Old stomping grounds and venturing further afield

Our first night in Maison Grise was somewhat marred by Russell suddenly coming down with a nasty bug around dinner time which necessitated a bit of emergency first aid by the resident nurse. Despite my best efforts he was pretty much incapacitated for 24 hours but fortunately had a comfy quiet room to sleep through it.

Zoe and I meanwhile, were forced to read by the pool, drink wine and eat cheese as the mercury hit a wonderful 30 C!

Monday dawned slightly cloudy but with Russell just about back to his A game which was great!

We decided to head into Sarlat knowing that many French stores are not open on Monday but also aware that when we come back Saturday for market day, the streets will be crowded with fellow tourists.

 

It was great to be able to appreciate the beautiful architecture that abounds in Sarlat without being jostled by people and we found enough stores open to relieve us of some euros.

Fortunately the local boulangerie was able to supply a quiche Lorraine for an easy dinner which we enjoyed on the tower balcony waiting for the hot air balloons that we had seen the previous evening. Russell felt that the weather conditions tonight (a change on the horizon) meant that there would be no balloons, I put 10 euro down to say they would still be flying but sadly he won. We didn't need balloons with a stunning view anyway.

Tuesday is market day in Le Bugue, a nearby village that Russell, Sam and I had stayed in back in 2008 so we were keen to return and check it out and although the sky was grey it was dry as we drove toward toward the town which is situated on the Vézère river.

We were early enough that the rotisseried chickens were not yet golden but the best of fruit and vegetables were still available and we stocked up for tonight's roast dinner. The fish monger as always, provided photographic fodder …..

And this was the little piggy that went to market…

After lunch at home we decided to break new ground and visit Collonges-la-rouge. This village is noteworthy because every building is constructed of a distinctive red sandstone whose unique colour comes from the iron oxide found in the stone. The rain that had persisted on the drive up there fortuitously stopped as we started our walk through ( no cars allowed) and we were rewarded with almost deserted streets for great photo ops!

 

 

This gift shop was amazing, the whole ceiling was covered with dried flower arrangements.

 

 

 

We managed to see the whole village just in front of a tour bus and then drove on toward the nearby village of Turennes. We climbed up to the chateau overlooking the town whose grey walls were in stark contrast to where we had just visited but no less spectacular.

 

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