22 September to 17 October 1997

After two days in Paris where we really enjoyed having our bicycles we took the train to Limoges, a destination we chose primarily because it was close to the area in which we wanted to travel and because we could travel on the train *with* our bicycles.

Please keep in mind that everyday of our trip, until further notice, was hot (often between 28cand 30c) and hilly (we learned to appreciate this in time.) Our route took us past apple orchards, forests of oak and fields of tall dried corn stalks that shone gold and gray under a brilliant blue sky bright with a hot sun. Hot and bright - hot, hot, hot - the sun beat down on us like an anvil. When the wind blew, the dry corn rustled at us in a dry raspy voice that we could hear over our shoulders as we rode by. Thinking of my father and brother slogging through the rain ten years before, we kept joking that during the first 2 1/2 weeks of our trip we saw only one cloud . And it was the size of a $1 coin and drifted away before we really even knew what we were looking at.

From Limoges we cycled to Perigueux in 3 days with stops in St.Yrieix-La Perche and Excideuil. The first day out of Limoges to St. Yrieix-La Perche was a difficult rolling uphill battle for 40 Km. But that evening at dinner we were rewarded by the discovery of a most excellent local cheese which we were pleased to find and taste again and again. A Chevre called Cabecous. Which, when ripe, runs like a Brie or Camembert. It is delicious.

The Chateau just outside of Excideuil.    In Excideuil we had a lovely stay at a small ** hotel built in the 17th century called Hostellerie Du Fin Chapon that was run by a British woman and her French Chef husband. (We only found out she was British because I heard her talking on the phone in English to someone in the U.K. as I walked in the door to inquire about a room - she spoke to all in perfect French and would have continued to do so with us had I not found her out.) We dined that evening on the hotel terrace under a canopy of vines. Our FF75 formulae dinner that night included a tart au poire gratinee avec graines de fromage blue which we'll never forget and a Chateau de Tiregand 1995 (A.O.C Pecharmant - which was new to me) for FF80.

The next day we cycled to Perigeux where we stayed two nights before heading north again to the small towns of Bourdeilles and Brantôme which are only 10 Km apart. We arrived first in Bourdeilles for coffee in the late morning then decided to cycle on to Brantôme where we thought we might try to find a hotel room for the night. We found a small road that took us through autumn colored forests along a river.

The lovely town of Brantôme.   Brantôme was very pretty but also quite touristy and expensive so we decided to cycle back to Bourdeilles and stay for the night. There we found a room with 2 beds at the only hotel in town for FF140 - shower & toilet down the hall. That night we drank large bottles of Vin Blanc Nouveau for FF20 and ate good country Cassoulet in the warm night air of the lovely garden restaurant. We were the only ones there.

Elizabeth in Bourdeilles.   From Bourdeilles we cycled through Riberac to the small town of St. Aulaye where we spent the night, again at the only hotel in town. Cheap at FF150 for two beds and bathroom. The next day onto St. Emilion which we found to be beautiful but absolutely packed with tourists. No beds were available there for under FF700 so we cycled down below the town to the train station and found the main highway where we cycled to Hotel Bonsai, a kind of highway motel. We took a very modern room for FF260 with bathroom. There was even a swimming pool in the garden. That evening we were too tired to cycle back up the hill to St. Emilion so we ate a very good dinner at the hotel that would have cost us FF100 more in town. The restaurant seemed to cater to many business people travelling in the area. It was kind of fun in a non-touristy kind of way.

St. Emillion Windmills.   After exploring St. Emilion the next morning we had a lovely casual cycle to Ste. Foy hugging the Dordogne all afternoon. We lodged at La Boule D'Or Hotel , FF230 with a really good formulae dinner at FF150 each. Perigourdine Salad for me ( walnuts, foie gras, duck carpaccio, rillets, lardons all on top of a few lettuce leaves.) and a crab Terrine for Elizabeth with lots of different vegetables. We both decided on duck breast with Cêpes for the main course which came with a cauliflower mousse and courgettes.

