Today I am in Beynac-et-Cazenac, a medieval village in the
Dordogne region of southwest France. I have been here for the last two and a
half days, and will be departing for the Loire Valley on Wednesday. Today marks
the halfway point of my trip, which is too bad in a way, because I feel like I
am just hitting my stride. Sevilla was a wonderful place to visit, and the
Dordogne has been even more so. It isn't any single sight or aspect that
makes this area unique and special; rather, it is the combination of everything
that it does have which makes it one of the most enjoyable places I’ve ever
been to in Europe.
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| I've got wheels now |
First and perhaps foremost, the Dordogne is simply a
beautiful area. Principally it is a long and wide river valley formed by the
Dordogne River. It is covered with trees which are intermittently broken up by
meadows and small agricultural fields, all of which are situated on the gently
rising slopes on each side of the valley. Near the river are several medieval
villages, including the one I am staying in, Beynac, featuring beautiful
medieval stone buildings which have been carefully preserved for generations.
Along with these villages are several impressive medieval castles which have
also been remarkably well preserved. Perched high up at strategic points on the
sides of the valley, these castles are both visually stunning and historically
evocative. And finally there is the river itself, gently winding its way
through the valley and providing a shimmering ribbon which perfectly adorns
this already near-perfect place.
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| The Dordogne River Valley |
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| A roadside shot taken from my car somewhere in the Dordogne |
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| A view of the Dordogne River Valley from Beynac |
In addition to the Dordogne’s visual beauty, there is the
history and medieval character that I have already mentioned. In particular you
see it in the villages, with their aforementioned medieval buildings and
narrow, winding streets, and in the many great castles which dot the valley’s
landscape. While the villages and castles have some modern adornments now, it
is not difficult to tell that what we see here today is very much like what
people saw here in the Middle Ages. In the Dordogne you can walk the same
streets and step into the same buildings that people here were living in
several hundred years ago. You particularly feel a connection to days of yore
in the Dordogne’s castles. I toured the Château de Castelnaud and the Château
de Beynac yesterday, both of which were built and used in rivalry with one
another in the Middle Ages. The Château de Castelnaud has excellent exhibits
and an English guide which brings the castle to life, showing visitors what
life, and in particular war, was like there in the Middle Ages. As you peek
through the arrow slits, peer over the ramparts, and gaze up at the high walls
of the Château de Castelnaud, you can’t help but imagine what it would have
been like to have lived and fought there in its heyday. You can then apply the
lessons learned about medieval life and warfare at Castelnaud to the Château de
Beynac, which is sparse on English descriptions but provides a grander, more
visually appealing setting where you can let your medieval fantasies come to
life.
(Warning: I'm about to go a little photo crazy here. I can't help it - France is just très photogénique)
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| Sarlat |
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| Beynac |
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| Domme |
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| Château de Beynac |
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| Interior of the Château de Beynac |
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| Ramparts at the Château de Castelnaud |
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| Beynac |
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| Castelnaud (as you can tell, I like taking pictures through doors/tunnels) |
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| Château de Castelnaud |
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| Beynac |
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| Beynac |
Finally, the area around the Dordogne has some of the best-preserved
prehistoric cave paintings in the world. If you’ve ever seen pictures of or
heard of prehistoric cave paintings, they probably came from here. There are
several sites to choose from, and I chose two – Lascaux II and Grotte de
Rouffignac. At Lascaux II you get an excellent primer on prehistoric cave
paintings. Lascaux II actually isn’t prehistoric at all – rather, it is a
painstakingly reproduced replica of the nearby original Lascaux cave paintings,
considered the best and most significant prehistoric cave paintings in
existence. At Lascaux II they have reproduced the exact shape and surface of
the original cave using concrete and resin, and utilizing prehistoric
techniques, have reproduced the paintings from the original Lascaux cave to
within five millimeters (they claim). They created the reproduction because in
the fifteen years that the original Lascaux was open to the public, from 1948
to 1963, the original paintings suffered severe degradation due to exposure to
fungus, carbon dioxide, and humidity that came along with the hordes of
visitors. Thus in 1963 Lascaux was closed, and in 1983 the reproduction at
Lascaux II was finished and opened to the public so that people could still
experience the wonder of the Lascaux cave paintings without destroying them. At
the Gotte de Rouffignac, you get to see the real thing. A little tram takes you
a kilometer deep into the cavernous hillside, where you get to see original
cave paintings from approximately 13,000 years ago in exactly the place and
condition that they were painted in. The experience in both places is profound.
When you see the paintings in person it becomes clear that they are not mere
amateur scrawlings on a random cave wall. Rather, they would have taken
significant skill and effort to produce. The paintings are deep within the
caves, with some in places where the artists would have had to crawl significant
distances to get to. At Lascaux there is evidence that scaffolding was
constructed and used in the execution of the paintings, and their size, detail,
and anatomical accuracy would have required considerable time investment and
mastery of technique. In all of the cave paintings in the area, the principal
subjects are the large animals which existed at the time of their execution:
mammoths, whooly rhinoceros, horses, reindeer, etc. One of the ways that we
know the paintings are authentic is that they depict anatomical details of the
animals that were not known to modern people until very recent archaeological discoveries
revealed them. But for as much as is known about the paintings, there is a
great deal more that is not. Why were they painted? What was their purpose? Why
did these prehistoric artists only paint animals, and why are there so few
depictions of people? These are questions that we will never know the answers
to. But in viewing these paintings, we can see that while separated by many thousands
of years, in many ways we are not so different from the people who created
them.
