A Trip to the Dordogne:Part 1

The Dordogne River

{be sure to click on the photos to view them larger…}

Last autumn we made one of our most favorite trips to France. [ I know.  I say that about every trip to France.:)] Not only did we spend 8 days in the beautiful parc du Perche, but we also spent a week in the Périgord Noir, in the department of the Dordogne.

The Dordogne is a region of France that has become a very popular tourist destination. It has also become home to many British expats, owing, perhaps, not only to its green, bucolic beauty,and the warmer-than-English weather, but also to its honey-colored houses which look very similar to those in the Cotswolds. 

We stayed near the town of La Roque-Gageac,a picture postcard village on the banks of the Dordogne River, in a beautiful little house called La Bergerie.  This cozy spot was part of a complex of gîtes known as Rocquecombe




Here is the property, with three of the other houses which rent to guests by the week.

La Bergerie is tucked away in the pines.  Here we had  our apero every afternoon.

Our hosts, Phillippe and Anne-Marie, graciously invited all the guests for an aperitif one evening.  I had never tasted these delicious cocktails before, but they reminded me of Dubonnet or cream sherry.

The next day Philippe took us all on the most marvelous tour of some the châteaux in the area where we were staying.

This one is in Saint-Crépin-et-Carlucet, about 15 minutes from Sarlat

 Château Pierrelacy,

 a sweet little castle dating back to the 16th century

We were enchanted by this adorable dependance...

…and by this fellow who peeked out to say hello! What was a goat doing in the attic?

I can't remember the name of this castle, but it was abandoned and was in ruins on the backside.  Ooo.  Could I have some fun playing there…!

Chateau de la Grand Filolie

in Montignac

This was our favorite château of all.

We would never had found this had it not been for our host.  In addition to stopping to takes photos here, we also took the time to go on a 1 kilometer randonné on a chemin which completely encircled the  property.

This is a view of the west side of the castle.

I took this shot from the back of the property and made it into my Halloween greeting!

There is so much more to show you from the Dordogne, like this scene from Beynac, one of the towns where they filmed "Chocolat"...

Next time, mes amis…

love, dawne

Chartres

wonky little house in front of the cathedral

We chose to go to Chartres on this Photo Tour, as one of our guests had studied it in school,  and wanted  to see the cathedral that was so famous.  Built around 1200, it is an exceptionally well preserved architectural tribute to the genius of the unknown architect who designed it, and to the men who built it over a 65 year span. The majority of stained glass windows are still intact, and there have been very few changes to the architecture.

  I used to teach about this when I covered the Gothic era in Art History,

["Height, Light and Pointy Bits",as my students would learn to define it. Indeed, an inordinate number of my former students still refer to backsides as "flying buttresses"!].  

I had been a few times before, but never had the time to discover what a charming town Chartres was. Interesting windows...

school boys...

sweet boutiques...

antique stores...

and tea across from the cathedral

at the cozy Café Serpente

where the owner's wife displayed her huge collection of teapots and coffee pots.  I'm smitten with teapots [being somewhat shaped like one],so I was thrilled to find this little feast for the eye.

While we were there, we stayed in the cozy farmhouse 

adjacent to this beautiful château, owned by a Russian man who visits alone for only three months a year.  The other nine months the château is empty!  Hmmmm...Do you think he could be talked into a Bloggers' retreat???

From here we go to Paris!


Oh, I'm working up my nerve to do my first giveaway!  I just won something on a blog giveaway, and I want to pay it forward.  Next time...


A demain, copaines,
dawne

Back to France...again.

o l d  b o a t  i n  t h e  M a r n e


Thank you so much to 
all who wrote encouragement on my last post.  I think your "favorite blogger" has agreed to help me with her words, but we'll not say more about that until later...:)

I think right now you all would like to see some more pix of our November trip to France, right?  Okay, let's start with the first town we traveled to, Senlis, just an hour north of Paris.

Here are the two photo enthusiasts who traveled with us, and have become our great friends.  They are named Marie and Christine, just like the name of a shop in town!  

Senlis is a medieval town






If you remember , we went to Senlis also 
in July , and I fell in love with this little antique boutique, but lost the name. 

 Well, this time I didn't lose the card.  The brocante de charme is called       

Le Clos Eglantine

and it is owned by
Nadia Hallers

Couldn't you just do some credit card damage in here?

