Welcome to my playce
The Périgord Noir (http://www.le-perigord.com/webdocA2.htm)
Visiting France occasionally for over forty-five years and regularly (at least once, sometimes twice each year, during the past ten), I invariably return to what I consider the most glorious area in all of this enchanted and magnificent country: The Périgord.
Despite its legal name, the Department of the Dordogne, but traditionally called the Périgord, its name before the Revolution in 1789, this pleasing land lies in the northeast corner of the Aquitaine Region in southwestern France.
This blog has no intention to provide this area’s history or pre-history but, rather, a visual tour of its surroundings with some commentary added occasionally.
For various reasons, the Périgord is divided into four colorful sections: noir, blanc, vert, and poupre. My preference is the Périgord Noir, the most colorful of the four. Its golden limestone, its oak forests; its black truffles; its fields of corn, tobacco, and grain; its walnut groves; and its flower gardens which provide their bounty in adorning its homes, its roadsides, and even its bridges (certainly, a common aspect found throughout France), all present a phenomenal backdrop to the area’s warm, charming, and gracious residents, from farmer to shopkeeper to gentry (and often all three categories found in a single person).
The clarity of its lighting, its wooded hills and valleys, its rock outcroppings, its farmlands and storybook villages, its caves, its prehistory from Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon, its history from the Romans to Charlemagne to the Hundred Years War to the Wars of Religion and the French Resistance, its splendor, its food, its people, the Perigord Noir knows no equal.
(Incidentally, you’ll notice that I focus particularly on one village, Cénac-et-Saint-Julien, simply because here is where I spend most of my time when not briefly visiting other areas in France. Furthermore, I wish to salute the various enterprises in Cénac that have served me well.)
Cénac-et-Saint-Julien
With one main street and but a few climbing towards Domme or towards gently rolling hills, Cénac has all the conveniences necessary for a healthy and healthful life:
Mayor's office
a launderette and B&B,
La Pierre de Meule
(0)5 53 28 93 19
two bakeries,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
Les Delices de Pito
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
two butcher shops,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
four pleasant restaurants,
Restaurant le Pauly
(0)5 53 28 30 10
A bar and four dining areas (one outdoors) for excellent repasts
Escanto
(0)5 53 28 20 51
Extraordinary crepes for lunch, dinner, and dessert. A decent bar as well.
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
La Traverse
(0)5 53 31 15 38
A bar, a varied menu (including pizza), and hotel rooms
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
La Promenade, offering a bar, a restaurant, hotel rooms, and tobacco
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
a pharmacy,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
a bank,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
an extensive book store,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
a Catholic church,
Eglise de l'Ancien Prieuré
a wine store,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
a super market,
a gas station,
a fresh fruit and vegetable store,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
Two real estate agencies,
Immobilière Les Vallées
Lafayette Immoblière(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
a flower shop,
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
an appliance store,
and a garden center,
all on the main street and all within a short walking distance from each other.
On the side streets, the post office
(Photo courtesy of Richard Mousley)
as well as two other B&Bs
{Pctures}
Private homes with small gardens or extensive land add to the atmosphere of this perfect spot.
Ten minutes north lies Sarlat.
http://www.sarlat.com/eindex.html
http://www.best-of-perigord.tm.fr/communes/sarlat/sarlat_uk.html
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
Ten minutes west of Cénac lies la Roque Gageac.
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
(Photo courtesy of John Barnier)
la Roque Gageac, looking eastward from the right bank
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
Five minutes further west lies Beynac.
http://www.francedirect.net/beynac.php
(Photo courtesy of John Barnier)
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
Nowhere does one find litter along the two-lane roads, crowded from mid-July to the end of August, unless a thoughtless tourist has recently traveled through. In fact, every so often large gray, green, and/or yellow bins appear by the side of the road, collecting not only trash but recyclables.
Country lanes abound.
Castles abound.
http://www.castelnaud.com/castelnaud/english/0summary/sommair.html
(Photo Courtesy of John Barnier)
(Photo courtesy of John Barnier)
Castelnaud from Gardens of Marqueyssac
http://www.marqueyssac.com/france/index.html
Natural light bathes Beynac through overcast skies. No special effects lit the chateau.
http://www.francedirect.net/milandes.htm
(Photo courtesy of John Barnier)
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
Activities abound on and in the Dordogne River:
Rafting:
Canoeing
By la Roque Gageac
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
Kayaking
Swimming
Fishing
and even eating:
Left bank: La Maison du Passeur, between Montfort and Cenac
At La Maison du Passeur, order moules (but sometimes the restaurant has none; granted, however, the rest of the menu is also magnificent--order moules anyway) and a dry white wine. After lunch, you'll have the grand strength to drift down the Dordogne to Benac.
