally, we took time to visit the very new museum of prehistory in Les Eyzies. This is not a large museum, but it has an amazing collection of artifacts dating back many thousands of years, and it displays them very well by period. An excellent museum in the center of a very nice small town and a nice follow-up to the various caves.
<i>Chateaux.</i> We visited a variety of chateaux, from the medieval to the relatively modern: Castelnaud, Beynac, Marqueyssac, des Millandes. Each chateau had its own interesting physical aspects and history, with Beynac in particular dating back more than 1,000 years. Particularly striking is the setting of Marqueyssac, on a hill overlooking the Dordogne with stunning views in all directions – when you aren’t looking at the beautiful gardens, themselves.
<i>Canoeing.</i> What better way to see the Dordogne Valley than from a canoe? There are operators galore; we opted for one that provided service from Vitrac to Beynac, about 15kms. We parked in Beynac, took the company van to Vitrac, and we were off. We are not experienced paddlers, to say the least. We had a little trouble getting in synch, at one point ending up going backwards. But we did get the hang of it and enjoyed a leisurely, three-hour trip down the river. We packed a small picnic lunch of crackers, cheese and salami and enjoyed it on the rocks across from La Roque Gageac. Cost: 41E, including the use of a waterproof container.
<i>Towns.</i> Beyond those activities, we did a lot of driving and visiting towns large and small: Pezenas, Carcassone, La Roque Gageac, Castelnaud, Domme, Gourdon, Daglan, St. Cirq la Popie, Sarlat, Montignac, Les Eyzies, Le Bugue, St. Cyprien, Villefrance en Perigord, Monpazier, St. Pompon, Belves, St. Remy, Les Baux, Arles, Gordes, Nice. And, of course, no visit would be complete without a stop at St. Cirq le Bugue
Some of our favorites:
Pezenas: a relatively un-touristed town near Montpellier, with a very nice pedestrianized ‘old town’ on a hill, inside the city walls. Some interesting boutique shops and a variety of restaurants.
Carcassonne: kind of the opposite of Pezenas. It’s all tourists – at least in the old town, and there’s plenty of debate about the authenticity of the restoration. But it is striking to look at and it has a very interesting history. Allie’s been very interested in the Cathars, and this was one opportunity to get a bit of a taste for that. Try to get a bit away from the main tourist route, and walk down across the bridge for great views of La Cite.
Daglan: our little home away from home. We’ve described this above under accommodations. Although it is a bit south of many of the Dordogne attractions, we found it to be an outstanding base and a nice small town for ‘hanging out.’ There are some rentals and campgrounds in the area but no hotels.
Beynac: we enjoyed the views up the hill to the chateau, as well as walking the medieval streets – of course, we preferred walking down to walking up. We found ourselves coming back here a few times, particularly in the evening. Coincidentally, Allie (who consumed about four Michael Crichton books during the trip) was reading <i>Timeline</i> while we were there, only to learn that at least half the book takes place in or around Beynac.
Monpazier: one of the best-preserved former Bastide towns, with an attractive central square with colonnades and a wooden market. We’d like to spend some more time here.
Sarlat: we only saw it on market day, but by looking above the crowds, one can still appreciate the medieval architecture.
Arles: we’d heard mixed things, including that Arles has become a bit run down. But we loved the vibrant city center for more than just the Roman arena and theater. We were there on a Saturday and watched as crowds greeted the bridal parties arriving at city hall. And we enjoyed the historic Saint-Trophime and its peaceful 12th/14th century cloister. It felt a bit like an Italian city, maybe Verona.
St. Remy de Provence: one of the magnets of the area, but with good reason. History in the center, along with a lively evening scene. We were there in the heart of the World Cup, and that tended to dominate activity in the bars and restaurants in the evening.
Nice: we particularly loved Vieux Nice with its very narrow streets. It kind of reminded of us Naples, which we visited last year, with laundry hanging above, people scooting around on Vespas, ornate churches occupying practically every block – the main difference being that some of the poorer aspects of central Naples here are replaced by upscale shops.
