June, 2009 | LisaLarry.com

Dordogne Valley: Cliff Towns and Prehistoric Cave Paintings

Lisa / June 26, 2009 / France, Travel

We happily drove out of Spain and did a little happy dance once we crossed the border back into France for two reasons: one, because we felt somewhat safer (though France certainly has its rough spots), and two, because we could communicate again! Though my French is weak, I can still communicate. We couldn’t even get through the drive through at McDonald’s in Spain without asking for a translator. I hated it! Larry said, “I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve never been happier to see French in my life.”

We headed straight north into the Dordogne region of France, which lies in the slightly southwest portion of the country, south of Limoges and east of Bordeaux. It is the region known for foie gras, prehistoric cave paintings, gorgeous green valleys, and cliff towns. I’ve always wanted to see it. I booked a room for us at an old farmhouse turned inn just outside of Rocamadour, a beautiful cliff town that has been in existence for many centuries. It grew up around the tomb of Saint Amadour, whose perfectly preserved body was found in 1166 in a tomb carved into the side of the mountain. Since that time it became a pilgrimage site for Christians seeking miracles. Jacques Cartier and his team, suffering from scurvy, visited in the 16th century to seek a cure for their ills.

The road to Rocamadour is a long, windy road that cuts up and down through the mountains. When we finally rounded the road that brought Rocamadour into view, we were practically speechless. This is a town that defies gravity, and has done so for centuries. It’s just beautiful. We found our hotel and checked in before spending the evening wandering the nearly empty streets (like Mont St. Michel – it’s more a daytime destination for tour buses but you have the place to yourself at night), up to the chapels and the site of St. Amadour’s tomb, and finished it off by a late pizza dinner on a terrace overlooking the side of the cliff. It was magical.

Climbing the Grand Escalier towards the chapels — Climbing the Grand Escalier towards the chapel

This building was my favorite - it literally looks like it's going to drop off the side of the cliff!

Night shot of the town from across the valley

The next day we spent some time at the chateau which sits at the very top of the cliff and looks down over Rocamadour and the valley. Here Larry earned the cheers of onlookers as he rigged up his camera to a railing with a gorillapod, set the 20 second timer, and ran down a very long, steep flight of stairs to get in position before the timer went off.

The applause getting acrobatic shot - yes we are the specks out at the end of the ramp

We were truly winging this part of the trip but it worked out perfectly. We discovered we were only about an hour away from Sarlat-la-Canéda, the best preserved medieval town in all of France. It has more perfectly preserved 14th and 15th century buildings than any other. Just beyond it is Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac, which is surrounded by caves containing prehistoric carvings and paintings, some of the best preserved in the world. Literally hundreds if not thousands of these caves have been discovered in southern France and northern Spain. The most famous cave, that at Lescaux, has actually been closed to the public for a number of years because the changes in humidity, temperature, etc. brought by all the visitors were ruining the paintings. They have created a complete replica nearby – but who wants to see a replica? We did discover however, that the Font-de-Gaume cave is just outside Les Eyzies and is the last cave open to the public that contains polychromatic paintings (i.e. mixing more than one color). They only allow 120 visitors per day, in groups of 12, and are booked months in advance. However, we lucked out and were able to get a ticket for the very next day.

We drove along the road to Beynac-et-Cazenac, another gorgeous cliff town set next to the Dordogne River. Beautiful vistas across the valley.

Looking down over the valley from the chateau at Beynac

We had dinner in Sarlat surrounded by 14th and 15th century buildings. It was like being the middle of a Renaissance village at Disneyland or something, except it was all real. Being in foie gras country, we couldn’t avoid a menu with some form of foie gras on it. I like foie gras but am not normally a massive fan. It’s usually so rich and strong tasting that after about two bites I’m done. Regardless, we did try some foie gras made from duck (the traditional foie gras is goose) and I have to say it was heavenly, so buttery and creamy. I ate it all.

The next day we spent at two different caves, the Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles, where I gained a new appreciation for prehistoric caveman paintings. These are no stick figures scratched or painted into the side of the cave by prehistoric men who could barely rub two sticks together to create fire. When you see these up close and understand the complexity of their construction and the artistry that it involved, you are truly awestruck. These men used techniques that were not seen again in Europe until the Renaissance. They used perspective. They used cubism, made famous in our time by Picasso. The paintings in the Font de Gaume literally covered the cave from top to bottom. It is truly a reverent experience to see them in person. Nearly all of the carvings or paintings are of animals, most commonly bison or deer, but also wooly mammoth, lion, and others. They are also always in peaceful positions: resting next to each other, grooming each other. There are no representations of hunting or fighting. There are only a couple of instances of human representation (involving male/female relations and the female anatomy – some things do not change!). Truly, if you are ever in the area, you must find a way to see the Font de Gaume especially. It was one big WOW.

