Day Five: Rain and Chateau de Fenelon

It was a rainy morning and before we ventured out, I ran to the famous Sarlat market (which runs Wednesday and Saturdays) around 8:30am before it got too crowded, just to get a peek:

Vendors were still setting up although I was able to grab a baguette and some ridiculously expensive nougat that was totally worth it. Here is a shot of the main drag, just on the edge of the "old" town:

Since the weather was icky, we thought it would be a good day for a less princessy, more somber castle. We drove 15 minutes to Chateau de Fenelon, a typical medieval castle, complete with fortification walls and windy paths. Kenny explained all the strategerie to me, including places that would be perfect for pouring hot oil on riff-raff...

I wanted to show the family the town I had discovered the day before, Domme, so we went there for lunch and perusing. Samantha picked up a cross bow with the greatest of ease. Thanks, Valley Mill.


Once we got back home, Kenny went off to train in the woods (I got him a trail map so he would stay off the crazy roads) so I took the girls to the pool. Kenny has spent the past few days working his magic on Eliza, who has shown much trepidation when it comes to swimming in the pool, even with floaties. Thanks to his hard work, I got to read for an hour while the girls entertained themselves.



Eliza, a la francaise...
After dinner, it was time to play with Forte, the owners' adorable dog. He loves to chew pine cones so the girls ran between our garden and the main garden, bringing as many as they could find:


Eliza, ever thoughtful, ripped a leg off her Barbie for variety's sake. Forte is apparently not a leg man:

Samantha, still bummed we didn't go to Spain instead, is doing some of Matador dance:

Forte was not amused:



The night ended with a swing:


And watching half a dozen hot air balloons float by...

Day Four: Our First Castle

Today, we took the girls to Chateau des Millandes, a stunning 15th century chateau that was most recently the home of Josephine Baker:


We arrived just in time to catch some of the birds of prey show. This one is a massive bald eagle:

The girls were mezmerized...

And the view from the castle was stunning...


The castle itself was entirely dedicated to the extraordinary life of Josephine Baker. As Samantha put it: "She was everything, Mom." The girls loved looking at her fancy Folies costumes and fell in love with her fabulous 50s style bathrooms. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside. After going through the castle twice (the girls insisted), we played in the garden:



And lamented the fact that no disney princesses were actually going to arrive in a carriage to give them a hug and take a photo with them...

On the drive back from Les Millandes, we stumbled into Castelnaud-La-Chapelle, a village with another 15th century castle that borders the Dordogne river, as many of the towns around here do. We stopped for lunch:

And wandered down to the river, which was filled with people canoeing and kayaking...



Samantha declared very matter-of-factly that we are coming back tomorrow to go swimming and boating:

Once we got home, I took off solo to explore a bit. I found myself in the town of Domme, in which I was expecting this:

I was not expecting to find this terrace...


Overlooking all of this. Notice the people on the right side of the photo-- that's how high up we are on the ridge:

I will definitely be going back with the rest of the family. Finally, back home, the girls got all crazy and creative with pine cones and wildflowers. France is doing them good.

Day Three: Sarlat and a Crash

Today, we finally ventured into Sarlat. The road to get there is like Macarthur Boulevard on steroids, incredibly windy, narrow, bordered on one side by steep cliffs (falling rock danger signs abound) and on the other side by a huge drop off into the valley below.

And as we carefully navigated the roads like Wilfred Brimley on a motor scooter, I would let out periodic high-pitched screams as French trucks carrying trailers full of canoes would whip around the corner and scare the beejeezus out of us.

When we finally arrived, we strolled around and took it all in:

The city is VERY crowded during August with both French and foreigners. Lots of German, British, Dutch, etc. It was fascinating to hear all the different languages in such a small area.

We found a covered market in this beautiful church:

And bought the girls their first French croissants. Samantha was not sure if she liked them; Eliza couldn't contain herself.

After Sarlat, we stumbled upon a circuit training park which, for the girls, was like an outdoor gymboree extravaganza:



I definitely plan to take them back after Kenny abandons me next week so I can recreate the effect: