Blog #4: France ~ Under the Dordogne Sun
We breakfast at Hotel l’Esplanade, which we feel is too expensive for what we get and John takes the remaining bread for later consumption. We walk around Domme, which seems quiet and
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| Cleaning the Head Stones |
peaceful. Saturday morning we wander around Domme, escaping tourists which begin to arrive by wandering in the back streets and checking out the grave yard.
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| Barbara and Peter |
Pre historic Cave Art
in Dordogne
Our
stop on the way to our next country Casa is Gotte de Rouffignac
(aka Cave of the hundred
mammoths), one of the world’s
oldest and most beautiful art galleries. Here we take a small electric train
through a labyrinth cavern and learn about the prehistoric art completed on the
cave walls and ceilings roughly 13,000-14,000 years previously. There are 158 mammoths,
28 bison, 15 horses, 12 capricorns and 10 woolly rhinoceros many of
them remarkably intact. The exact
purpose of the Paleolithic cave paintings is unclear but evidence suggests they
are not merely living decorations as there is no sign of habitation and they
are found in inaccessible spots. Are
they a form of written language, or a religious message? We see amazing friezes of mammoths, as
well as deer and horses on walls peppered with claw scratches from hibernating bears and are stunned by the Great
Ceiling at the end covered with images. I can hardly image how these ceiling images were painted in the dark
lying on their backs? (floors have been
lowered to allow visitors to view them) Some are engraved and others painted in
red or black colors using ochre, manganese oxide and charcoal pigments. These pictures
illustrate the stylistic phases of the Magdalenian period and date back 35,000
years are verified by radiocarbon samples . We see no drawings of humans and I
wonder if painting of humans was forbidden. I am struck by some of the
similarities to hunting scenes we have seen on walls by Native Americans in
Arizona and New Mexico and learn about other cave paintings in many countries
around the world. Our tour is in French
so we struggle to understand the main points and I vow to learn more about the
history of cave art or take a French course. Some researchers have suggested the paintings
were made by Neanderthals. What is clear is that in our human evolution, art was
critically important to our species ~ an unforgettable experience.
Les Charmes de
Carlucet and Region
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| View of Les Charmes (from back) |
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| View of Les Charms (front entrance) |
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| Morning Sun Rise View from Our House |
Early evening after an amazing day we arrive at our house. Les Charmes de Carlucet in the Sarlat
area. The main part of this house dates back to 1761. Our place is a barn renovated
by the owner, Eric, in 2004 and is a spectacular cottage called Beaux Reves with a large dining area, 3 bedrooms upstairs, patio
and private pool. All four of us are
delighted with this amazing place and already can’t wait to come back with our families
and other friends.
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| View of Side of Our House Beaux Reves at Les Charmes |
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| Eric ~ a treasure of a thoughtful host |
The owner, Eric,
lives in the main manor. He is delightful, welcoming and full of good
information about key sites to see and how to put together an itinerary with minimal amount of driving. He makes us a dinner reservation at a nearby farm restaurant and intuitively understands that we don’t want “snobby”
restaurants. He talks about the “innocence” of the dordogne region, which has attracted him to this
area of France in comparison to Provence. His English is flawless leading us to believe he might be British, however, he tells us he is French but once lived in England.
Straight away we go for a swim in our private pool and believe we have arrived in
heaven.
This country dinner at Sarle
L’Auberge des Mathes is literally to “die for”. It is located in a large, active farm and
tables are set outside with views of the farm and surrounding hills.
Peter and John order the assiette gastronomique while Barbara and I order the duck comfit.
Wow.. What a meal of foie gras, magnet sec, racamodour (cheese), salade, and pommes
(potatoes) soaked in duck fat. While we
thought our cholesterol diet was blown in Italy, this meal makes that diet look
like small potatoes compared with this!
Of course, we had to end our meal with
profiteroles… I think they are better than the Italian ones but still not up to
my memory of them in Paris.
For breakfast the next morning we find fresh croissants on
our doorstep. And while we have brought groceries at the market, Eric has also
supplied us with cheese, ham, muesli, butter, coffee and jam.
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| Add caption |
John takes off to
find some espresso in the local village.
We have a wonderful breakfast and talk with Eric about the best places
to visit. He outlines 3 possible day trips in different areas. We try to get a dinner reservation in Belle Etoile, which Eric says is an amazing
local restaurant, but unfortunately find it is fully booked. Another reason
for us to return. We find it is hard for us to leave Les Charmes even though future adventures await us. The view from our window with the morning light on the church and nearby houses is spectacular.
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| View from window |
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