Holiday – Domaine de Peyrecaty, Belves, France (Day 2)

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What a warm night! – even with all the windows open, and because there was no breeze, it just stayed sweaty! It’s only 8am (ish) and just look at the temperature below.

As the Sun rose, surprisingly, it actually got a bit cooler, but we could hear thunder in the background. The updated forecast for today now promises a bit of everything – rain, sun and thunder, so that makes the planning for our activities a little more challenging! I think we’ll try and make the best of the morning, and see how things turn out for the afternoon.

Unusually for us, even after breakfast, we were still a bit undecided of what to do, but in the end, after a quick study of the local area, we thought it best to stay local(ish) in case the weather turned. We planned to do a small ‘loop’ – north, then west to east from base, taking in Montpazier, Beaumont du Perigord and Lalinde.

First stop then, was Montpazier, and it looked even more attractive (as today was a market-day) since our previous visit, back in September, 2005.

Scenes around Montpazier

Next stop, some 20 minutes away was Beaumont du Perigord, another pretty walled-town where even the pets were chillin’ and staring out of the window!!

Scenes around Beaumont du Perigord

Stained-Glass Window from the Church in Beaumont du Perigord

For us, the memorable feature of the Church, was its sheer size. It seemed very large for the size of the town, and we wondered if the town had once been a lot larger?

Coffee in Beaumont du Perigord

The obligatory pit-stop for coffee just inside the town square – lovely!

Chateau Bannes

Then, it was back to the car, and onwards to our final destination for the day – Lalinde. On the journey there, we spotted a castle on a nearby hill. Closer inspection revealed that it wasn’t open to the public, but privately owned – nice!!

Final stop was Lalinde. We found a parking space really quickly (free!, or at least it looked free!!), and we headed for the town square in search of lunch. I think the rest of France had the same idea, and the local eateries were all busy (mind you, it was 12.30!). We managed to find a solitary table just alongside the main square. The menus arrived quickly and so did the bad news that the meal would take 20-30 minutes (even though we’d only chosen omelettes!). Still, it didn’t matter, and we prepared ourselves for a longish wait, and soaked up the atmosphere as well as the Sun, that was now poking though.

Good news then, as just a few minutes later, our drinks arrived, and five minutes after that, our meals too. The omelettes were the size of  house-bricks, but fortunately didn’t taste like it – they were delicious and accompanied by a large salad and fries.

L’Omelette Massive!

Suitably stuffed, we headed back to the lawn-mower, sorry, the Kia Picanto, and back to base for some well-earned feet-up time and an opportunity to catch-up with our reading.

In the evening, the four of us drove to the small town of Buisson-de-Cadouin about twenty minutes away, and a restaurant called Auberge l’esperance. It was a small, intimate place, with very friendly staff, full of smiles. And although the menu wasn’t that extensive, what they did serve, turned out to be absolutely delicious. Helen, Steve and I made a massive impact on the duck population, whilst Ann did the same for fish!

As the wine flowed, (often, and in large quantities) I gradually found myself able to understand the French waiting-staff a lot more easily! That is, until I realised that they’d spotted we were English, and switched languages halfway through the evening to make our lives easier. Doh!!

Auberge l’esperance Restaurant in Buisson-de-Cadouin

As we staggered back to the car, it was a perfect end to a perfect day. It was late for us – and we didn’t get to bed until 11.30!

Once again, we’re not entirely sure what we’ll do tomorrow, but Steve and Helen are going to take some time off and we may therefore all go out together.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!