Dordogne

Thursday May 5 is a holiday in France so the French turn it into a 4 day weekend. We did not know. We should have realised something was up at Sarlat-la-Canéda where a huge festival was in full swing. The town was packed to the gunnels with tourists and markets. Without the bikes it would have been a lot more fun.

We had to walk the hill up to Les Jardins suspendus de Marqueyssac at Vezac. And again Sally played tourist while I kept an eye on the bikes. It was a really hot, sunny day and the gardens are huge. I ( Sally) liked seeing all the topiary but there was a bit too much of the same for my liking. Once again, because it was high on the hills the

views were fantastic, especially the chateaus. Don thinks he got the better deal this time as he hid in a small cave while I walked in the hot sun. He had a 15 minute conversation with a New Zealand couple who were on a 3 months tour.

To my horror I found that due to the holidays all the local hotels were booked out. We stopped at a few along the way before spotting one advertising that they still had spare rooms. The reason was the price - but we were desperate so just took it. The only thing extra was a terrace overlooking the Dordogne river ( yes we had returned 100 kms further downstream). Yet again the FREE WIFI was as much use at tits on a bull so we used the WIFI from the Office de Tourisme across the road until it faded out.

History abounds in this part of France. On this side of the river was an English castle and on the other side a French castle. Eventually the English were driven out after the 100 year war and peace was restored. The castle sits atop a huge cliff at Beynac and climbing up the road is hard work.

Bergerac was our next port of call and the day was really just an exercise in getting from point A to B. Nothing special to report .It was our first stay in a chain hotel in France and was not as bad as we thought it might be.

The road the next morning lead to Sainte-Foy-la-Grande where another packed market was in full swing. We followed the banks of the Dordogne until we came to a detour where we discovered a small winery. When we arrived it had just closed for lunch but the owner generously offered to open just for us. He only made one red wine and it was excellent. His brother made white wine but from next appellation . We bought a bottle of each. We got chatting and we

discovered his son had spent 6 months in New Zealand at various wineries learning the NZ way of doing things. His land was spread over 2 appellations and he wanted to increase the number of vines planted and to produce a second wine. Exactly the same but as it was from a different appellation he could charge more! At that point he told us to eat our lunch in his garden at a mosaic table. Then out came a glass of very cold wine to accompany it. When we had finished lunch he asked us over for a coffee with the family. And all thanks to the road being blocked!

For the first time in 10 days we got to stay with a warm showers host for the night. Françoise went out of her way to be there. She lives in the middle of nowhere at the top of a short steep hill. It could be anyway in New Zealand. She has 2 old dogs rescued from cruel owners and are seeing out their days in the comfort of her retreat. The black dog was vey frightened at first but could not help itself and came over for a big pat. We felt a bit mean as they lost their bed for the night, the space taken up by a sofa couch for us. There was also an old cat as well, who was mostly blind who thoroughly enjoyed a bit of attention from Sally. Dinner was a salad covered in white asparagus and coated in morsels of duck liver, kidney and heart. YUM. I was impressed that a waste product in New Zealand had become a delicacy in France.

Françoise had to go to work early so arranged for her friend Dominique to see us out the next morning. We chatted for ever over breakfast and she gave us some excellent advice on routes to take to Bordeaux. And when she discovered we only had one night organised in Bordeaux she offered us the use of her house on Monday afternoon while she was at work, and for Tuesday night as well. We were wrapped. I also found a new home for my old wheel which I had been carting around for a few days. She belonged to an association that

recycled bikes. She was sure that someone would rebuild the wheel with a new rim. NO wastage!

Sunday 8 May is Ascension Sunday and a big holiday in France. At the nearby village of Pessac-sur-Dordogne we discovered a VIDE GRENIER (boot sale) where we bought a second hand tent. We reasoned that we only needed to use it one night in an emergency (read hotels full at holiday time) and it would pay for itself.
Next stop was the incredible town of St-Émellion. A stunning cathedral built into solid rock is surrounded by a village which is rather touristic, with nearly every shop a wine cellar or cafe.
Later on we stopped at a cave along the route and our first wine tasting was enough to buy the wine for the night. Even I (a bit of a wine heathen) could tell what good quality it was.

The rest of the day was a slog into a head wind with lots of uphill to reach our host for the night at the town of Artigues-près-Bordeaux. A large golden retriever greeted us before Christine calmed him down and let us in. She spoke very good English as did her friend who worked for SCNF (railways) in track and signal maintenance. He was very proud of the Dordogne region. He cooked a wonderful roast beef which was very welcome after such a hard day.

Christine has never done a cycle tour and asked questions all night, keen to learn as much as possible before her first big adventure on a bike. She had spent 3 months the previous year walking the Saint Jacques de Compostelle trail. After 3 months on the road she could not return to her old life so left her job and created a small company that helps French companies to use English applications. Very clever really.