Of all the highlights and beautiful scenery we saw while in the Dordogne, I have to say one of Larry’s highlights was the following: While driving through the countryside we passed some serious-looking cyclists. Whether they were training for the upcoming Tour de France, or whether they were just serious recreational cyclists, I don’t know. Regardless, as we passed them, Larry rolled down the window and said “Lance Armstrong.” They responded with their middle fingers. Larry laughed all the way down the road. I must admit, so did I.

Andorra and Barcelona

Lisa / June 24, 2009 / France, Travel

After reluctantly departing the Loire Valley we headed south for a few days in Barcelona. We decided to take the longer and more arduous route through Andorra just to say we’d seen it. At 181 square miles, Andorra is the sixth smallest nation in Europe, lying in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. It relies on tourism and its status as a tax haven for almost its entire GDP of $3.6Bn. It was quite a steep and curvy ride but absolutely gorgeous. There were wildflowers blooming all over the mountainside and it was breathtaking. Truly the pictures don’t do it justice.

Looking down on Andorra's capital, Andorra-la-Vella

We drove through northern Spain and past Mont Serrat with its beautiful jagged peaks before arriving at our hotel on the outskirts of Barcelona.

I have flown through Barcelona while traveling for business but never stayed, and this was Larry’s first visit to Spain. We were both looking forward to seeing a little bit of the city, eating some tapas, and of course visiting La Sagrada Familia. We spent the better part of Sunday afternoon at La Sagrada Familia and I have to say that my opinion of it changed once I visited it in person. In all photographs I’ve ever seen it’s never been an appealing building to me aesthetically. Just not my style. While I thought it was interesting and very unique, I never really liked it. Larry perfectly summed it up when he said it appears “oozing” in all the pictures. As we walked up to the “passion entrance” we were both struck speechless by the structure itself and the sculptures (done by Josep Subirachs) that adorn that facade. It is truly moving in person.

La Sagrada Familia is the master work of the renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. Construction began in 1882 and is still ongoing, being funded by private donations and entrance fees. They expect it to be completed by 2030. Gaudi worked on it for a total of 40 years of his life, and lived long enough to see the Nativity facade completed (he did the sculptures there himself to remind those working on it of the importance of their work) and one of the towers. In the end it will have 18 towers total, the tallest being that which represents Christ, the others representing the four Evangelists, the twelve Apostles, and the Virgin Mary. The tallest tower will be one meter lower than that of nearby Montjuic, as Gaudi felt his work should not be taller than that of God.

As a child, Gaudi was somewhat sickly. In order to get him some exercise and fresh air, his mother would take him on nature walks for hours. It was from these walks that his interest in nature and nature’s architecture, combined with his natural aptitude in geometry and math, created the unique style that is his own. Every column in the Sagrada Familia follows the same geometrical patterns that occur in nature, some of which had not been used in architecture before: helicoids, hyperboloids, paraboloids, conoids, and ellipsoids. With helicoids he created the double twisted column, a new column in the history of architecture. His love of nature shows in every aspect of the building. For example, the columns inside the chapel itself are tree trunks, with their leaves sprawling out over the ceiling. Literally hundreds of animals are sculptured into the facade.

The sculptures on the Passion Facade relate to various scriptures. This one is the betrayal of Judas. — The sculptures on the Passion Facade relate to various scriptures. This one is the betrayal by Judas.

The inside of the chapel - trees cover the congregation

We rode the elevator to the top and then walked down. Great views.

We took the elevator up, and the stairs back down

Evidence of Gaudi's love of nature is a part of all aspects of the building

The School, also designed by Gaudi, on the same property. Notice how the roofline follows the same form as the edge of a leaf. — The School, also designed by Gaudi, on the same property. Notice how the line follows the same form as the edge of a leaf.

We topped off the night with some tapas, including my favorite, the Spanish omelette.

Day 2 in Spain started out great but ended up with Larry carrying a ruined wheel on his head for a mile to a 24-hour repair station. We had a great day shopping and walking through La Rambla and through a very large open air food market nearby, where I couldn’t resist trying some of the yellow watermelon. It tastes the same but it’s just so wrong, like purple cauliflower.

