Tuesday 24th October 2023

Domme

Getting absolutely lazy with another rest day to take a good look around Domme and let the gear dry out. We know the latter won’t last long as the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday has not improved, if anything it’s rainy all day not just parts of the day.

The day was cold and the valley full of clouds, at one stage we may have been above the clouds.

Enjoyed the most organised breakfast on tour , sitting down and being served the entire set menu. Glad we did because I would have eaten my cereal in what turned out to be the coffee cup.

We did a great self guided tour of town, soaking up the history, architecture and that view. It seems that many of the medieval houses are still being lived in and renovated. The retail shops are aplenty but dont really open until 1030, bar a couple of cafe’s.

The most amazing renovation was the conversion of an old windmill into something that resembled an air traffic control tower with the full 360degree view through the Dordogne. It sat next to a fully restored real one.

The local church had an unusual facade and all internal lighting seemed to be provided by the huge windows- unless they were saving on electricity. It was very austere inside and out.

The restoration works continue here with hundreds of thousands of Euro’s being spent to repair town ramparts and parts of the old chateau’s— there appears to be a great pride in preserving history in Southern France.

One fascinating sculpture really needed an explanation of its background – a half human, half skeleton, breast feeding a rabbit with a snake around its neck.

The crowd certainly thickened as the day went by and we enjoyed the company of 20 or so, including dogs and babes in arms , as we spent an hour in some impressive caves.

At the finish it was either an elevator to street level or the 100 stairs- who could resist the latter. It was a couple of seats in a creperie which also sold a boutique beer in a unusually shaped bottle.

When wandering up in the main square we heard a bit of chatter and noticed the area had been roped off for the local boules event. About 15 players and spectators were taking it all pretty seriously and were still there playing and sipping wine about 3 hours later.

On the way home later in day I passed what I call a ‘French Resistance car’, ironically it was parked next to a plaque honouring a local hero.

Dinner was in our hotel in a very formal dining room . It ranked best on tour. The 3 course set menu was interspersed with little taste treats – it was truly the gift that kept on giving. The truffle soup was unbelievable, as was the duck.

We are looking to be ready to go early tomorrow to try and minimise the weather impact, so other than the bathroom kit everything is packed and ready for collection by the baggage man.

I must say the day off regenerated both body and spirit and ready to go tomorrow on our second last day of walking.