<i>Markets.</i> We visited two of the biggest – Sarlat (on a Wednesday) and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, as well as one of the smallest, the Sunday market in Daglan with about six vendors but still a major attraction for the people of the town. The big markets are fun, with a vast mix of food, clothing, souvenir, flower, jewelry, and other vendors. Isle-sur-la-Sorgue also is a major market for antiques. You can find just about anything here. We shopped for a few small souvenirs, such as lavender products and prints. One vendor had the largest array of scented soaps we’ve ever seen. We debated whether the ‘opium’ scented soap would make it past the customs beagles at O’Hare, but decided not to test our luck.
We were lucky to arrive in Sarlat relatively early and were able to park nearby. Try as we may, we did not arrive in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue until about 10:15, and we had to park nearly a mile away. If you are visiting these big markets, make the effort and get there early!
<i>Lavender hunt.</i> We never made it to the more expansive lavender fields near Sault, but we did make the obligatory stop for photos at the Abbaye de Senanque near Gordes. This was on June 18, and the lavender was blooming but probably just a bit away from its peak. We figured it would be in full bloom within a week or two.
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:44 AM
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<b>Rental car/getting around</b>
We found that having a car was essential, allowing us to do things on our own schedule and to get away from the beaten track now and then.
After some research, we rented a compact automatic from Hertz at a price of about 580€ for two weeks (second driver and our inability to find a petrol station prior to turning it in increased the price by about 80&euro
. Our AAA Chicago Motor Club membership resulted in a 25% discount, making the price well below that of AutoEurope – and paying for the annual AAA membership several times over.
Our car was a Peugeot 1007, apparently a new model ‘city car,’ in shocking bright blue. The woman at the desk in Nice warned us that there wasn’t much luggage space and suggested that we might want to move up to the next available automatic, a Mercedes at an additional cost of about 600€ (!). "We’ll make it fit," Chris said. We travel pretty light – three 22 inch rolling bags and small daypacks. Barely one of the bags fit in the ‘trunk.’ By folding down one of the back seats, we were able to squeeze it all in. But there was no way to cover our luggage, meaning that we’d have to adjust our driving plans so that there were no stops on the days we were moving between locations.
The car took a little getting used to. Through trial and error, for example, we learned that you had to step on the brake and turn the key in order to start the car – this was as we sat blocking traffic on a very narrow street in Pezenas. Although it was an automatic, it tended to roll backward when in neutral, and using the parking break was an absolute necessity. The accelerator required some finesse. And the gas tank was very small; we had to fill up about every other day. But it was great when it came to maneuvering through narrow streets and fitting into tight parking spaces. And the doors opened like those on minivans, making it easy to get in and out of the back seat.
All in all, it was a little trooper. We put a lot of kilometers on it in two weeks. And not a bad price – well, the base price, any way. The total price will be going up when we hear from Hertz corporate in a few weeks about the (ahem) dent in the back panel.
Getting around was very easy. We had good Michelin maps to help us. Roads were generally well marked, and we knew from a previous driving trip in France to look for names of towns in the direction in which we were going rather than for road numbers (which were there sometimes, but not always). We only got ‘lost’ a couple of times.
We do want to put in a little plug for Mappy, for those who haven’t yet discovered it. Plug in your starting point and destination, tell it whether you want an express route or a non-toll route, indicate any locations via which you want to travel…voila, your driving directions, complete with the text of the road signs you should follow, exit numbers, and locations of speed cameras. Brilliant!
Thanks to reading this board, we knew to gas up on Saturday; we saw very few open gas stations on Sunday. And we knew to seek out manned stations in order to use our US credit cards. Most of the time, we paid cash for tolls on the Autoroutes, but we were able to use our US credit card at peage stations– although the signage is a bit confusing at times. Imagine us backing our little blue car out of a tollbooth lane, confused by the sign at the collection point with an X through the Mastercard logo, and then driving perpendicular to the traffic to get to a lane manned by a human.