Stopping for some lunch before our day of shopping

Some of that famous acorn-fed Iberian ham

Plaza just off La Rambla. Just beyond this was the ghetto where we were robbed. — Plaza just off La Rambla. Just beyond this was the ghetto where we were robbed the next day.

We spent some time down on the beach watching the joggers/rollerbladers/dog walkers and enjoying the Mediterranean breeze.

After that we decided to head back to our hotel. Along the road, two people on a scooter honked and pointed down at our car. I opened my door and peered out to discover we were driving on a complete flat. We pulled around the corner at the next intersection and then spent 3+ hours trying to find somewhere to get a new wheel, after we discovered we had no spare tire, only a spare repair kit, which didn’t fix ours because the puncture was along the sidewall (see Larry’s post about the various crime attempts and successes during our Barcelona adventure).

Day 3 in Spain started out bad and ended bad. See Larry’s previous post. No need to re-hash. But I’m not bitter. I will make one disclaimer in slight defense of Spain: the guys who got us were not Spaniards. The reason that the southern European countries are so bad for petty crime is that they have a high level of immigrants, particularly from northern Africa. The guys who got us looked like they were probably Algerian, possibly South American. You would think that would prompt said southern European countries to get more serious about immigration and border control.

Theft: Another kind of Tourism Income for Immigrants

Larry / June 24, 2009 / France, Spain, Travel, Vagabonding

We had some great experiences in Spain. We had some very frustrating experiences in Spain. I’ll recap what would otherwise be a long story as a warning to travelers going to Barcelona. For the record, we had read and heard that Barcelona is full of pick-pockets and other theives and criminals, so our guard was up plenty. Problem is, we didn’t know all of their tricks. So let this be a lesson from our wallet to yours.

June 22
La Rambla and Shopping
Spontaneous and mysterious flat tire while at a stop light, pointed out to us by a couple of guys on a scooter. Lisa waits with car on busy road while I carry the slashed wheel on my dented head to the only 24hr garage in Barcelona, a mile away.

June 23
While attempting to go to the Picasso museum street thieves pull scam on us. One by my door motions that we have yet another flat tire and would not being satisfied with an inch of window. He had to bang on the door to get me to open it (unlocking all doors), accomplice opens back door on passenger side and runs with Lisa’s Nikon camera ($800). I took up chase but lose the parasites in Barcelona alleys.

We decide there’s nothing else to do as we’d have nothing to share with the police and find a lot to park the car for another attempt at the museum. At a stop light we have the same scam tried on us again (yes, not 10 minutes later than the successful attempt). This time I yell unkind words at the weasel and he and his accomplice walk away in shame. Truth be told, I was angry enough at not catching the first set that had I not been concerned about sticking around to protect Lisa, I’d likely have gotten out and done my best to take care of things, with perhaps good but likely bad results as an American dislocating the elbows of parasites in a foreign country is not looked upon well from what I understand, and I only had one small weapon. Don’t know what they might have had.

After parking the car, we approached the museum again on foot, but going through the area where I lost the first set of Barcelona’s vast population of parasites. I see one and he recognizes both Lisa and me and ducks into the kitchen of the restaurant he was in. I start taking pictures of him and his fellow parasites and keep close watch on the rat-hole of a restaurant they inhabit, while Lisa goes into a nearby shop to call the police. Police come, we give report, they ask us to file a full report at the station which we agree to and end up spending essentially the rest of the day there. Lost day on parasites. The second coming can’t come soon enough, though we have been praying that those looting wastes of food/water/air will find Christ and change their ways.

Oh, by the way, the police ask why we thought the guy might be right enough about the flat tire to open the door. We tell him that we had had a flat the night before. He said “kids on a scooter tell you?” We say “Uh, yeah.” He proceeds to tell us that the kids on the scooter were the ones that slashed our tire, with a knife or sharpened screwdriver in their shoe. They have an accomplice who then opens the door, same as the above mentioned procedure, and takes whatever is close-by inside. The cop asks if anything was missing, but there wasn’t. He says, “then they failed that time. That’s good.” Yeah, celebration time.

So, to sum up. We were in Barcelona 3 days. Crime was attempted on us 3 times. Two were successful (a camera to the tune of $800, and a tire to the tune of $200 and a night and day wasted). We decide Spain is not for us until they can get a new government and police force who take immigration and crime seriously. Goodbye Barcelona.

