A tour of the Dordogne

After my disappointment in Spain, I returned to France early and therefore managed to tag back on to Dad's trip before it ended which was a saving grace for me. The highlights to this included a trip back to Carcassonne, and then on to the Dordogne, my favourite region of France!

A trip to the Dordogne wouldn't be complete without visiting Sarlat, so back we went and immersed ourselves in the market. We bought an excellent rosé here which came from Bergerac and was rather lovely. 

We stocked up on a number of fresh things from the market, including bread and fresh prawns which we would later cook on the barbecue and I would discover to my shock that I rather quite liked them!

Sarlat is a magnificent medieval town to walk through, and I never get bored wandering down cobblestone alleyways and past honey-coloured buildings. 

We had picked an airbnb in the Dordogne so we would have a few days to relax and explore the region from our base, and it was rather pretty too. Although quite dark and gloomy inside, it had a lovely outdoor area with a bbq - always a plus in my books!

The weather was rather stormy and rainy while we were there, luckily the bbq area was under shelter, and we passed a few evenings enjoying eating outside and cooking the fresh produce of the region (of which there is plenty!)

All too soon we were headed out of the region, making for the region of Brittany to slowly make our way back to Lille (with many stops on the way of course!) The Dordogne is such a beautiful region however that we made a few stops before leaving it behind. Passing through this gorgeous village was one such pause, though there was little to it aside from the ruined castle it was incredibly pretty.

To top it off as we exited the village we passed a gorgeous sunflower field! I decided I just had to get a photo in the field (although I unfortunately wasn't wearing the white dress I had always imagined wearing in a field of sunflowers - one can't plan for everything I suppose!)

Our next stop of note was Bergerac, a pretty town with a medieval centre and river flowing through it. The only thing I knew about Bergerac was the area produced good wines, so it was nice to learn more about it. 

The area began to produce wines in the 13th century which allowed for the growth and popularity of the town, however the wars of Religion led to a decline in population due to persecution and it wasn't until the 20th century that trade made Bergerac into a bustling town again. Nowadays a popular market town, cobblestone streets and half timbered houses mark its long history and make it pleasant to wander.

Our last stop before we headed for the coast was a town called Brantome, which was extremely pretty to wander, though not very big. It's main attraction (apart from getting lost in the little network of cobblestone streets) is the Abbey which is situated along the extremely pretty river running by the town. The Abbey was built in 769 by Charlemagne but was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times throughout history, most recently in 1480. 

A series of bridges across a small island allowed us to follow the river for a time across from the abbey, and made for very picturesque walking (the building below has been turned into a restaurant and must have stunning views).

It was here that we finished our whirlwind tour of some of the Dordognes prettiest towns, and headed for the coast.