We left Paris quite early in the
morning, heading south to Perigueux in the Dordogne region of France,
to stay with the family of Alexis, a French friend of mine from
America. After Alexis' father Armand picked us up from the train
station, and upon our introductory drive throughout Perigueux, and
the following welcome into his home, it was already clear that the
next few days would be quite enjoyable as we shared a few jokes and
listened to many of Armand's amusing anecdotes, including those from
his time as a backpacker in Australia 20 years ago.
The hospitality, helpfulness, kindness
from Armand, Joelle and their young daughter Hannah continued
throughout our time in Perigueux, as we were well and truly spoilt,
experiencing French cuisine both new; salade de gesiers (chicken gizzards with salad) confit de canard (duck confit) and
some old (croissants, pain au chocolat, copious amounts of cheese) but all amazing. I'm positive we would
have had an amazing time in Perigueux just eating and drinking every
night (which we did), but there was much more to enjoy.
Perigueux Backyard View
Our journey throughout the part of
France that many celebrities enjoy visiting for a casual getaway
started the next morning as we visited the middle aged and small
villages of Bourdeille and Brantome. Narrow cobbled streets, quaint
little bridges and cafes contrasted against the grandiose churches
and castles that would often tower over the rest of the town.
Brantome
Brantome
Bourdeille
The wonderfully tranquil landscapes
continued the following day as we drove up, down and through winding
valleys (slightly nauseating, I will admit), before walking through
the surrounding villages of two major castles in the area – the
French Château Beynac and the English Château de Castelnaud The villages were as charming and a sight to behold as much as the
castles themselves, and were very much reminiscent of those from
Monty Python, Robin Hood, or even Game of Thrones. In fact, the
region as a whole was hard to look at without imagining horses,
knights and catapults abound.
View towards Château de Castelnaud
Our final night in Perigueux finished
as our time in Perigueux begun, with more amazing French food and
wine, reflecting upon our time in France, our time ahead, and with
more amusing ancedotes from Armand's Australian adventures.
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