Town and village open-air markets abound on a weekly or twice-weekly basis.
Just look under the umbrellas!
Black truffles
(Photo courtesy of John Barnier)
Older homes and buildings in the Périgord Noir are constructed with the golden limestone rock native to this region. Newer ones are faced over red cement blocks with a stucco-stone, made with cement and the region’s golden sand or are simply golden stuccoed. Nonetheless, the golden limestone, through weathering, eventually develops a grey (even black) tarnish, an oxide coat easily removed through pressure washering.
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
(Photo courtesy of David Weston)
A borie
(Courtesy of Bob Quinn)
(Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn)
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
Meanwhile, most of the countryside lies undisturbed except for renewable agriculture.
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
(Photo courtesy of John Barnier)
The warmth, the graciousness, the joy of life, the honesty and integrity, the intelligence and sensitivity I’ve known from the residents of the Périgord have provided for me a special grace and appreciation for what humanity can achieve when it allows human dignity to flourish. I do not celebrate diversity; I prefer the unity which the Périgord nourishes.
Festivities celebrating life and living have a constant presence here.
Celebrating former trades
And grand eating is always available
Noted for its having among the best food in France (despite Lyon's having the title of the gastronomical capital of France), the Périgord Noir provides incredibly fresh sustenance to even the most nourished among us.
Please visit http://www.arachnis.asso.fr/dordogne/vitrines/Maraval/index.html for a filling and dramatic meal you'll be hard pressed forget.
Nonetheless, just about any restaurant you choose will have you writing home about how you've treated your gastronomic pleasure.
For example,
Now take a look at http://www.foiesgrasvidal.fr, a Cénac enterprise.
For the past eight years, we’ve stayed in but four hotels in the Périgord Noir.
Domaine de Rochebois in Vitrac, an elegant though expensive chateau with phenomenal views, a grand golf course, an exceptional restaurant, and an extraordinary staff.
http://www.rochebois.com/anglais/index.html and http://www.slh.com/france/vitrac/hotel_rocvit.html
A small slice of the nine-hole course
The patio off our room
One view from our room
Near the Rochebois, the two-star Hotel Plaisance in Vitrac, just a few hundred feet from the Dordogne, offers a delightful setting, quiet rooms, and a splendid restaurant (http://www.hotels-restau-dordogne.org/plaisance)
L’Abbaye in Saint-Cyprien, a moderately priced, exceptionally comfortable hotel whose gracious owners introduced me to foie gras mi cuit and Monbazillac, a grand combination!
http://www.abbaye-dordogne.com/Index1.html
A view from l'Abbaye's terrace overlooking Saint-Cyprien and the Dordogne Valley
La Traverse in Cénac, an inexpensive yet clean hotel on the main street.
Incidentally, my wife and her cousins stayed at Chateau Fleurac (http://www.fleurac.nl/) in 2001. A chateau restored magnificently, its charming Dutch hosts providing for every comfort, this special place in the country will restore you magnificently as well.
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
(Photo courtesy of Alan Yudell)
Be sure to have at least a lunch or dinner across the road at Restaurant le Coq for an added treat.
For the most part, however, we've stayed in B&B's or rented private homes.
Large home for rent in the Perigord Noir.
See www.les-cerises.com
Rife with attractions that date from 50,000 years BCE, the Périgord Noir offers a real-life history of human achievement unlike any other place in the Western world.
Consider, for example,
La Roque Saint-Christophe
http://www.roque-st-christophe.com/siteg.html#
Grotte de Rouffignac
http://www.grottederouffignac.fr/default_an.asp
La Roque Gageac
http://www.la-roque-gageac.com/uk/presentation.htm
Gouffre de Padirac (just east of the Périgord Noir)
http://www.gouffre-de-padirac.com/
La Grotte du Grand Roc (of special interest to Jean M. Auel’s Earth's Children’s series [here’s where Ayla ends up--at least as where Book 5 ends])
http://www.grandroc.com/accueil_uk.htm and http://www.grandroc.com/laugerie/accueil_uk.htm
Finally, for my having first arrived in the Périgord in 1997, I am indebted to three people: Babette Sapin-Lignières, Jean-Jacques Rey (http://www.teaser.fr/~jjrey/perigord/index.html), and my wife, Sherry. Their wonderfully powerful influence on me changed my life.
But, then again, my mother was French. Her influence started at my beginning. I dedicate this blog to her.
"Et in Arcadia Ego . . ."
posted by Pierre Rocher @ 2:50 PM
8 comments
