03/10/09

Day 25 – October 3
The mist was lying thick and low over the river this morning, so we were shivering at the thought of wearing shorts today – but our perseverance paid off and by the time we had been on the road for half an hour the sun came out to play!
First port of call today was Sarlat la Caneda. I particularly wanted to visit this town but the last time we tried we hit market day and couldn’t park anywhere – and history repeated itself today! We did eventually manage to park in a side road about 15 minutes walk from the town, and my wait was worthwhile! Whilst being very touristy with lots of English and American voices to be heard, the town itself is medieval and has some beautiful original buildings and squares, all bathed in the autumn sunshine and giving off the now familiar warm golden hues. The market is huge and sells everything from horsemeat and foie gras (the local delicacy) to jewellery and cocktail dresses!
We made our way from Sarlat to Montignac, another picturesque medieval town on the river, but arrived here at 12.30, just as everything closed down! We wandered around the tiny narrow streets anyway, just enjoying the atmosphere and the sunshine.
From here we took all the B-roads and ambled along enjoying the views across this beautiful countryside.
Autumn seems a long way off here, unlike further south where the trees are turning, and all the flower planters in the towns are still full of summer blooms and the leaves are not yet showing signs of turning or falling. We are in the Limousin region now, which is largely an agricultural area. We have passed orchards, fields of rich green vegetables, pastures with lovely clean, golden brown cows and calves grazing and dozing in the sun – and some absolutely gorgeous farmhouses and properties! It makes us wish we had been brave enough to take the plunge and move here years ago!