One final note on getting around: many of the popular towns have free parking that is a bit out of the center and pay-parking closer in. Payment procedures vary – take a ticket and pay when you leave, or buy a ticket when you arrive and display it in your windshield. Fees generally ranged from 2€ to 5€. It is helpful to have some 1€ and 2€ coins on hand for this purpose.
We found that having a car was essential, allowing us to do things on our own schedule and to get away from the beaten track now and then.
After some research, we rented a compact automatic from Hertz at a price of about 580€ for two weeks (second driver and our inability to find a petrol station prior to turning it in increased the price by about 80&euro
. Our AAA Chicago Motor Club membership resulted in a 25% discount, making the price well below that of AutoEurope – and paying for the annual AAA membership several times over.Our car was a Peugeot 1007, apparently a new model ‘city car,’ in shocking bright blue. The woman at the desk in Nice warned us that there wasn’t much luggage space and suggested that we might want to move up to the next available automatic, a Mercedes at an additional cost of about 600€ (!). "We’ll make it fit," Chris said. We travel pretty light – three 22 inch rolling bags and small daypacks. Barely one of the bags fit in the ‘trunk.’ By folding down one of the back seats, we were able to squeeze it all in. But there was no way to cover our luggage, meaning that we’d have to adjust our driving plans so that there were no stops on the days we were moving between locations.
The car took a little getting used to. Through trial and error, for example, we learned that you had to step on the brake and turn the key in order to start the car – this was as we sat blocking traffic on a very narrow street in Pezenas. Although it was an automatic, it tended to roll backward when in neutral, and using the parking break was an absolute necessity. The accelerator required some finesse. And the gas tank was very small; we had to fill up about every other day. But it was great when it came to maneuvering through narrow streets and fitting into tight parking spaces. And the doors opened like those on minivans, making it easy to get in and out of the back seat.
All in all, it was a little trooper. We put a lot of kilometers on it in two weeks. And not a bad price – well, the base price, any way. The total price will be going up when we hear from Hertz corporate in a few weeks about the (ahem) dent in the back panel.
Getting around was very easy. We had good Michelin maps to help us. Roads were generally well marked, and we knew from a previous driving trip in France to look for names of towns in the direction in which we were going rather than for road numbers (which were there sometimes, but not always). We only got ‘lost’ a couple of times.
We do want to put in a little plug for Mappy, for those who haven’t yet discovered it. Plug in your starting point and destination, tell it whether you want an express route or a non-toll route, indicate any locations via which you want to travel…voila, your driving directions, complete with the text of the road signs you should follow, exit numbers, and locations of speed cameras. Brilliant!
Thanks to reading this board, we knew to gas up on Saturday; we saw very few open gas stations on Sunday. And we knew to seek out manned stations in order to use our US credit cards. Most of the time, we paid cash for tolls on the Autoroutes, but we were able to use our US credit card at peage stations– although the signage is a bit confusing at times. Imagine us backing our little blue car out of a tollbooth lane, confused by the sign at the collection point with an X through the Mastercard logo, and then driving perpendicular to the traffic to get to a lane manned by a human.
One final note on getting around: many of the popular towns have free parking that is a bit out of the center and pay-parking closer in. Payment procedures vary – take a ticket and pay when you leave, or buy a ticket when you arrive and display it in your windshield. Fees generally ranged from 2€ to 5€. It is helpful to have some 1€ and 2€ coins on hand for this purpose.
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:46 AM
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<b>Food and drink</b>
Although we enjoy good meals, we are not foodies and generally don’t spend a lot of time seeking out specific restaurants when we travel. Plus, Allie is very picky and also very allergic to one of the culinary specialties of the Dordogne region – walnuts. So we generally had to look for places that at least had something ‘safe’ on the menu, such as entrecote steak or pasta or pizza.
