Chateaux and Snakes

We took a trip out to Bergerac this week and went on to discover le Chateau de Montbazillac which is nearby. Free to park up and stroll around the grounds, and to take lovely photos of  a beautiful french wine chateau.

On Monday we took advantage of it being hot and sunny. Dave chopped some wood, and I painted some shutters, which I don't mind doing in the good weather.  However, I was a bit surprised when I awoke from my siesta on the sunbed to find that it was so warm  the sun had blistered the paint that I'd just applied!

Not only that, but then I  found a baby viper curled up by the wall also enjoying the sun- shine.

Seems it's not only me that likes the sun-shine!  Anyway, must go now.... I've got some blistered shutters to rub down and repaint!!

La Roque Gageac

Yesterday we went back to Domme and La Roque Gageac. This time the weather was bright and sunny. What a difference sunshine and blue sky makes.
Domme is a 'bastide' town high up on a hill with great views of the river Dordogne.  You can see La Roque Gageac and Beynac from there. I'd like to canoe that stretch of the river in the summer. It's very typically Dordogne!

View from Domme

La Roque Gageac

 

Very, very nice! 

 

Back at the house, I've painted some shutters on our cottage, and stained the wooden lintels. Dave's been chopping wood and done some electrical jobs. Nothing too strenuous for either of us!

Visitors

We had a great time with Roger and Julie, and despite the rain we managed to get out and about.
Sarlat was lovely as ever, as was Beynac. La Roque Gageac looked very pretty from a distance. The road was closed so we'll go back on another occasion. Domme was beautiful too, amazing views of the Dordogne Valley, but wet! We haven't escaped the rain down here!

               La Roque Gageac

 

 Domme

 

We ate too much, drank too much and laughed a lot, so great fun was had by all!

 

 

Danger! Wild boar!

Since my last posting a couple of weeks ago we've occupied ourselves doing a few jobs around the property, dodging the rain showers.
We've also done lots of walking and several bike rides locally. We met some huge wild boar whilst out walking the other day, luckily there was a fence between us, but they were still wild ones! There are also lots of duck and geese farms around here, but the main farming is strawberries. Everywhere you look are long plastic tunnels waiting to be planted up with strawberries. Apparently they're the best in the world, but I don't think they'll be ready for us to sample before we move on. We've also seen signs in the woods saying that it's forbidden to pick the mushrooms. Finding some truffles would be useful, though I must remember that I don't understand French if we get accosted!!!!

We took a trip to Brantome, north of Perigueux which is a very pretty place. The river was high but didn't detract from a beautiful village. It's on the river Dronne, so has great canoeing in the season.

 

This weekend sees the arrival of our first lot of visitors. We're looking forward to having Roger and Julie to stay, and showing them the area.  More on the blog after their visit.