Tuesday, October 4 we started the day by driving to Beynac. It was foggy and a bit of a challenge at times. Beynac is small, there was nothing happening and not much was open. We walked along the river and a few streets in town, then drove up to the château. We didn’t plan to go in since we will be seeing some other château soon, but we wanted to see it.

We then went to Château des Milandes. It was built around 1489. In 1940 Josephine Baker rented the château, then bought it in 1947. She was born in St. Louis, MO in 1906 and she became a dancer, singer and actress, breaking color barriers. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture and her career was primarily centered in France. She became a French citizen and aided the French Resistance during WWII. After the war she was awarded the Resistance Medal, the Croix de Guerrero by the French military and was named a Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur by General Charles de Gaulle. In November 2021 she was interred in the Panthéon in Paris, the first black woman to receive one of the highest honors in France.

Pictures were not allowed inside.

We saw a Birds of Prey show there as well. One bird flew so close to Jim it clipped his ear..

We enjoyed our last day in the Dordogne and will be sorry to leave in the morning, but more of France awaits exploration.

Monday, October 3 we went to Lascaux IV, an exact replica of the cave discovered in 1940 by 4 teenaged boys that contained cave paintings dating back 20,000 years. The caves were opened for viewing, but then closed in 1963 because the paintings were deteriorating. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the cave, but we could in the museum we went into after the guided tour.

We later went to the village of La Roque-Gageac and took a boat ride on the Dordogne River in a reproduction of a 19th century gabarre, the type of boat used to move wares on the river before trains were available. Unfortunately they had amended the itinerary and we weren’t able to see everything we were expecting to see, but it was fun.

I don’t know if google maps hates me, but there must have been an easier way to drive to and from this town. There was a 5 kilometer long road with room for one car, but it was two way traffic and it was so hilly and winding that I couldn’t see what was coming towards us. One turn was so tight that it required a 3 point turn. Yikes!

We finished the day with a delicious dinner and I finally had some duck. Yummy!

Sunday, October 2 we tried to figure out what to do. Sundays can be tricky because you never know what will be open and what will be closed. There was something Jim wanted to do in Sarlat later in the afternoon, so we decided to start the day by going to two places designated as some of the “Most Beautiful Villages of France.” I like beautiful villages, so off we went. First stop was Turenne. It was closed. Yes, the entire town was closed. Well, to be fair there was a tiny store open. I asked about where to locate a bathroom and there wasn’t one.

We continued on to Collonges La Rouge and we were not disappointed. It’s a picturesque village with a surprise around every corner. Some things were closed, but there was plenty that was open and we didn’t have any trouble spending a few hours there.

We went back to Sarlat, parked the car at our apartment and walked into the old town. Sarlat was busy! There was a car show that Jim wanted to see and as we walked down the street we saw some great vintage cars. We walked to another street because we saw cars there, and at the end of the street a crowd was gathered and we saw a red carpet and a stage, or as we were soon to find out, it was a runway. A fashion show? It was unexpected, except when I looked at the flyer we had picked up and translated it I found it was very clear. Many of the cars/motorcycles were just a way to deliver the models to the stage. The models were every age from very young children to mature adults, both male and female. The clothing went from lingerie to outerwear, and everything in between.

We wandered around some more, admiring the buildings.

Saturday, October 1 and it’s market day in Sarlat. It’s a rainy day, which is a bit disappointing. Rain or shine we are going. The market is a few minutes walk away in the old town and I enjoyed walking the different streets to see what what people were selling. We didn’t buy anything except for bread for dinner and some strawberries, but for me the markets are always about the ambience. I’m sure we will see more while we are in France.

We decided that the weather was perfect for a nap. We left home 6 weeks ago and it seemed like the perfect day for it. We woke up refreshed and went back to see how things looked after the market. We walked down streets we hadn’t seen before and enjoyed discovering new things.

We walked down a tiny street and some people in a doorway stopped us and invited us in to look at their floral exhibits in the different rooms of what might have been rental units. They each seemed to have kitchens and presumably bathrooms, although we didn’t see them. The rooms were beautiful.