(Unfortunately you can't take pictures of any of the cave paintings - Google "Lascaux" or "Grotte de Font-de-Gaume" or "Grotte de Rouffignac" to see images)
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| The entrance to the Grotte de Rouffignac |
The preceding paragraphs are the best summary that I can
come up with of what makes the Dordogne a special place to visit, but there are
also two other experiences that I’ve had here that I want to share and that
have made these last three days particularly good ones. First is the wonderful experience
I’ve had at the place I am staying at. It is a bed and breakfast place called
Le Petite Versailles, just outside of Beynac. It is run by an older couple,
Jean Claude and Francoise, who have got to be the nicest, most caring and
attentive hosts I have ever had in Europe. Theirs is a gorgeous old stone
country house in a perfectly tranquil setting, with simple yet warm and
comfortable rooms. They have an “English” breakfast in the morning, where all
of the guests sit at one table and enjoy the biggest, most delicious hotel
breakfast I have ever had in my travels, all cooked by Francoise. Even if the
Dordogne were less wonderful than it is, it would be worth coming here just to
stay at this B&B. It really is that good. But considering that the Dordogne
is also among the best destinations I have ever visited in Europe, I am
determined to come back and stay here again. One of the other guests who I
befriended at breakfast, Richard, told me that he has stayed here before and
that Jean Claude and Francoise have talked about retiring in the near future,
so I’ll have to come back soon before they do.
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| My French home away from home |
The other experience I’ve had here that I want to talk about
is dinner. Simply put, I had one of the best meals of my life on my first night here at a
little restaurant in Beynac called La Petite Tonnelle (side thought: is
everything here called La/Le Petite _____ ?). I picked it out of my guidebook,
although if I had just dropped into Beynac and walked into one of its
restaurants, I would have had a one in three chance of picking it anyway. I try
hard not to make qualitative comparisons between Europe and the United States,
but one thing I will say in violation of that rule is that the restaurant
experience in Europe, when it is good, is generally much better than back home.
That is particularly true in France, where meals are a more important part of
life than they are back home (or even in other parts of Europe). One does not
rush things here, particularly not dinner. Quality is much more important than
quantity or rapidity. Dinner is to be enjoyed and remembered, not merely to
satisfy your hunger and quickly forget about. While there are usually more
affordable options (such as the €7.50 doner kebab I had for dinner tonight),
prices at most restaurants reflect the greater value French people put on the
quality dinner experience. For instance, my dinner on that first night cost about $55,
which might seem a bit high or even outrageous to some (and I’ll admit that I
would never routinely spend that much on a meal for just myself), but it was
completely worth it. The setting, in the heart of charmingly medieval Beynac,
was perfect. The service was excellent and typically French. The wait staff are
there not just to take your order and bring you food and drink and the bill,
but rather to facilitate an excellent and memorable meal for you. They helped
me with my selections, made sure that I was comfortable and happy, and seemed
genuinely interested in ensuring that I had the best experience possible. As
for the food, it was wonderful. The first course was fresh asparagus from
Castelnaud, just across the river from Beynac, with a salad and some sort of
semi-cured bacon-like stuff. The second course was noisette of lamb (basically
little lamb steaks) with a basil sauce, a sort of crispy pastry cone thing
filled with couscous with a tangy, slightly spicy red sauce, and some lentils.
I’m not sure what dessert was – some sort of mousse thing with nuts and some
crispy things stuck in the top and a caramel sauce (can you sense the depth of
my culinary knowledge yet?). To drink with it all I had one of my favorite beers
that you often see in France (although it is actually Belgian), Leffe Blonde,
and a big bottle of Vittel mineral water. Everything was perfect, and
incredibly delicious. As is typical of good French cuisine, everything was also
very local. Aside from the beer and the mineral water, I am sure almost all of
the ingredients came from within a 50 mile radius of Beynac, if not closer. And
as is also typical of good French cuisine, everything was carefully prepared
and creatively presented. By the time I was finished, paid the bill, and told
the wait staff that everything had been très
délicieux, I realized that I had been at the restaurant for almost two
hours. But those were two hours very well spent.
It is now early in the evening on my third and final day in
the Dordogne. Tomorrow I leave for the Loire Valley, where I will begin the
downhill slope, the second half of my trip. I will truly regret having to leave
Jean Claude and Francoise and their lovely home, but I fully intend to come
back some time before they retire. For now, however, it’s about time to seek
some dinner, so I’ll go do that, but I look forward to the opportunity to share
more of my experiences with you all from the Loire in a couple of days.
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