Truth be told, some of our favorite meals were home-cooked breakfasts and dinners on the back patio of our rental in Daglan, listening to the birds and the shouts of neighborhood children playing. Having a grocer, a bakery and a meat shop within a few hundred yards provided us with everything we needed for some delicious meals, and it certainly helped out the wallet as well. Produce was excellent and very inexpensive, although we discovered that chicken isn’t a great bargain – we paid 15€ for a whole chicken versus about $4 at home.
Nevertheless, we did have many decent meals out and several worth noting:
Pezenas: Le Vieux Coq, located inside the old town walls. On our first night in France, we dined on their outdoor patio in an attractive, lit square, and it was a great way to get into the mood.
Daglan: Le Petit Paris, on the main street across from the town square. This is Daglan’s fine-dining spot – white table cloths and candles in an attractive outdoor patio overlooking the square. The service is very attentive, the menu is creative, and the food is attractively presented (although we wouldn’t call it exceptional). Adding to the ambience on some nights is Rex, the large black dog, who will wander from table to table and occasionally settle in for a nap at the foot of one – he chose our table on the night we visited.
La Chapelle-Aubareil: La Cavatine. We took a wrong turn leaving Lascaux on our way to Les Eyzies. We thought we were driving along the Vezere, but instead headed up into the hills above it (east bank). When we reached the small town of La Chapelle-Aubareil, we stopped to examine the map, and decided it would be best to do so over lunch. There was a small hotel/restaurant with outdoor seating on the square across from the town school. It turned out to be perhaps the best meal of the trip. Not fancy, but excellent food. The proprietors take great pride in the quality of their food. The wife looks after the tables and the husband is the cook; he came out to our table to check that we were satisfied with our food. We had an excellent steak au poivre and confit du canard, and we considered going back there again later in the trip.
Nice: Restaurant le Gesu in Vieux Nice. There are a great many restaurants in Vieux Nice. Bypass the many set in the market area and head to the heart of the city, to a small square facing the Eglise de Jesus. Great pizza and pasta. Obviously a favorite; it was very crowded when we arrived just before 8pm, and we had to eat indoors.
The one other thing worth noting – but certainly not surprising – is the omnipresent wine, and at prices cheaper than soda. And this trip was a good reminder that not all pink wine tastes like Kool-Aid. In fact, we grew quite accustomed to a nice rose, so we will be making a trip to our wine merchant soon to find some to consume at home – although most certainly at a higher price.
Although we enjoy good meals, we are not foodies and generally don’t spend a lot of time seeking out specific restaurants when we travel. Plus, Allie is very picky and also very allergic to one of the culinary specialties of the Dordogne region – walnuts. So we generally had to look for places that at least had something ‘safe’ on the menu, such as entrecote steak or pasta or pizza.
Truth be told, some of our favorite meals were home-cooked breakfasts and dinners on the back patio of our rental in Daglan, listening to the birds and the shouts of neighborhood children playing. Having a grocer, a bakery and a meat shop within a few hundred yards provided us with everything we needed for some delicious meals, and it certainly helped out the wallet as well. Produce was excellent and very inexpensive, although we discovered that chicken isn’t a great bargain – we paid 15€ for a whole chicken versus about $4 at home.
Nevertheless, we did have many decent meals out and several worth noting:
Pezenas: Le Vieux Coq, located inside the old town walls. On our first night in France, we dined on their outdoor patio in an attractive, lit square, and it was a great way to get into the mood.
Daglan: Le Petit Paris, on the main street across from the town square. This is Daglan’s fine-dining spot – white table cloths and candles in an attractive outdoor patio overlooking the square. The service is very attentive, the menu is creative, and the food is attractively presented (although we wouldn’t call it exceptional). Adding to the ambience on some nights is Rex, the large black dog, who will wander from table to table and occasionally settle in for a nap at the foot of one – he chose our table on the night we visited.
