Woke to a real pea-souper of a fog this morning so set out hoping for the best weather-wise. As we hoped, the mist cleared and we had beautiful sunny skies - our best day yet. It got up to 19 degrees so we were in our t-shirts without three layers on top!
Four places on the agenda today, within a reasonable radius so not too much driving.
First stop was Lascaux II - the story here is that these caves had remarkable drawings inside which were drawn 17,000 years ago. They were discovered in 1940 but had to be closed 23 years later as they were deteriorating too much. Rather than lose the drawings forever, they built a replica and this is what we saw. For me it was a little fake and commercialised. Allan agreed but even so did enjoy seeing how the paintings took advantage of the contours and textures of the cave walls and ceilings.
Onward to a beautiful hilltop town (aren't they all?) called Domme. We stopped for a cuppa and a crepe at the top of a cliff with most glorious views over the Dordogne. It was nice to sit in the sunshine and just enjoy.
Two castles left for the day - Castlenaud and Beynac, one English and one French and just across the river from each other. We enjoyed Castlenaud which was well restored and had interesting displays and again spectacular views.
When we got to the second castle, I opted to sit in the car in the sun by the river while Allan climbed the hill to see Beynac. Sounds like I made a good choice as it was very steep! I had a lovely hour watching the world go by, and Allan enjoyed his visit too.
Back to the hotel to refresh and then we walked down to the neighboring farm restaurant for another 3 course gourmet meal. This one was a bit more exotic - Allan had goose with a smoked salmon entree. Needless to say, I was more conservative in my choices! We walked back to the hotel along a narrow country road with absolutely no lighting -a little scary but on the plus side, we saw stars for the first time in France!
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