France, Part 5 - Dordogne River Valley

Le Moustier, Beynac, La Roque Geagac, Sarlat

We drove from Cabrieres d'Avignon to Le Moustier by way of the Millau Viaduct, an amazing bridge.  You really didn't think about how high up you were as you were driving over it.  Because if I had, it probably would have freaked me out!

It only took 3 years to build. We watched a video in the visitors center about how it was built.   Maybe the engineers that designed it should come advise those who are rebuilding part of the Bay Bridge.

If you click on this picture, you can see how tiny the cars are on the bridge and down below.

It was super windy, but they had this "frame" that you could stand near to take a picture.

We had an interesting lunch.  Those things in the photo were sort of like wraps, but using a crepe/pancake type thing for the wrap.  They were delicious.  And of course I had to have the dense chocolate pie-type thing.  I can't remember what it was called!

From there, we continued on to Le Moustier where we spent the next 3 nights at an old Mill House.  It was a beautiful setting.

 The property was huge!

Within walking distance was this restaurant.  We ate there twice.  The food was quite good, especially for such a tiny town.

Of course, there was also a boulangerie we visited for our morning meal.  Mark leads the charge with his baguette.

The next morning, we headed to Beynac.  It is a town on the Dordogne River.  It was the setting for the movie, "Chocolat."

We took a boat ride up the Dordogne a little ways, giving us a view from the water of the Beynac Fortress.

We were the only English speakers on the boat.  This area is more known to Europeans for vacationing than Americans.  This tour was the one just before ours:

On our boat ride we passed another chateau and glimpsed a couple of others.  The place is littered with castles and fortress that were strongholds during the 100 Years War between the English and the French.  The fortress at Beynac was in French hands.  The Dordogne was the border between France and England.  Chateau de Castelnaud was held by the English.

 Privately owned chateau, Fayrac, on the Dordogne River.

 Above and below, Chateau de Castelnaud.

The view of Beynac as we arrive back from our boat ride.

A short drive from Beynac was La Roque Geagac, a town built into the rock.

 We walked up the street that took us higher on the hill.

Morrie takes advantage of the view of the river.

This house used the rock as part of its wall.

We ate lunch on the balcony of this restaurant, where David, Mark, and I had eaten 5 years before.  

They still have delicious, homemade ice cream.

It was another jam-packed day, so from there we headed to another chateau, Chateau des Milandes, once owned by Josephine Baker, an entertainer originally from America.

 The chateau had beautiful grounds, a museum inside, and a bird show thrown into the mix.

As we returned home to our Mill House, we stopped in Sarlat.  Sarlat is known for its walnuts and duck products.  And for being downright beautiful!  The next three photos were taken looking different directions in the town square.

La Roque St. Christophe, Les Eyzies

Our last day in the Dordogne area we went to La Roque St. Christophe.  The troglodyte dwelling is made up of five levels of cavities hollowed out by the river about 60 million years ago.  Neanderthal men settled in the lower shelters.  Cro-Magnon man found refuge in the upper galleries.  Other civilizations have also utilized the caves for shelter.

Perhaps a safe, with holes where the hinges were.

The cliff has a view of the valley, allowing watchmen to alert villagers of any intruder that might be coming.  In that case, the entire village along with their livestock would move up for protection. At other times, the living situation may have looked like this:

 Christian icons were etched into the limestone walls, indicating religious worship.  Mark decided to preach a sermon!

 View from the cliff.  Le Moustier is the village you can see.

 Mark & I enjoying the view.

 We could only visit one level, but it was pretty amazing.

 Steps carved into the rock leading to upper levels.

Afterwards, we went to Les Eyzies to a museum about ancient civilizations in this area.  Many ancient artifacts have been found.  Unfortunately, all the explanations at the museum were in French, with just a few information sheets in English, so I'm sure we didn't fully understand everything.