This area has a wealth of pre-historic sites but Wednesday was spent exploring the historic town of Périgueux, the capital of the Dordogne region. When the Romans conquered Gaul this area became a province of Rome and was known as Aquitane Gaul, and the roman ruins in Périgueux are well worth a visit. However most of the original roman works were destroyed by Richard the Lionheart in the 12th century, so the town has a real mix of old roman and tudor (including a convent which was used to convert young protestant girls to catholics!). Interesting the wars of religion killed more people here than the hundred year war... It was market day both here in the village of La Tour Blanche (small) and in Périgueux (huge!) so I spent a few minutes checking out the local market before making the 35 minute drive to the other markets. There is a beautiful Cathedral in Périgueux (Saint Front) with an unfinished dome (of course) which is an important stage on the way of St James. The chandeliers in the church were used in Notre Dame (in Paris) for Napoleon's wedding! That night we dined on some fresh oysters from the markets washed down with a Muscadet wine, followed by some moules et frites. Yesterday I drove to the nearest beach but the surf was a bit flat (only joking!) but afterwards found an Abbey where the Trappist nuns make a special cheese using walnut liqueur. One of the nuns has spent 60 years living at the abbey!
Today was a drive to a most beautiful town of Branthome, which is classed as one of 'les Plux Beaux Detours', most beautiful detours, in France. Which makes a nice change. It also was market day so another chance to load up on summer fruits. What made this market interesting was the large number of artisans actually making and painting stuff on their stands, so a lot of time was spent standing around watching them work, just observing (flâneur)! There is also a massive abbey in the town (founded in 769) which supposedly contains the relics of a child massacred by Herod (for you catholic readers) and a salmon breeding centre! It was then another stunning drive through the protected area of the Regional Natural Parc of the Perigord-Limousin, narrowly missing some deer which would have made a nice meal of venison.
Comments