France - Dordogne & Bordeaux

September 7 - 14, 2019

Dordogne is a beautiful area in the southern half of of France, away from the hustle and bustle of major cities. There are caves with paintings and rock shelters dating back over 20,000 years, chateaus from medieval times, beautiful gardens, and the famous Dordogne river that’s perfect for canoeing. We had a fantastic time here for six days before driving to Bordeaux to meet with Ivan’s friend from Stryker and flying out to Croatia.

Day 0 - Arrive from Loire Valley

Day 1 - Lascaux Cave & Sarlat

Day 2 - La Roque Saint Christophe & Maison forte de Reignac

Day 3 - Dordogne River canoeing

Day 4 - Château de Castelnau-Bretenoux & Les Jardins de Marqueyssac

Day 5 - Home schooling

Day 6 - Drive to Bordeaux

Day 7 - Fly to Dubrovnik, Croatia

Day 0 - Drive to Dordogne

Arrived at apartment! Had a scare getting to the apartment but we made it!

Google took us the wrong way to the apartment; instead of a normal road, we went through this crazy forest.

Our apartment is nice and cozy.

Nice kitchen, where we can make some tasty French and of course Asian meals.

The view out of our apartment in the front porch. Nice and quiet.

Dordogne is mainly the country side, this is a typical drive in this area.

It was a long 4-hour drive to our airbnb, and we had a scare driving through the woods (not the intended path) to get there. At least the apartment itself is nice, it’s a bargain for $100 USD a night.

Day 1 - Lascaux cave & sarlat

Lascaux Cave

Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed in the cave replica. This is the entry area, the next set of pictures is in the museum area after the cave.

After the cave tour, we went into the museum for more illustrations and models of the artifacts.

This is a model of the actual shape of the caves. There are several branches of the cave.

These three minerals, abundant in the cave, provide three colorants for the paintings.

The paintings are clearly laid out with detailed explanations and interpretations from our personal tablet.

The girls quite enjoyed the experience here.

This temporary exhibit looks cool but everything was in French and it was way over my head literally and figuratively.

3D stations let you explore the cave interior virtually.

The structure was modern inside and out, quite a contrast from the 20,000 years old caves.

Lascaux, the caves with the most famous cave paintings in France from 20,000 years ago! We visited Lascaux 4, the latest replica with high tech illustrations. The original cave is closed to the public to protect it from further decay.

Sarlat-la-Caneda

We’ve arrived at Sarlat! This is the town center, our Airbnb is in the suburbs.

The girls met their new friend...not many kids around now that school has started.

When in Rome...you know the saying. We had to buy some foie gras to try. Don’t judge!

The town center is for pedestrians only.

Nice architecture throughout the town.

This area is known for their foie gras. Lots of geese...their major source of income.

We picked some figs from the neighbor's tree.

E.Leclerc is like their super Walmart here, huge grocery and department store. This is our favorite store in Sarlat and in Amboise.

Sarlat-la-Caneda, aka Sarlat. This nice town is our home base for exploring the Dordogne region.

Day 2 - La roque saint christophe & Madison forte de Reignac

La Roque Saint Christophe

La Roque St Christophe, a unique rock shelter that’s been occupied from 50,000 years ago all the way through the renaissance period. People of different ages used the shelter very differently.

View from below.

Cave women fighting.

They were excited that they were tall enough to touch the ceiling.

It wasn’t clear if this tunnel was natural or man made.

Here’s a model of the structure built in the Roman ages. None of the man-made structure remains today, unfortunately.

People liked living here because it’s high position above the cliffs is safe from predators and enemies.

Ancient cooking.

It’s still a mystery to me how these large cracks form in the rocks.

These are remakes of the machines used here in the Gallo-Roman or Middle Ages.

View of shelter from the other side.

Megan is strong!

The people living here enjoyed a great view.

La Roque St Christophe, a unique rock shelter that’s been occupied from 50,000 years ago all the way through the renaissance period. People of different ages used the shelter very differently.

Madison forte de Reignac

Hard to tell where the rocks end and the chateau begins.

Entry into the chateau area.

A new friend!

The reindeer antlers were made into tools by cave men.

What species is that last head from???

What are you looking at?

Maybe a kiss will turn the pig into a prince.

The rock wall must make this bedroom a bit cold.

In deep thoughts.

Gotta watch your head climbing up these stairs.

Have to make do with the spaces available.

I wonder if they have these in kids size...

This was a prison cell. Never seen a prisoner so happy.

Posing for a shot before climbing higher.

Nice view from the balcony.

Small hiding areas.

Heading back down for the “museum”.

This museum, if you call it that, is full of weird torture devices. This is a chair full of spikes, even where the wrists and ankles would be. Ouch!

