Rosie and The Operator were up and ready to exit the apartment by 8am…it was so hot yesterday that we knew we had to be out early and get some sightseeing done before the heat of the day set in, it was forecast to be another scorcher. Rosie has been trying to get good pictures of the village but has been having a hard time as the light is so harsh at the moment. Rosie thought if she got out and about early she might get some good ones when he morning light was abit more even. Mmmm, Rosie got some OK photos…it was nice and peaceful, and blessedly cool, at that time of the morning, but the heart and soul of the town had been removed in the early hours as there was just no one around. The hundreds of cafes had their shutters down, and the chairs were stacked on tables or inside. The town at this time looked like a giant movie set all ready to go and everyone on a lunch break….Rosie will try again…another time.
PS (Rosie will write a separate article on this town…you know how it works….just be patient.)
No1 had the coffee on the go at the apartment and Aurora had packed the bags all ready to go. One last breakfast was on the cards and then we were taking The Famz to the train station, departure for 1105 and arriving in Brussels at 2030. The Operator had the Navman on directing him round the block to the small station….as we were exiting a roundabout No1 said, remarkably calmly…ummmm, you are on the wrong side of the road…… Rosie has a heart attack in the back seat and The Operator answers equally as calmly, its a two lane, one way road. Thank god.
The Sarlat train was the first station, which meant they could get a good seat all the way to the first transfer…the train pulled in and No1 and Aurora did just that, bustled on and got a really good seat. Rosie and The Operator are waving….and then The Famz are getting up and hopping off the train…wrong train. The train that had been idling down the track had now pulled forward and everyone was boarding that one…take two, and they were off. Safe travels No1 and Aurora, it was great having you both to come and stay, hopefully next time we will see you both in New Zealand.
Rosie and the Operator motored out of Sarlat…it was sadly quiet on our own…and headed towards Beynac. The river was beckoning and Rosie was tossing up whether to join the multitudes that were canoeing down the Dordogne. We were surprised that it took the best part of half a day to pass through all the lovely towns. It was 1130 and The ‘sensible’ Operator said we should have started our watery journey a couple of hours ago cause if we were on the water now…we would be burnt to frazzles.
Instead we bought a ticket on the Gabarre boats, a one hour cruise on the Dordogne down to Castelnaud and back again. We had three quarters of an hour to wait for our ride…how handy, a shady terrace on the side of the river beckoned. That is it on the left, right on the dockside underneath the grapevine. The river itself was a translucent brown with the sun shining on its surface, near the bank it was pretty shallow and there were so many small fish darting about in the warm water. A young boy was fishing from the stone boat ramp area, he was using baguette as bait and not doing too well.
Our boat arrived and we got good shady seats at the back, then the boat turned around, into the full sun, and headed up river…it was so hot, Rosie was glad she was not in a canoe. The commentary was in French…because of The Operators bad bonjour upon entering the boat we were questioned as to being English, Oui, said The Operator (hes doing pretty good, normally he doesn’t speak at all….) and were given a typed English version of the commentary and were told we were the first English of the day…the French commentary sounded quite interesting…they forgot to put the jokes on the paper translation…Rosie hates not knowing what everyone is laughing about….
The Dordogne river itself is the third largest in France being 483 km long and is closed to all personal motorised pleasure craft, you have to have a license to take a boat out on the water as it is a protected waterway called a ‘biosphere’ as well as a UNESCO heritage site.
Back in the day after the autumn rains made the river a suitable depth the gabarriers (the boaters) risked their lives riding the rapids of the haute ,(Dordogne) on makeshift boats delivering lengths of oak to the wine barrel makers. Once they arrived in Bergerac, the boats were destroyed and sold along with the goods they were carrying. A return trip up the river was impossible because of the current….so all goods that needed transporting upriver were put on barges and were towed back either by hand or animal using the towpaths.
The picture on the left contains an ancient pigeon coop. Halfway up the picture sitting on the wall is a rectangle house with holes in the wall. The holes are the pigeon homes, this is the ancient version of an ‘inbox’ haha, Rosie is so funny. The inbox was still pretty full these days as pigeons were wheeling and swooping everywhere.
It was a lovely trip and nice to see the towns and Chateaux from the water. It was 1.30 when our sail ended, lunch service ends at 2pm normally so we stayed in Beynac, back on the shady terrace for lunch and had a beautiful salad of Duck Livers….The Operator opted for Buffalo…Mozzarella that is, and Tomato Salad and a couple of glasses of local Sav which was a very unexpected find and very tasty.
While we were having lunch, these are the amount of canoes that paddled up to the boat ramp and ended their journey here. They just kept coming and coming…one thing in common…they all looked hot, bothered and mostly sun burnt.
We got back to the car and it was 31c. The circling cars looking for a park in the full to capacity lot homed in on us like vultures….we beetled off and let an Audi and a Citroen battle out ownership.
We were going to get in a few groceries but being a Sunday afternoon everything was shut except the ice cream shops and a few hard core duck product tourist shops. It was quiet on the street and we do still have a fridge full of goodies.
This apartment has been the perfect chill out zone from the travelling we have been doing, that is our balcony terrace on the second floor, all of it is ours. The windows below are the office area and the Villas breakfast room for those that are staying in motel style rooms instead of apartments. It is quiet and relaxing, the noisiest sound is the cooing of the pigeons….and the meowing sometimes of the neighbors cat when they forget to feed it….this spot has been cool on the hottest of days and has allowed us to sit outside till the sun sets and on into the night. Rosie has had time to do some writing and reading in peace and quiet. It has been bliss.
Tomorrow we are off to Brantome, we leave early in the morning for this 1 hour drive to the Venice of the Dordogne….it is a place Rosie and The Operator has visited before over ten years ago and we have fond memories of this beautiful town……we are looking forward to sharing it with you and seeing if it has changed much at all…..
Rosie is a Middle Aged Kiwi who is about to embark on a twelve month adventure of a lifetime, travelling The World with her trusty, loyal sidekick The Operator. In search of adventure, culture, new taste experiences and world wide 'happy hours', Rosie's journals chronicle their travels and experiences.
Rosie had a lightbulb moment. Within that flash of clarity came the realisation that time was spinning out of control and passing her by. So, armed with the confidence, means, ability and a new found passion for life, Rosie and her trusty, loyal sidekick The Operator have devised THE PLAN.
ROSIE – Continually travels The World for the next 12 months.
THE OPERATOR – Works his 28 day roster and meets Rosie somewhere in The World to explore the area together for his 28 days off. Repeat x6.
ROSIE – Will then stay in one spot of the country they have been exploring for 28 days of local immersion whilst The Operator returns to work.
THE OPERATOR – Certainly has the shorter end of the stick xxx
Join me as I journal my middle aged musings on our day to day travels, culture, food and the quest for the ultimate world wide happy hour.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
