Our Week in the Garden of Eden: The Dordogne Part I - Market Days

 "France may one day exist no more, but the Dordogne will live on just as dreams live on and nourish the souls of men" - Henry Miller

The Dordogne (near Beynac)

I must admit to never before having heard of the Dordogne or the Perigueux and only stumbled across the region on slowtalk.com and slowtrav.com, my favourite travel research sites.  It was then with a little digging that I realised, as a lifelong lover of history, that the Dordogne is part of Aquitaine, with its rich history just perfect for home-school discussions.  

Corn and sunflowers as far as the eye can see

Despite this, as we prepared to leave Avignon I had begun to wish we had spent two weeks in Provence instead of a week in each place. Well thank goodness for planning ahead and booking a year in advance because with hindsight we wouldn't have missed this week for the world.

Sarlat-la-Caneda

I feel, though all travellers differ, that Provence challenges you to get out and experience all the wonders on show. The Dordogne instead said to us 'slow down, relax and rest here awhile".

Montignac

The Dordogne was around five degrees cooler and is far more lush and green. Being someone who prefers milder weather I didn't mind the daily drizzle and I'm not concerned that it was too cold to swim. Apparently the week before we were here they had a really hot spell and perhaps our experience could have been different again.

Sitting and chatting with new friends from Belgium and Scotland we found that their opinions sway in favour of Provence because of the contrast it provides with their homelands. While Province is much more like our part of Australia, let me say that if you asked me to choose only one of the two places to visit I couldn't make the choice. Both are very different and absolutely wonderful, and I'm not surprised that France is the most visited travel destination in the world.

In my quest for accommodation to suit the whole family my wish list included a pool for lazy afternoons after sightseeing, a gite for that truly French experience and somewhere  the kids could play with other kids. When I found a caravan park, Camping Domaine Mathevies near Sarlat la Caneda, all the boxes were ticked and at only 70eur per night for a two bedroom gite, we were on a winner.

The kids would have been truly happy to have stayed at home everyday and played with their lovely new friends but we had to put our foot firmly down and we did enjoy many relaxed day trips.

The one downside to our trip was slow internet speed. Perfectly adequate for email and social media but I was unable to upload photos to the blog and so I am weeks behind, writing this up now in Paris of an evening with the kids in bed. So here are our long overdue highlights of the Dordogne:

Part I - Market Days

We visited the Sunday market at St Cyprien and the Wednesday market in Sarlat, both at nine am on rainy mornings, which was perfect for keeping the numbers down.

St Cyprien

We feel there was more on offer in St Cyprien, and after a breakfast of crepes made at a market stall and chocolate chaud in a cafe, we collected provisions for the next few days as well as delicious paella to take home to heat up for lunch.

Sarlat

Emma was well pleased to stock up on loom bands in the market for making bracelets, a craze that seems to have swept the world this year.

What the market in Sarlat lacked in stall numbers it certainly makes up in beauty. We searched and searched but couldn't find the bio fruit, veg and bread stalls we found in St Cyprien nor the rotisserie chicken we planned for lunch but we did stock up on picnic supplies and loved the delicious local walnut cake, though we passed on the snails.

This perfect medieval town is an absolute must, and I suggest that end of June beginning of July is perfect, before the tourist hordes arrive when school soon lets out for the summer.

Sarlat felt familiar to me and when I heard that the movie Chocolat with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche was filmed in nearby Beynac I realised why. I often commented to Rob that the little towns reminded me of a film set.

And so now I will leave it there before this gets to long so stay tuned and I will  be back to you with part II as soon as I can.