La Chapelle-Aubareil: La Cavatine. We took a wrong turn leaving Lascaux on our way to Les Eyzies. We thought we were driving along the Vezere, but instead headed up into the hills above it (east bank). When we reached the small town of La Chapelle-Aubareil, we stopped to examine the map, and decided it would be best to do so over lunch. There was a small hotel/restaurant with outdoor seating on the square across from the town school. It turned out to be perhaps the best meal of the trip. Not fancy, but excellent food. The proprietors take great pride in the quality of their food. The wife looks after the tables and the husband is the cook; he came out to our table to check that we were satisfied with our food. We had an excellent steak au poivre and confit du canard, and we considered going back there again later in the trip.
Nice: Restaurant le Gesu in Vieux Nice. There are a great many restaurants in Vieux Nice. Bypass the many set in the market area and head to the heart of the city, to a small square facing the Eglise de Jesus. Great pizza and pasta. Obviously a favorite; it was very crowded when we arrived just before 8pm, and we had to eat indoors.
The one other thing worth noting – but certainly not surprising – is the omnipresent wine, and at prices cheaper than soda. And this trip was a good reminder that not all pink wine tastes like Kool-Aid. In fact, we grew quite accustomed to a nice rose, so we will be making a trip to our wine merchant soon to find some to consume at home – although most certainly at a higher price.
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:49 AM
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<b>Weather</b>
It was quite pleasant, if a little windy in Languedoc – although we gather that wind is the norm in the area around Carcassonne. There are signs about the wind along the Autoroutes and a large wind farm in view around Narbonne.
We hit a bit of a hot and dry spell in the Dordogne. The mornings and evenings were generally quite nice, but the daytime highs were usually around 33 – 35 Celsius, or so said the thermometer in the car. We don’t have reason to believe it was lying. In fact, the first raindrops of the entire trip fell on day 10 of 14, and even then they were very light. We experienced one thunderstorm – which, luckily, hit just as we sat down (under a large awning) for lunch in Arles – and a few evening raindrops in St. Remy and Nice. That was it. We were very lucky with the weather, although we did wish we’d packed more lighter-weight clothing. Having a pool in St. Remy was a welcome relief after a day of sightseeing in the sun.
<b>Packing</b>
We packed for weather that would be a bit cooler, so anything with long sleeves got little use. In addition (and with the caveat that we did not do any fine dining), we found both the Dordogne and Provence to be very informal as far as dress was concerned– locals as well as tourists. While the locals, of course, dress up for events and work, it was not uncommon to see the women of Daglan running around in…some here will gasp…shorts and tank tops. And anyone who has any concerns about blending in should visit Nice. Everything goes there. Everything.
Chris dragged around a linen sportcoat and never used it. With the hot weather, Marisa found it better to stick with light-colored clothing. The very-light-weight black capris were barely used; the white and khaki capris pulled triple duty. Thank goodness for the week’s use of a washer and dryer.
We did haul along some things to use in the house (hairdryer, iron) that were not necessary, but it was hard to know. Next time, we’ll ask specifically about those things before we leave.
We always travel with 22” rolling bags, but we generally check them for international travel. You can pretty much carry the kitchen sink on to a United flight, but we know that Lufthansa is pretty strict. One item that did prove useful this time was the small, fold-out duffle that became our additional carry-on for the trip home. And extra pillow cases.
It was quite pleasant, if a little windy in Languedoc – although we gather that wind is the norm in the area around Carcassonne. There are signs about the wind along the Autoroutes and a large wind farm in view around Narbonne.
We hit a bit of a hot and dry spell in the Dordogne. The mornings and evenings were generally quite nice, but the daytime highs were usually around 33 – 35 Celsius, or so said the thermometer in the car. We don’t have reason to believe it was lying. In fact, the first raindrops of the entire trip fell on day 10 of 14, and even then they were very light. We experienced one thunderstorm – which, luckily, hit just as we sat down (under a large awning) for lunch in Arles – and a few evening raindrops in St. Remy and Nice. That was it. We were very lucky with the weather, although we did wish we’d packed more lighter-weight clothing. Having a pool in St. Remy was a welcome relief after a day of sightseeing in the sun.
