This morning Jenelle made us an omelette with Truffle. The verdict; omelette 10/10 and the jury is still out on the Truffles. If this is the real flavour of Truffles we don't know what all the fuss is about. Maybe we should be looking for fresh Truffles or at least a restaurant meal with Truffles. Our truffles tasted like light soya sauce.
Monpazier is our first port of call today. An ancient bastide; a fortified town.
The whole town was built in large solid blocks around a central square.
Around the perimeter of the central square many of the buildings have arched porticoes.
It is late morning and already the thermometer is well over 30 degrees and rising. Walking under the porticoes and into the stone buildings is like walking into air conditioning. Quite remarkable.
Monpazier is almost exclusively an art and craft market town along the lines of Maleny and Montville.
Today is about scenic towns and scenic drives along the roads less travelled. Around every bend is another photo opportunity...
A Chateau....
A stone house with fortified tower (in pretty poor state of repair despite the photo) which was for sale....
A hilltop village.....
Square kilometres of Apple orchards covered with hail netting....
Our final stop for today was the city of Bergerac. A grand old city with the requisite grand buildings, fountains, monuments and statues.
The most famous local of course is Cyrano de Bergerac. Him and his nose scored quite a few statues in town.
We never expected to see so much Pride of India in France. The colours are so vibrant, In Bergerac we come across streets lined with the Pride of India in full bloom.
At the heart of Bergerac is the old city and the characteristic charm that goes along with it.
Bergerac is also the centre of a wine growing region based on the Malbec variety. Many of the vineyards have had little houses where the farmer and workers, who generally live elsewhere, could have their meals and rest during the day. In some cases the houses are less like huts and more like mini chateaus.
Now that the houses are not needed for their original purpose the government is trying to encourage the farmers to recycle the field huts into tourist accommodation which seems like a really good idea.
