This morning we retraced our steps back to Sarlat. This is a market town and on Saturday the crowds would have been too much. Sunday morning, on the other hand, is relatively quiet. A few busloads of tourists otherwise the local people can stand on a corner and discuss the world situation.
We headed from the parking lot directly to the information center since we didn't know much about the city. There we got a map and started to walk around. The center of the old town is cramed with small stores selling local goods and food.
Jan turned her ankle, but after a bit, it didn't hurt(until much later), so we continued to explore the city on foot.
Sunday morning is a good time to buy treats at bakeries in France. The wisteria was blooming everywhere we went.
On this somewhat cool but sunny morning, many people sat in the sun having their coffee and croisant while this brass figure (photo at right) looked on.
As the morning passed there were more and more shoppers looking at the variety of goods offered in this bustling shopping district.
In a former church (Égliese Ste-Marie) there is a covered market. Today, nut sellers were the main concessionaries. Walnuts and walnut oil are major products of the area.
By noon we were very hungry. We stopped at one of the many restauants that offered both coq au vin Bergerac and variations on roast duck. Jan had duck in Madera sauce while I had the coq qu vin. For desert we had a specialty of the area, gâteau aux noix.
The road between Les Eyzies and Bergerac had many small estates, often with horses. We saw only a few cars, which I thought was unusual for France on a Sunday. In one small town there was a party underway (maybe a wedding or aniversary) and people were coming to town from all directions. Otherwise this was very quiet road.
At Le Bugue, there was a working farm museum with exhibits of crafts from the 19th century. Kids really loved the museum since it was outdoors with lots of places to run and had carnaval rides from an earlier time. One of the exhibits was top making using a lathe. It reminded me of all of the toys my father made for me on a lathe. Here I saw my first lizard in the wild running into one of the barns.
The road near Bergerac was tree lined and still not very busy considering this was the main East-West highway.
After taking the grand tour of Bergerac (slight wrong turn), we found the Place Gambetta and the Hôtel du Commerce where we had planned to stay. We stopped here because on Sunday nights many restaurants in France are closed. This hotel in a relatively large city had a restaurant which we had hoped would be open. The door to the hotel was locked!
Jan rang the door bell twice with no result. Finally I rang and a lady came to the door. "I'm sorry but the restaurant is closed tonight," she said. "But we would like to stay in the hotel tonight," Jan replied. "Well, I can give you a room for the night." (The conversation was in French.)
When we checked in, we were asked which Department of France we were from (a marketing survey). The fact that we were from America, blew the survey, I'm sure, and surprised the desk clerk.
After getting some of the road grime off, we went out to find some food. Just as we left the hotel, two police cars pulled up to a convenience store next door. There was lots of activity, but we didn't stay to find out what! There was a sandwich shop near by, so we got some food to take with us back to the hotel, then walked around the city.
Bererac is one of the Villes Fleuries of France that was a four-flower award winner for its gardens. In these pictures you get an idea of what a four-flower city looks like. For more information on these beautiful French towns click here.
That night Jan's twisted ankle started to really hurt. She tried cold water in the sink and other remedies, but in the end, two Tylenol did the trick.