<b>Packing</b>
We packed for weather that would be a bit cooler, so anything with long sleeves got little use. In addition (and with the caveat that we did not do any fine dining), we found both the Dordogne and Provence to be very informal as far as dress was concerned– locals as well as tourists. While the locals, of course, dress up for events and work, it was not uncommon to see the women of Daglan running around in…some here will gasp…shorts and tank tops. And anyone who has any concerns about blending in should visit Nice. Everything goes there. Everything.
Chris dragged around a linen sportcoat and never used it. With the hot weather, Marisa found it better to stick with light-colored clothing. The very-light-weight black capris were barely used; the white and khaki capris pulled triple duty. Thank goodness for the week’s use of a washer and dryer.
We did haul along some things to use in the house (hairdryer, iron) that were not necessary, but it was hard to know. Next time, we’ll ask specifically about those things before we leave.
We always travel with 22” rolling bags, but we generally check them for international travel. You can pretty much carry the kitchen sink on to a United flight, but we know that Lufthansa is pretty strict. One item that did prove useful this time was the small, fold-out duffle that became our additional carry-on for the trip home. And extra pillow cases.
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:53 AM
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<b>Getting there and back</b>
We were able to secure two United economy saver award tickets last October, into and out of Nice. We purchased the third ticket at the not-exactly-a-bargain price of $1,350, then watched carefully to see if the fare went down (United will issue vouchers for a fare decrease, if you ask). It did not. In fact, we never saw the price on that specific itinerary drop below $1,400 in the eight months after we purchased it, and in the outbound transatlantic flight was sold out several weeks in advance. Ahh, the World Cup.
We flew United in Economy Plus from Chicago to Munich and Lufthansa from Munich to Nice. Both flights were right on time, and the luggage arrived with us. What more can you ask? The United flight had several flight attendant trainees on board, in addition to the full complement of FAs, so the service was quite attentive. The meal, while still an economy airline meal, was actually edible. Bring your $5s for drinks. The five extra inches of leg room makes a world of difference when you’re on a plane for nine hours.
We had a scheduled 50-minute connection in Munich. We wouldn’t even attempt that at many airports, but it is no problem there. We were able to deplane, walk a fair distance for Schengen immigration, clear security, get some cash, use the bathroom and still make it to our gate 30 minutes before departure for the bus to the remote boarding site.
The Munich airport was hopping. This was right at the beginning of the World Cup, and in celebration, Lufthansa (which surely is getting lots of business from it) has painted the nosecones of some of its planes to look like soccer….er, uh, footballs.
On the way back, it was Lufthansa from Nice to Frankfurt, then United in Economy Plus on to Chicago – with the added bonus that the blocked middle seat next to Marisa remained empty; love it when that happens! Originally, we'd booked a return flight from Nice at a reasonable 10:30am, but a Lufthansa schedule change would have caused us to misconnect in Frankfurt, so we were moved to the much-too-early 7:30am departure. The Schengen to non-Schengen connection in Frankfurt takes more time than simply transiting, and it took us about 30 minutes just to get through security and immigration. Once we were through, we had no desire for duty-free shopping, so we beat a hasty path to the Red Carpet Club to work on this trip report. The flight to Chicago left on time and arrived on time and, again, the food was at least edible – particularly the cup of strawberry ice cream. Cookies and candy bars were provided as snacks during the flight and service was very good.
We were able to secure two United economy saver award tickets last October, into and out of Nice. We purchased the third ticket at the not-exactly-a-bargain price of $1,350, then watched carefully to see if the fare went down (United will issue vouchers for a fare decrease, if you ask). It did not. In fact, we never saw the price on that specific itinerary drop below $1,400 in the eight months after we purchased it, and in the outbound transatlantic flight was sold out several weeks in advance. Ahh, the World Cup.