Just outside Bergerac.   After another leisurely cycle through vineyards and corn fields we arrived in Bergerac. From there we cycled south into Bastide country. The Bastides were built by both the French and the English during the 13th century in an attempt to garrison the disputed territory that had come under English rule in 1152 when Eleanor of Aquitane married Henry Plantagenate who later became Henry II of England. The Bastides are all beautifully preserved fortified towns built on hill tops. We loved Monbazillac, Issigeac, Villreal and Monpazier. We stayed in Monpazier for 2 days. On the day we stayed over we went for a short ride up a steep hill to visit nearby Biron, the largest Chateau I have ever seen. It was empty and cavernous. Nobody has lived there since the '30's I think. Lots of run down rooms with rotting floors and ceilings that allow one's imagination to run wild in almost any direction.

Confluence of the Vèzére and Dordogne at Limeuilles on the way to Les Eyzies.

Monpazier to Les Eyzies. Rain for the first day. Not lots - just a drizzle on and off. We met a couple in Monpazier who highly recommended staying at the Hotel Moulin au Beune in Les Eyzies. We took a lovely peaceful room that looked out over the river Beune and the mill on its banks for FF260. I could hear the gentle sound of water falling all night long. In the Hotel restaurant we feasted on another Gourmet dinner for FF140 each - but what a dinner.

Les Eyzies.   Before dinner we were able to book ourselves into Font de Gaume to look at the Prehistoric cave art. I was surprised to be so moved while standing in the dim light of the cave looking at beautifully stylistic paintings of bison and reindeer drawn by the hands of someone who lived 15,000 years ago.

Les Eyzies to Sarlat, drizzle again on and off. (At breakfast that morning we began to wonder if we would really leave or stay another day. It was POURING [comme une vache qui pisse] but cleared up just enough to give us the confidence to move out by 10 am.) Sarlat was a lovely town but it was too early to stay for the night. In the town center we saw some Americans we met the day before at the prehistoric cave. They were astounded that we had cycled from Les Eyzies to Sarlat in time for lunch. We had a good look around and then headed for Domme. We almost chickened out when we saw Domme high on its mountain in the distance but then we found an old (Roman??) road off to east side - *not* the main highway. It had *no* traffic and wound it's way up a kind of peninsula like ridge into town. Not the fastest way up, I guess, but the most comfortable. Domme turned out to be our favorite of the Bastide towns. It's perched up very high on top of a hill with a great view north looking out over the Dordogne river valley. At night we could see the lights of Sarlat far off in the distance.

That night after booking into a hotel for FF220 we had our best dinner yet on the terrace of the restaurant Le Poivriere in Domme. Menu FF110 included foie gras mi-cuit for me, and for Elizabeth a puff pastry filled with escargot, Cêpes, lardons and cream sauce. We both had Chevre sur toast, then the best confit die Canard I've ever had, crispy skin and falling off the bone. I finished with Creme brulee for desert. Elizabeth had tart aux pommes. What made it so good was that they didn't even know it was the best - until we told them of course. Totally unpretentious, friendly and pleased at our enjoying our dinner so much.

From Domme we had a gruelling day of hills to Gourdon with our cycling total at just over 25 km. We didn't really like Gourdon. It had a kind of industrial feel. But we did stay at Hostellerie de la Bouriane, a lovely *** hotel for just FF305 in a quite residential neighborhood with a Petanque (sp??) ground across the street. We ate that evening in the hotel with a good Formulae for just FF85. We both had a remarkable salad with many kinds of vegetables some with mayonnaise some with different sauces. Elizabeth had the most extraordinary chicken pie. (Poulet en pate)

On the bank of the Lot river just outside Castelfrank.   Gourdon to Puy-L'Eveque where we stayed in the same Hotel Henry that my father and brother stayed in 10 years before. The next day we started our journey to Cahors under a heavy slate grey sky. By lunch time when we arrived in Luzech it was raining quite heavily. We decided on lunch in a restaurant for a change. Did we luck out. The restaurant was a small family run place. They ushered us into the dinning room at the back. Checkered table clothes, wine bottles on the wall, baskets of fruit. A couple of the tables were full of workers and businessmen. When asked if we just wanted the Formulae we said yes. Two large plates of the sweetest shrimp I've ever eaten (unshelled, heads on) arrived with a huge dollop on mayonnaise on the side. Crusty bread too. Then came a huge bowl of fish stew full of crayfish, shrimp, salmon, cod, potatoes and vegetables. Oh, Man. It was good. I almost thought we should just move in for good into one of the hotel room rooms they had upstairs and never leave.

