Apologies for the gap between entries but were housebound for most of last week due to the inclement weather so haven’t had much to report. As Will mentioned, we had stocked up on food which was good since we couldn’t take the car out due to the snow. Temps were below zero all of last week and finally broke out above freezing earlier this week. The warmer temps brought rain along but at least it melted all the snow. It made it up to 8 degrees on Thursday, which was warm enough to do our daily walk without jackets.
Walking has been our daily activity regardless of the weather. Since we couldn’t use the car, we’ve been forced to explore our home turf more closely. We’ve now done every conceivable loop with our place as the start/end point. Most of them are variations on existing walks so not too exciting, although we found one that we both enjoyed immensely. It’s roughly 10K and takes 1.5 hours and it’s almost entirely through the woods on a dirt track. It was a bit muddy the day we went but it’s going to be a great one to do once the weather turns. Towards the end it passes through a grove of walnut trees, which looks like the perfect spot for a picnic.
I went swimming with Sharon on Wednesday for the first time this year. Will is back on his workout schedule so we’re both more or less back to our routine. Will has been playing lots of guitar and learning new songs (see previous entry) and I’ve been trying to learn some French with the help of Rosetta Stone. Last night we had dinner with James and Sharon and then played poker. Sharon came out on top after a long fought battle.
Despite the late night, Will and I awoke early this morning (yes, 8:45 qualifies as early) and went on a field trip to the southeastern portion of the Dordogne. There are a number of villages that have been designated “Les plus beaux villages de France (The prettiest villages in France)” and a bunch of them are concentrated in that area. The first one, Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère, was spectacular. It’s on the river Vézère (hence the name) and has a large chateau and 12th century church. After that, we went to Sarlat, which is our favourite town in the Dordogne. It turns out they were having a truffle festival, so there were quite a lot of people about for this time of year. Sarlat is known for its fois gras and duck so I knew what I’d be having for lunch even before we chose a restaurant. In addition to the above specialties, they serve potatoes cooked in goose fat with tons of garlic and salt that are really special.
The forecast was for 8 degrees and cloudy so we weren’t really dressed for the weather, which was quite a bit colder. We had planned to visit three other villages but it started raining after lunch so we only made it to one of them. It’s called La Roque-Gageac and it’s built into the cliffs bordering the Dordogne river. It too certainly earns the “prettiest village” moniker, even in the rain. As is typical for this time of year, we seemed to be the only two people in the entire town. It has a chateau at one end and a medieval fortress in the centre. Along one of the walkways was a “jardin exotique” which has all sorts of palms and tropical plants and seemed really out of place to me. I’m looking forward to seeing the other villages when the weather improves a bit.
That’s all for now folks. We’ve got Kevin coming to visit from London next weekend but that’s it for the foreseeable future. Stay warm wherever you are.