Paris and Southwestern France

We've been fortunate to have had lots of visitors here in Paris this year, and we were thrilled that MaryLeigh and Sean were among them. This was a first trip to Paris for both of them so we all enjoyed a few days of seeing the sights.

We make all of our visitors see the back of Notre Dame.

We stopped at the Centre Pompidou modern art museum roofdeck for a drink.

The view from the Pompidou was pretty amazing.

Since ML and Sean had never been to France before, we all agreed that it would be fun to see some sights outside of Paris. Yes, there is in fact a big, beautiful country to see outside of the City of Lights (although Parisians might never let you know it).

 Sarlat

We headed in our trusty Renault down to Martignac to visit Peter's dad, Roger while he was there. We actually met him in Sarlat, a medieval town about one hour north of Martignac. Due to a holiday, the city was bustling with an enormous market.

There was also a farm expo where we could see lots of local animals, and then go and buy their parts in the market. Graphic, but true.

There was no peacock pate, I think this one was just here for show.

The market was very busy and filled with local specialties, especially cured meats, fois gras, honey and truffles!

Truffles

 

We had an excellent lunch at an amazing restaurant. The food was excellent and the bathrooms were pretty cool. I did get caught photographing the toilet by a very offended and confused Frenchman.

5-spice duck with Asian noodles

MaryLeigh's strawberry dessert with basil cream was worth a photo and a bite (or three).

 Domme

Our next stop on our way to Martignac was Domme, another small medieval town. While Domme is a little smaller and has few restaurants and shops, the highlight is the view!

Peter, Roger, and Minnie!

A church with a different architectural design than all the others we've seen

"Main Street"

After our two stops, we finally reached our final destination: the house in Martignac. Peter and I have been fortunate enough to visit it a few times before, but this was our first visit to this region in the spring, and the house and everything around it looked gorgeous.

The 13th century churchyard across the street

As much as we all would have loved to stay glued to the patio with our books and a glass of Cahors red, we were also anxious to get out and explore the local area. We started with lunch down by the river in Puy L'Eveque, the nearest "big" town. Delicious cider kicked off a day of wine-tasting.

Our first wine-tasting at Chateau Triquedina

Chateau Triquedina

 Croze de Pys vineyard- when the caterpillars start to eat the roses, the winemakers know to protect the vines.

Last stop: Haute-Montplaisir winery.

It's amazing to visit real vineyards. Pulling into the driveway of this gorgeous local winery we were not surprised to find our host, the winemaker, coming out of the fields, fingers gritty with soil, ready to give us a taste of his wine. Another vineyard we stopped at couldn't give us a tasting because the winemaker was out on the tractor in the fields and couldn't be reached. Sometimes, the family's children are coming home from school, stopping in to say "bonjour" and almost always the family's dogs are roaming around our ankles while we sip Chardonnays and Malbecs.

The weekend went by quickly, but on our way home, we couldn't resist one more stop at an incredible medieval castle, Chateau de Bonaguil. The ruins of this castle are incredible, and you can truly put yourself into Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves or Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail!

A fireplace in just about every room, and a missing floor here shows two stacked fireplaces.

An incredible cave-like tunnel running through the bottom of the castle.

Soon enough, it was time to drive home. We all had a fantastic time both in Paris and in the countryside, and Peter and I are looking forward to our next trip to Martignac in August. Counting down the days...