Domme, Audrix, Le Bugue, Limeuil and quail eggs.

The last two days we've gone in opposite direction from our base. Yesterday we headed eastish to find Domme. A beautiful hilltop town, sitting high above the valley overlooking the Dordogne. It's a medieval bastide or fortified town and you still drive through the city gates to enter.

From the Town centre if Domme looking across the Dordogne valley. 

Looking Westerly down the Dordogne. Way off to the right is the cliff and Riverside village of  La Roque Gageac. 

Slightly better view of La Roque Gageac, under the cliff

Audrix is another hilltop village, seemingly famous for its telecommunications tower, we loved it for its spectacular views and smallness. It's westish if where we are staying. Only a population of a few hundred (and I think they were all away when we visited) all get together each Saturday evenings during summer for a community dinner of local foods. The church and cemetery and surrounding buildings, like so much of the region, have been there for many hundreds of years but what we thought was interesting was the newly built community hall and swimming pool and the beginnings of a sculpture Park. 

Wooly mammoth in Audrix

We went to Audrix to visit a cave that is famous for its size and its imposing cathedral like cavernous interior. As there was nowhere open in Audrix we kept going to Le Bugue on the River Vezere for lunch. Couldn't really see much there that was either open or appealing so kept driving and found a Brasserie set in a country Park that was open and looked ok. The food was fine the establishment a bit dated but it did us just fine. Driving out of the carpark we noticed the sign to the confluence of the Vezere and Dordogne Rivers, so we couldn't not see that. So glad we did too. 

The village of Limeuil is on the north side of the confluence. Set into the bend of the Vezere river side of the joining; it too has been granted the title of one of the most beautiful villages in France. Easy to see why. Also a medieval town and for many centuries has been known for its population of artisans. This hasn't changed and today it is still a place of artistic pursuits. Each River has its own bridge that nearly joint perpendicularly which provides a sort of frame to the two rivers. Stepping up the cliff face to the old town with the château high above, in command of all below, this truly is heaven on a stick. 

The two bridges. The Dordogne is to the right. 

Just a beautiful setting. 

Limeuil

Up the hill to the château at the top

We then travelled to the caves at Gouffre de Proumeyssac just back between Audrix and Le Bugue. A bit of a set up with playgrounds and other attractions but the cave was quite spectacular. A limestone cavern that's over 40 metres tall about 20 metres underground and inside about 60 metres across. So quite big and cathedral like, hence its nickname, "crystal cathedral". A peculiarity is the petrifying tables in the chasm where items made of pottery are placed for a year or so, sitting under the drip, drip, drip of the seeping waters. Over this time the pottery is crystallised by the rich calcium deposits and they look like they've been covered in Glitter. Then they sell them as petrified pottery!

Crystal cathedral

Stalactites or mites?

The Day wouldn't be complete without mentioning food. This time, what makes the grade for blog viewing, is our dinner. Quail eggs fried in walnut oil on toast. Delicious. 

Quail egg supper