We flew United in Economy Plus from Chicago to Munich and Lufthansa from Munich to Nice. Both flights were right on time, and the luggage arrived with us. What more can you ask? The United flight had several flight attendant trainees on board, in addition to the full complement of FAs, so the service was quite attentive. The meal, while still an economy airline meal, was actually edible. Bring your $5s for drinks. The five extra inches of leg room makes a world of difference when you’re on a plane for nine hours.
We had a scheduled 50-minute connection in Munich. We wouldn’t even attempt that at many airports, but it is no problem there. We were able to deplane, walk a fair distance for Schengen immigration, clear security, get some cash, use the bathroom and still make it to our gate 30 minutes before departure for the bus to the remote boarding site.
The Munich airport was hopping. This was right at the beginning of the World Cup, and in celebration, Lufthansa (which surely is getting lots of business from it) has painted the nosecones of some of its planes to look like soccer….er, uh, footballs.
On the way back, it was Lufthansa from Nice to Frankfurt, then United in Economy Plus on to Chicago – with the added bonus that the blocked middle seat next to Marisa remained empty; love it when that happens! Originally, we'd booked a return flight from Nice at a reasonable 10:30am, but a Lufthansa schedule change would have caused us to misconnect in Frankfurt, so we were moved to the much-too-early 7:30am departure. The Schengen to non-Schengen connection in Frankfurt takes more time than simply transiting, and it took us about 30 minutes just to get through security and immigration. Once we were through, we had no desire for duty-free shopping, so we beat a hasty path to the Red Carpet Club to work on this trip report. The flight to Chicago left on time and arrived on time and, again, the food was at least edible – particularly the cup of strawberry ice cream. Cookies and candy bars were provided as snacks during the flight and service was very good.
Jun 21st, 2006, 03:58 AM
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<b>Finances</b>
I’ll tally up the cost of the trip over the next few days and add it later.
Of note: we had absolutely no problem using our Mastercard ATM cards to get cash. We used the Mastercard ATM locator website beforehand to determine which bank brands (e.g., Credit Agricole) were part of the network, and we knew to look for those. We also had no problems using credit cards, with the caveats noted above regarding unmanned gas stations (we didn't even try at these). Of course, there will be restaurants and shops that do not take cards, but for the most part, we were able to charge the larger expenses. And no issues with dynamic currency conversion.
We are not big shoppers – just a few odd souvenirs, partly because we never leave room to carry them home. We always laugh when filling out the customs form, because our amount of declared purchases is usually anywhere from $20 to about $150. This time, it was about $150 in small ceramic items (try as they might, Chris and Allie could not keep Marisa out of the ceramics stores), and not much else.
Also to come, photos...lots of them. We have about 1,500 photos to sort through, edit and add to our Webshots page. Stay tuned.
So, where to next year? We always save this discussion for our flight home. So as soon as the wheels went up in Nice, we began to talk travel. There are many options...but the early front-runner just might be Norway. We shall see.
I think that's it for now. We'll probably think of other notes to add later - as if this isn't enough already! And as always, we're happy to answer any questions.
I’ll tally up the cost of the trip over the next few days and add it later.
Of note: we had absolutely no problem using our Mastercard ATM cards to get cash. We used the Mastercard ATM locator website beforehand to determine which bank brands (e.g., Credit Agricole) were part of the network, and we knew to look for those. We also had no problems using credit cards, with the caveats noted above regarding unmanned gas stations (we didn't even try at these). Of course, there will be restaurants and shops that do not take cards, but for the most part, we were able to charge the larger expenses. And no issues with dynamic currency conversion.
We are not big shoppers – just a few odd souvenirs, partly because we never leave room to carry them home. We always laugh when filling out the customs form, because our amount of declared purchases is usually anywhere from $20 to about $150. This time, it was about $150 in small ceramic items (try as they might, Chris and Allie could not keep Marisa out of the ceramics stores), and not much else.