We went back to our apartment and I cooked dinner. Eating out gets old after awhile. It was a good day.

Friday, September 30 we woke up at our hotel near the airport, had breakfast and took a taxi back to the airport. Those 2 taxi rides ended up costing us $45. That was for 2 miles each way. What a rip off. After a mechanical situation with the first car we finally got on the road. After SUV’s for 4 people with automatic transmissions in Ireland and Scotland we now had 4 door Fiat 500 with a manual transmission. Very different, but the car is fine. We got a later start than we had hoped for so had to bypass a stop I was wanting to make on the way to a cute little town. We will see a lot of cute towns, so not a big deal. We got to Sarlat a couple of hours before we were to meet our Airbnb host at our apartment. We took advantage of the time by walking around the old town, and we shared a snack. We met the host and then headed for the grocery store to buy supplies for the next 5 nights. After taking our purchases and luggage up the the apartment we went back into the old town which is less than a 5 minute walk. We walked around so more and then had dinner. We both love this town. There’s some new and interesting around every corner. We’re going to like it here.

Thursday, September 29 we had what we thought would be an easy day traveling to France. We allowed plenty of time to get from our hotel to Gatwick airport, located south of London. We took the Underground from the station just 2 minutes from our hotel to Victoria Station and bought train tickets to Gatwick. I got the tickets from a machine and realized they weren’t for the express train. Oh well, no big deal. We got off the train at the airport and decided to have a late lunch before going through security. We were to arrive in Bordeaux at 7:00 p.m. and needed to pick up our car, so no time for dinner after we arrive. Lunch was good, especially considering it was at an airport. Going through security didn’t take too long and we found it was too early to know what gate we needed to go to. They have lounge areas for people in that situation, so we found a couple of seats and waited. We went to Gate 5 when they announced it and waited. And waited. And waited. The flight was delayed. The reasons given were they were waiting for the crew, then it was mechanical problems, then on the Easy Jet app it told me it was strikes in France. Eventually we were told to leave the gate and to watch the board in the lounge area. Okay, more waiting there. Oh, go back to Gate 5. Okay, off we went. Then the pilot made an announcement that there had been a bird strike with the plane but it was fine now. And we waited. Oh, there isn’t anyone to load the luggage. More waiting. By this time I knew the car rental location would be closed before we arrived. Our friend Betsy, who lives in France, was trying to call them for me and never was able to speak to a person. Europcar had our flight information if they really wanted to know what was happening. We arrived in Bordeaux at 10:00 p.m., 3 hours later than we should have. We had to go through immigration and get our luggage, which was fairly fast, then take a taxi to our hotel, which was only 2 miles away. We were exhausted by then, but happy to be in France.

Wednesday, September 28 is our last day in London, for this part of the trip anyway. We are museumed out and decided to go to the borough of Richmond. Why Richmond? We are big fans of the show ‘Ted Lasso’ and it takes place there. We saw the street where Ted’s (Jason Sudekis) flat is, the pub where they go, which is actually on the corner of Ted’s street, and we walked around the nearby area. It was something different to do and very enjoyable. Richmond was definitely quieter than London, but is on the flight path to Heathrow. I suppose it’s easy enough to get used to that.

We went to Kew Gardens, one of the Royal Gardens and located near Richmond. It was past its peak, but was still beautiful. I can only imagine how nice it is in the Spring and Summer.

After returning to London we went to Covent Garden, which isn’t a garden at all. It’s a busy and touristy area full of street performers, souvenirs and high end shops, theaters and restaurants. We walked around, people watched and then had a nice dinner, our last in London until in October. We leave

Tuesday, September 27 the forecast was for rain throughout the day. A perfect day for museums. We first went to the Wallace Collection. It’s mostly decorative arts, including paintings, furniture, ceramics and porcelain, and several rooms of armor and weapons. The armor and weapons are beautiful and works of art.

We also went to the National Gallery at Trafalger Square. There I got to see some of my favorite artists.

We decided to have dim sum today and I had looked up what the best place in London was. It turned out to be upscale, very expensive and just alright. When we return to London later in October we will go to Chinatown and find something more to our liking.