June 24
We drive from Spain back to France. Wonderful to see France. Vive La France.
We drive to Rocamadour, a cliff town in the Dordogne region with a spectacular appearance. We stay the night in one of the well-furnished out buildings of a beautiful farm turned chic Hotel just a few kilometers away from town. We head back into town and explore on foot. Amazing sights: tight walking streets lined with shops and restaurants, ancient buildings covered with character, a small old chapel next to the grave site of one St. Amadour. Night pictures from various places around the valley looking at the lit city. One of the best parts of the trip so far. Amazing.

Valley of the Chateaus

Lisa / June 19, 2009 / France, Taken w/iPhone, Travel, Vagabonding

And finally, I get to see all the fairy tale French chateaus in person. I’ve been waiting a long time to see Chambord and Chenonceau particularly. The pictures here speak for themselves so I won’t spend a lot of time on the details. We spent a wonderful week in the town of Chinon in the west end of the Loire region. Chinon has a very large chateau overlooking the city and is most famous as the place that Joan of Arc came to meet with Charles VII about her visions, who then granted her permission to leave with the army to Orleans. And the rest, as they say, is history. There isn’t much left of the chateau at Chinon today, unfortunately.

We absolutely love our little hotel in Chinon. I found it thanks to a friend who sent me an article from Budget Travel about their favorite secret hotels in the Loire Valley. We chose the Hotel Diderot, an inn set in a 15th century building owned and run by Laurent Dutheil and his two sisters, Martine and Francoise. It is gorgeous from top to bottom, the breakfasts are out of this world, and the hosts could not have been more gracious.

Just a few of the many homemade jams at breakfast

Over the next several days we spent time at some of the more famous of the ~80 chateaus in the Loire Valley, including Chenonceau, Chambord, Amboise, and Villandry. You will probably recognize the pictures of Chenonceau and Chambord, as they are the most famous of the Loire Valley chateaus.

Villandry is known for its amazing gardens – the chateau and gardens have been owned and maintained by the same Spanish family for many generations now, and they are incredible. One of my favorite parts was the cardamom flavored ice cream sold from the cart out front. I loooove cardamom, I could bathe in it.

Chateau Villandry and some of its gardens

Larry jumping into one of my shots, as usual

Imagine having this view from your bedroom

We were a bit disappointed in Chenonceau only because they are undertaking an external restoration and half of it was covered in scaffolding. How dare they ruin our pictures! The inside of the chateau is in amazing shape though. Chenonceau has a funny history. Given to the Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II, as a gift, it was then taken from her after Henry’s death by his wife, Catherine de Medici. Catherine then made this her favorite chateau, adding her own gardens and throwing lavish parties for the elite of France. France’s first fireworks were shown at Chenonceau. Chenonceau also played an important role during World War II as one side of the River Cher was Nazi territory and the other side was Vichy territory. Cheonceau’s grand gallery was used as a means to escape Nazi territory, as the door on the far side opened up to the Vichy territory.

One of the bedrooms at Chenonceau — The Five Queens' Bedroom at Chenonceau

Chambord was everything I imagined and more. It is the largest of the Loire Valley chateaus with over 400 rooms, 84 staircases, and 300 fireplaces, and is set in a park that is the size of the entire city of Paris. It does not disappoint and is a must-see if you are ever in the neighborhood.

We didn’t realize until we started reading up on the area but Leonardo DaVinci is buried at the former royal palace in Amboise. He spent the last 3 years of his life in the Loire Valley. At the invitation of King Francis 1st, he traveled by mule over the Alps from Italy with two of his apprentices in tow, carrying with him his 3 favorite paintings, one of which was the Mona Lisa. King Francis gave Leonardo the nearby Clos de Luce to live in (connected to the royal palace by an underground tunnel). Popular legend has it that King Francis was with Leonardo and holding his head in his arms when he died. Leonardo was then buried in the Chapel of St. Hubert at the royal palace. Unfortunately the chapel was mostly destroyed during the French Revolution. It was not until several years later when Napoleon III hired an engineer and architect to restore and rebuild parts of the original Chateau at Amboise that they discovered a sepulchre with a complete skeleton along with some of the letters of Leonardo’s name. After researching they determined that this was the body of Leonardo DaVinci and they put him in a proper sepulchre in the newly rebuilt chapel at the royal chateau. We were shocked to discover that not only was DaVinci not buried in Italy, but that his grave had been done such great disservice.