Also to come, photos...lots of them. We have about 1,500 photos to sort through, edit and add to our Webshots page. Stay tuned.
So, where to next year? We always save this discussion for our flight home. So as soon as the wheels went up in Nice, we began to talk travel. There are many options...but the early front-runner just might be Norway. We shall see.
I think that's it for now. We'll probably think of other notes to add later - as if this isn't enough already! And as always, we're happy to answer any questions.
Jun 21st, 2006, 04:38 AM
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What a great report! It was like being back in France to read about many of the areas that we visited. You mirrored many of the same experiences and feelings that we had.
Did you have an English guide when you visited the museum of prehistoric history in Eyzies? We found that the English written cards were hard to follow and our French was limiting in many of the specialized words about historic facts. Nevertheless the displays were amazing and very well done.
Did Allie visit any of the numerous aerial parks in the Dordogne area? They looked like so much fun.
Thanks again.
Did you have an English guide when you visited the museum of prehistoric history in Eyzies? We found that the English written cards were hard to follow and our French was limiting in many of the specialized words about historic facts. Nevertheless the displays were amazing and very well done.
Did Allie visit any of the numerous aerial parks in the Dordogne area? They looked like so much fun.
Thanks again.
Jun 21st, 2006, 05:46 AM
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What a well formatted, well written, and enlightening trip report--and on a laptop no less. Ms_Go is setting a standard here that we all can learn from. I cannot wait for the pics, but she must edit to no more than 50---the average attention span of most travelers for OTHER peoples photos.
Jun 21st, 2006, 06:59 AM
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ms go...I have enjoyed reading your trip report. I confess that it is much more to the point than the recent one I wrote on Tuscany and Umbria. I hope you don't mind me using your formula for future.
We are planning a trip to the Dordogne next spring so I will keep this handy for reference.
We did a similar Provence/Languedoc itinerary to yours a few years back visiting Arles, St Remy, Pezenas and Carcassone (also Avignon, Minerve and Collioure) which we very much enjoyed.
Thank you for the great tips. There doesn't seem to be an overabundance of information on the Dordogne.
We are planning a trip to the Dordogne next spring so I will keep this handy for reference.
We did a similar Provence/Languedoc itinerary to yours a few years back visiting Arles, St Remy, Pezenas and Carcassone (also Avignon, Minerve and Collioure) which we very much enjoyed.
Thank you for the great tips. There doesn't seem to be an overabundance of information on the Dordogne.
Jun 21st, 2006, 10:05 AM
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Thank you all for your kind comments.
SuzieC, I'm going to try to get started on the photos tonight. It's a pretty daunting task! Maybe by this weekend I'll be able to get some posted.
StCirq - it's very cute! We even took a few pictures. Maybe they'll make it into the photo gallery.
Bob - you may have to settle for several galleries of 50 each. Sorry.
robjame - we did not have a guide; we relied on the English handouts and our rustic French. A guide certainly would have helped, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. No, we did not make it to any of the aerial parks. There's so much to do in the area...prioritizing is tough.
Ira - I just came back from the store. Trader Joe's only had one French rose, but I figured it was worth a try. I'll have to hit the big wine store this weekend.
SuzieC, I'm going to try to get started on the photos tonight. It's a pretty daunting task! Maybe by this weekend I'll be able to get some posted.
StCirq - it's very cute! We even took a few pictures. Maybe they'll make it into the photo gallery.
Bob - you may have to settle for several galleries of 50 each. Sorry.
robjame - we did not have a guide; we relied on the English handouts and our rustic French. A guide certainly would have helped, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. No, we did not make it to any of the aerial parks. There's so much to do in the area...prioritizing is tough.
Ira - I just came back from the store. Trader Joe's only had one French rose, but I figured it was worth a try. I'll have to hit the big wine store this weekend.