A guillotine, complete with a basket to catch the head.

So this is what a chastity belt looks like?? I wanted to buy two, one for each daughter, and hide the keys until they turn 25. The museum said it’s not for sale. Damn!

The chateau is literally built onto the cliff.

Last view from the outside.

Madison forte de Reignac, a chateau built right onto the rocks, with rock forming a wall inside. Very interesting. Some unique displays inside also.

Day 3 - dordogne river canoeing

Just leaving, still full of energy!

The scenery starts off as being mostly nature.

The later part of the canoeing has more interesting architecture along the river.

Third bridge we cross is the marker for finishing the canoeing and waiting for our ride.

It turned out we landed at the wrong spot and had to tow the canoe by about 200ft.

These black frogs have great camouflage in the river.

Enjoyed canoeing down the Dordogne River.

Voyagers tips: We went to a canoe shop in Vitrac and did the 2.5 hr canoeing from Vitrac to Castelnaud in the afternoon. It was a nice blend of nature and rocks/chateaus. Bear left before the 3rd bridge to get to the right pickup spot.

Day 4 - Château de Castelnaud & Jardin de Marqueyssac

Chateau de Castelnaud

Château de Castelnaud-la-Chapelle.

There's a game that kept the girls engaged.

The Dordogne region gets its name from the Dordogne River.

Now THIS is a crossbow!

Looking out at the Dordogne region.

The bridge area is where we returned the canoes yesterday.

Each piece of armor takes a lot of work by the blacksmith.

Crossbows galore.

Pick your weapon.

This wild boar makes M look small.

This is a big well.

This is no photo trickery, A really fit in the cannon this time. And M was eager to fire her.

These are massive catapults. Useful until the cannons were invented.

Tough guys.

This chateau is really a medieval castle, built for protection, unlike the luxury chateaus in Loire. Interesting info on weapons and defense systems of this time.

Jardin de Marqueyssac

Stone roofs... Back in the days, it was the poor men's roof material; today, it's an exotic roof for the rich.

Nice view from the mountain-side restaurant.

This kids maze really is kids size. Adults won't fit unless they walk on their knees.

Nice view from the garden.

Say cheese!

Climbing time.

There's a nice play area in the garden.

Oh no, A is trapped in the tree stomp!

Nice view from above.

Suspension net bridge. This was a pleasant surprise for the kids.

Very cool!

A nice relaxing pad.

Family nap time.

This picture was harder to get than we thought.

Rapunzel, let down your hair!

There were many peacocks at the garden.

Interesting sculpting patterns.

Don't fall off!

Jardin de Marqueyssac is no normal garden. It’s an interesting cliff side garden with gorgeous views, bush maze, suspension net bridge, playground, and of course, plants galore. It far exceeded our expectations and the kids had a blast!

Day 5 - Sarlat and Home schooling

We went into Sarlat town center to take a break from home schooling.

This big block of foie gras was quite good.

Duck is the most popular dish around here.

Desert was delicious.

How many glasses of wine would you like?

We went to town for lunch as a break from home schooling. This was our one indulgent meal in Dordogne.

Day 6 - Drive to bordeaux & meet friends

It was great meeting Fred, Elodie and their family!

We got to Bordeaux early and found a park to chill.

This park was nice, has a great playground, with a cool zip line.

We each took turns, sitting and standing.

Even Megan got a few turns in.

There is also an animal farm.

We went to Fred's house in the evening and had a nice meal outside.

This was a nice piece of meat.

Upside down apple pie.

Megan holding Canneles, a Bordeaux specialty desert. Delicious! Elodie mentioned winemakers needed eggwhites for wine making, and used the yolks to make this desert.

We drove to Bordeaux to have dinner with our friend and ex-coworker Fred, his wife Elodie, and his family.

Day 7 - Bordeaux & Fly to dubrovnik

Baclan, a good indoor food hall to grab lunch. It’s right next to the great wine museum, which we skipped because... well, 3/4 of us don’t drink.

We got our pizza and tapas. The gazpacho tasted different from the states... not my favorite.

Good selection of food inside.

Bordeaux was very lively on a Saturday.

Canneles, which we tried at Fred's house last night, is sold in many shops.

This marching band was playing music on the street for hours!

The water mirror, Le Miroir d’eau. Very pretty. We hear it’s even more stunning in the evening.

Signature cartwheel pictures.

Selfie time!

The area rotated between steam, water and dry. Pretty cool.

We chilled by the mirror pond while the kids played with water.

After touring the city, we took our evening flight to Dubrovnik. Croatia, here we come!

We explored the city of Bordeaux before our late flight to Dubrovnik. We had a wonderful 3.5 weeks in France, will have to be back some time to tour eastern France and the southern coast!