Royal Palace at Amboise from across the river

Royal bedroom inside the Palace at Amboise

Looking down onto the charming town of Amboise

Mont Saint Michel

Lisa / June 15, 2009 / France, Travel

I can’t remember exactly when I first saw a picture of Mont St. Michel. But I do know that ever since I have seen a picture of it, it has been on my life’s list of things to see. Mont St. Michel lies on the northwestern coast of the country, and is about 3 hours from Paris by car. Many of you will recognize the pictures – it is an iconic sort of place, very memorable because it is so unique, and unforgettable once you visit.

Mont St. Michel used to be an island that was only reachable from the mainland at low tide. Because of modern work done in the surrounding area to create pasture land, and the canalisation of the nearby Cousenon River, the bay has now silted up, which allows Mont St. Michel to be reached by a causeway at all times. It is a tiny little rock of an island dominated by the Mont St. Michel Abbey, which has existed in some form in that spot for over 1,000 years. A town grew up around the abbey and now it is a place one can spend winding through the tiny little streets and alleys, exploring the shops (all geared toward tourist fare) and touring the enormous abbey.

Mont St. Michel is so small it has only a few tiny hotels and auberges, and as such most visitors are day-trippers only who leave at night for the mainland. Larry and I arrived around 7 pm just as the traffic had cleared out for the night, which was lucky on our part. We parked our car in a lot that was labeled “The sea does not cover here today.”

As we headed just inside the city gate, we saw Mere Poulard’s restaurant, a Mont St. Michel legend for her cookies and goodies, but especially for her omelettes. She began serving them in the early 20th century and became so famous for them that many heads of state, celebrities, and other notable figures throughout history have visited her restaurant. (Mere Poulard fed the Allied leaders her omelettes after the Normandy invasion.) As we passed the doorway we heard the melodic clanging of eggs being whipped into a frenzy in copper bowls by staff dressed in what has to be the original style of Mere Poulard’s restaurant uniforms.

Mere Poulard’s website offers a video demonstration of the making of these famous omelettes. First the eggs are whipped into a frenzy in a cold copper bowl, yolks and whites being whipped separately, and then incorporated together with that famous Norman cream and butter. Next they are put into a copper frying pan and set into an open fire where they are cooked until brown on the bottom and then folded onto a waiting plate. It’s very fun to watch, and they leave the door to the kitchen open to the street so all visitors can stop and see the action first hand.

We made our way up the narrow cobblestone street to the little auberge we had booked for the night and headed straight back to Mere Poulard’s. Being the omelette lovers that we are, we just had to try them. Not to mention the fact that our cab driver on the way to the airport had said “You must have Mere Poulard’s omelettes and lamb, you will never forget it!”

Let’s just say that Mere Poulard’s progeny have figured out how to capitalize on their famous ancestor’s name. The restaurant is as pricey as some of the nicer New York restaurants we’ve been to. They offer several prix fixe menus, the featured prix fixe involving an omelette and her famous lamb. It’s a lot of money to pay for some fluffy eggs. But, our motto is to try everything once. Unfortunately the omelette was not to my liking. I guess I don’t like egg foam omelettes. They are MASSIVE, though mostly air, and they taste very different from what you’ve come to expect in a regular omelette. Larry said, “It tastes just like butter-flavored egg-flavored air.” They are brought to the table wobbling on a huge plate with any accompanying filling actually served in its own dish on the side. I ordered mine with bacon and potatoes, which came out in a pool of that delicious Norman cream. Oh yeah, this is low fat cooking up here. The lamb was actually delicious, which is a lot for me to say because I don’t normally like lamb. After having paid more for our dinner than we did for our hotel room, we spent the rest of the night wandering the nearly empty streets and taking pictures of the town, the abbey, and the bay.

Walking the streets of Mont St. Michel — Walking the quiet nighttime streets of Mont St. Michel

We woke up the next morning and discovered that Mont St. Michel is Disneyland during the daytime. Mobs upon mobs of tourists descend upon the rock and every souvenir and trinket you can think of is being sold to them, along with overpriced sodas and food. Let’s face it – Mont St. Michel’s economy is tourism. There is nothing else. Nevertheless, we enjoyed exploring a bit more, eating Breton crepes for breakfast, and touring the abbey.

The main structure of the abbey has been there since the tenth century. Other parts were eventually added on and it has largely existed in its present form since the 15th century. It is a massive structure and took us the better part of the day to tour. I always love running my hands along walls and stepping on floors that someone’s hand laid so long ago – in this case over 1,000 years ago. It’s mind boggling.

If you ever find yourself going to Mont St. Michel, I highly recommend spending the night on the island so you can truly enjoy it away from the tour bus day trippers.

no images were found