June 29 Tuesday Brantome, Bourdeilles

Regrouping again today with a big effort to update my diary and post blogs. There’s an interesting little café in town specialising in tea tastings and offering Wifi, so we all sorted our internet stuff, plus stocked up on supplies, checked out the fabulous new boucherie in town and got Fred a coiffure from the darling French speaking hairdresser who was about to head home but stayed on to tidy him up perfectly. He has never been into a hairdressers in his life and only been to the barber twice in 40 years, wonder why, but he was very pleased with his 10 euro touch up.
Late afternoon saw us on the road to check out the very beautiful village of Brantome which sits on an island with the river Dronne flowing around it. What a feast for the eyes! For me this is the most gorgeous place we've seen in this area but I'm embarrassed to say that in the travel books this is slightly derisively known as long being popular with middle aged Brits!!!! Aaaaaagh!
Above the narrow river banks are limestone cliffs with the remnants of troglodyte dwellings easily visible and nearer the river a medieval abbey and belfry which apparently is the oldest still standing in France. They had such bad luck with the super heavy bell ( 5 ton ) falling down out of the belfry, that eventually they decided to attach it to the rock face ( tolled at 6.00pm for us) which leaves the empty belfry there just for show!
Crossing the bridge to the island offers enchanting views of the river and park beyond, with weirs, a waterwheel and a very beautiful and expensive guest house on the water’s edge (anyone need a very romantic place to stay?) The village too is absolutely delightful and a highlight for us was the little shop selling authentic tapestries and the owner here who talked with such enthusiasm, knowledge( all in French) to the boys about his spectacular collection of Military caps and helmets over a century from every country in Europe and sadly Oz( no RNZAF, RNZN or RNZA) displayed in the shop. The tapestries were amazing too, we didn't purchase as the 48.50 euro cushions wouldn't fit in our suitcases.
Further in this direction is the delightful village of Bourdeilles, once again sited beside the Dronne River. We were too late to visit the Chateaux, but we did walk around the old fortifications (which apparently has walls two metres thick!!! - hows that for insulation and protection! - great that you're doing new gib and batts Link and Mel :-)! We headed across the pretty bridge for a picture postcard view of the boat shaped mill house with river flowing round it (I wonder if rats are, or were ever, a problem in these places – we did have a few discussions about the Pied Piper, though that was Germany….) A walk up through the town past the stone shops and houses lead to cafes and finally a beautiful old church with a large parklike garden area behind where a big development is underway as part of a major tourist upgrade for the village. It was fascinating to study the billboard explaining the plans and to see the painstaking extension of pedestrian areas with paving and tourist facilities to enable better access, functionality and appeal. I’m sure their plans, efforts and investment will pay off and with some good marketing soon Bourdeilles will be thronging with tourists like other well established villages such as Sarlat. Probably we were lucky to enjoy its beauty while it’s still comparatively serene and sleepy.
Home by 9.00 to whip up a quick dinner, sample yet another red and white wine, eat our Magnums and make plans for tomorrow.
PS. Before I finish tonight I just want to add a few things I think I’ve forgotten on the way through.
E.g. the melt in the mouth cheese filled crepe I had in Avignon. The hot plate the woman cooked on was about ½ a metre in diameter and just a ladle full of ultra-thin mixture was gently raked out to cover this. With nothing but a long metal spatula she eased the edges and when cooked firm enough gently she freed the bottom of the crepe, folding it till she could expertly turn it and open it out again to brown the other side. A good handful of grated mozzarella in the middle with a generous grind of black pepper, then she folded it into a square with the hot melted filling safely enclosed and it was mine!
Fred has observed that in all our train journeys; Italy, France and Spain, we’ve only seen one small flock of about 200 sheep and not fenced in a paddock, but under the care of a shepherd!
He’s also noticed that all the fields are used to grow produce and fodder rather than rear stock because all the animals are in feedlots. This way of farming animals plus other gruesome practices such as the feeding practices to produce foie gras could almost turn the heartiest carnivore vegetarian!
I know I mentioned that mushrooms are a big cuisine item in Spain (and here in France too and I can see why after the heat and the rain we experienced yesterday!) But did I say that apparently in Spain there are about six dozen different types of edible mushrooms?!
Also, I think I’ve omitted to mention the soya beans and chestnuts they grow here in the Dordogne region.
Maybe I mentioned seeing great vege gardens in Italy but they have them in France too! Fabulous big, immaculate, perfectly laid out plots with obviously enough to provide all the requirements for the family. We're loving travelling through these regions at this time of the year as all the gardens are brimming with veges, the orchards are laden with fruit and all the crops are at, or very near harvest. To follow on from that though, the growing season here must be considerably longer than at home because we constantly see a big range of ages and stages of sunflower and maize crops which we couldn't manage in NZ.
Not once have I mentioned temperatures! Days in Italy 32+ Spain hotter and St Pardoux up to 37!
More news tomorrow I hope!