All of the furniture is vintage or antique,but has been painted in the loveliest shade of Paris grey. 

 I shared a few ideas about chalk paint with the owner.  She may carry the paint someday. If you're ever in Senlis, it is at

 1 rue de Beauvais, 
right as you enter the town.

We had a lovely lunch at a tearoom across the street,

shopped for cheese

spent some time in the cathedral, 

then headed to our petite château in the Champagne region


Le Château de la Marjolaine

there was a beautiful little chapel on the grounds

and a romantic gate leading to 

 a peaceful promenade along the river Marne...

before dinner in our own private dining room!
And what a remarkable dinner it was, served and prepared by jean Pierre and Bruno!!!

Tomorrow we'll move on to Versaille!
But now it's time to go and watch "Downton Abbey!"

A bientôt, mes amies,

dawne

Bayeux and Beyond...

g o o s e  g i r l   i n   b r i t t a n y 

As I'm getting packed to leave for Paris, I realize that I never finished showing you the rest of the trip we took this summer through Normandy, Brittany and the Loire.  This is a trip that I would recommend to anyone, as it was easy, affordable, and sooooo beautiful.  Have any of you ever done this trip?  I know a few of my friends who read this blog actually live there!!  You know how envious I am of you, don't you? :) My trip to Paris next week is a little Photo Workshop, but I really want to lead one through this part of the French countryside next summer!  Stay tuned!

The opening photo is a fantasy, of course, and parts of the composite were shot in France.  But little goose girls are hard to come by, so I used a painting of a Breton girl by the Victorian painter George Clausen.


Anyway, , here are a few shots from the beautiful medieval town of Bayeux, home of the Bayeux Tapestry, where I met these charming children on holiday from the UK. I wish I were their teacher!!

[I can't help it.  I gravitate to kids.  This is how I used to photograph my own students when I took them on EuroTrips.  Sniffle.  I miss it.]










Bayeux had lots of sweet boutiques, with many devoted to needlework

This one was my favorite. Ooo, the dentelles!..

inside the shop.

I bought my one frivolous item on the trip here from this adorable shopkeeper: very jazzy French leggings.  I really wanted her dress!




Never, ever, ever stay at this hotel: La Maupassant.  Even though it is extremely cheap and you feel very virtuous for being so frugal,[ because you are going to spend the farm on a chateau the next night] and they promise you a bathroom and shower in your room, don't believe it.  You will lie awake ALL night long, staring at the sink 

and taking pictures of your feet with your iPhone, 

and hang out the window taking pictures of the building across the street,

 afraid to go down the hall to la toilette,

and at the first hint of light you'll creep out of bed, so as not to wake the sleeping giant next to you, and tip-toe downstairs to go out photographing those...

  Blue Buildings at dawn.

But, in truth, it really wasn't so bad.

So...

Off to Dinan,in Brittany, where things were decidedly Old World.  What a charming city!

  

Isn't it straight out of a fairytale?

And speaking of fairytales, have you visited 

le Château de Chenonceau? I think it's the prettiest of the big chateaux, 

and I'm smitten with the kitchen, downstairs, under the main floor

this is where the scullery maids peeled vegetables and threw the peelings out into the river

I love this little scene

isn't this a homey centerpiece for a kitchen table?

 this is a bit out of focus, but I had to show you massive fireplace where they cooked

and baked bread

Gasp!

These were some pottery jars that I thought looked so beautiful

If I could BE any piece of furniture, I would be this.  In fact, I look quite like this...

There are beautiful flower arrangements all over the chateau

and all of the flowers are grown in the chateau greenhouses and gardens

I had to play with this photo that my husband took of one of the gardener's cottages...

and turn it into a bit of a fairytale

the gardener's cottage

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!!!!Late Breaking News!!!!!


Sweet Ria, from the lovely blog


It's Me


is doing the most delightful 
GIVEAWAY!!!  

Wouldn't you just love to own this book?  Ahhh.  That Scandinavian Style that we all love so much...
Just Click on "It's Me" and leave a comment and find out how you might become the winner!!

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So, mes amies, we're off to beautiful France again on Tuesday!  Wish you were all coming along with us!!!!! Maybe on our workshop in April, hmmm????
See you in two weeks, Lord willing,
Love,dawne