A ruined Chateau on the Lot river between Castelfrank and Puy-L'Eveque.   It was still raining when we left Luzech and it either drizzled or rained the whole way to Cahors. It was the worst day weatherwise - but given all the sun we had we couldn't really complain. In Cahors we stayed in a dive of a hotel for just FF140. Actually it was the annex to the hotel. Elizabeth didn't like it because we had to go down a very slummy narrow cobblestone street that was pockmarked with dogshit to get to the door. From there we had to walk up a huge stone spiral staircase in the dim light to get to our room on the 3rd floor. We had a gigantic cavernous room with 17' high ceilings that looked out onto a grotty courtyard. Toilet and shower down the hall. Spooky and dark. Damp and cold. Stone floors, stone walls. Dimly lit. Kind of like an old rundown, doped up, spaced-out junkie of a 12th century Chateau. That evening we had the worst, most pretentious dinner of the trip in a river boat restaurant because the place we wanted to eat at was totally booked until 10:30 PM. The food was not bad really - it just didn't live up to the snot-nosed standards they believed themselves to possess.

The next day I broke a spoke just as we were getting ready to leave town and ended up having to stay another night in Cahors. In the pouring rain we moved to a hotel near the railway station. Many of the other hotels were closed for Saturday night - go figure? On making inquiries at the railway station the lady at the information booth was adamant that there was no train that would take us from Figeac to Limoges with our bicycles. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. "
"But there must be a way?"
"Absolutely not. There are no trains from Figeac to Limoges or Brive that allow bicycles."
"Can you check again, please?"
"NO"
"You're sure? None?"
"YES"
(We later found she was wrong. There was a train *everyday* that we could have taken. Our friends in Paris, Christophe and Gislainne later confirmed that misinformation from clerks at railway stations is all too common. They were furious to hear our story. We were very sorry and upset to have to give up our cycling to Figeac. From the description in my Dad's notes it sounded like it was the best route on their '87 trip.)

So, the next day found us off in the early morning on the *only train* in the week that would allow us to take bicycles from Cahors to Brive la Guillard and change trains to Limoges. It was a Sunday again. We decided that during the 2 1/2 hour layover between trains we would look around Brive. If we didn't like it we could at least move on to Limoges. We arrived in Brive in the cold rain and found some breakfast at a bar in the centre of town. The owner there suggested a hotel.

View from our room at the Hotel Montauban.   It didn't take us long to realize that we loved Brive. Un-touristed, a lovely old town in the centre surrounding the Cathedral, good restaurants and the best hotel we had stayed in yet, Brive will always remain a favorite with us. Hotel Montauban at FF240 (room #23 high on the 3rd floor - rear of the hotel) had a lovely view of the Cathedral through a large window. It was quiet and peaceful, simple and elegant. It had a good restaurant that we ate in two of our three nights. I don't think we saw any other tourists the whole time we were in Brive. The hotel was full every night with business travellers. It was a real find. (We gave the Madam a bouquet of flowers the morning we left we felt so happy there.)

On the banks of Vésère River near Brive.   While unpacking in our room, we decided on lunch in a restaurant. Only our 3rd restaurant lunch the whole trip. We scouted around and noticed that Moules et frites was prominently displayed on the menu at Les Viniers Saint-Martin. I love moules frites. A huge bowl arrived all beautifully cooked in carrot and onion and swimming in cream so heavy it could easily have been whipped. As we ate I noticed a woman paying particular attention to us. As she was about to leave with her husband she turned and asked in French if we were the bicyclists she and her husband had seen 3 days before cycling up a large hill at Peyrilles just south of Gourdon. She was astounded to hear that, indeed, it had been us.

Church at Collange la Rouge.   We stayed 3 nights in Brive and took 2 great day trips cycling in cold, cloudy, sometimes drizzly weather. One of the trips took us to a town called Collange la Rouge. An old old town built entirely of red sand stone in the 12th century. On our way back to Brive in the late afternoon we saw Turenne, another Bastide town far off on a distant hilltop. It was another 20 km out of our way (10km in and 10km back out.) After much coaxing I was able to convince Elizabeth that it might be worth the effort to have a look. I think we are both glad we did it even though we got back to our hotel quite late. Brive was (is) a very happy memory.

Two days later we were sad to leave and take our early morning train back to Paris. Our trip had ended. Altogether we went about 740 Km in a forward motion and accumulated a total of 920km altogether in the 3 1/2 weeks. A great trip.

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