Bachwig travellers: Rocamadour...on the way to Saint Cirq La Popie

Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, Rocamadour, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie

Thursday, 4 October 2012
Luckily there we no guests coming in after us so we could take our time leaving. Bruce was feeling much better after a good sleep. So we farewelled the Dordogne and our wee holiday home. Would I recommend it? Yes...but I think the upstairs house would be the pick. I think the downstairs could be noisy and damp. Only complaint is that the bed isn't the most comfortable in the world - and you can't go last a good bed!
So we hit the road towards Rocamadour with of course a few photos stops on the way. There is a Chateau right up on the hill in Racamadour and we didn't visit it this time or last and I would imagine it has amazing views. Another for the the 'next time'. I think this is one of the few attractions we have revisited. The others being the Louvre , Eiffel Tower and of course Disneyland.
We continued our lucky journey with parking but driving down the hill a s scoring one of the small number of car parks just outside the front gate! The alternative is all the way down the hill and then walking or taking the tourist bus up.
Michael had been asking to visit a creperie all the time we had been in France and while a lot of places serve crepes (as well as many other things on the menu)we wanted to find a true creperie. We found this not far from the entrance and it was called Creperie Au Monde des Crepes. It has a really lovely terrace looking out over the valley. The inside seating lacked a bit of character so we were fortunate. Michael went straight for a chocolate crepe (!) and Bruce and I both had galettes. I tried a bowl of cider - which is served literally in a bowl and you get to choose between dry and sweet. It was really nice - very artisan and quite different to English cider. Don't ask me to describe it more - I can describe wine but cidre I'm still at 'dry, sweet, and I like it (or not!).
We wandered through the town and up the stairs to the sanctuaries. Rocamadour is very holy to the Catholics and contains a black Madonna (I don't quite get that). The architecture is really interesting being carved into the rock like so many places are.
We spent a good few hours mooching around and Michael added to his collection of purchases by buying a really nice night on a horse - and a pretty ugly dragon - but that's what's important when you are 10! The lady in the gift shop he bought it off was really old...I was worried about her tripping up on all those stones.
One thing I am becoming to appreciate while here in France is how much French tourism is domestic. I used to get really frustrated when there was so little English translation but now I realise that the majority of visitors are French visiting their own country. Good on them!
We then headed on a windy journey on small journeys to Saint Cirq La Popie. What a gorgeous gorgeous village! And you should see our house! We are so fortunate! It is two stories. The top story is open plan kitchen, dining and lounge with incredible views over the village. Downstairs..down a narrow stone circular staircase are three double bedrooms all with ensuite shower and toilet. Then out the front door and down some steps is another bedroom which also had the washing machine. It was all of 5o metres down the hill to the restaurant we. Chose for dinner! So less of a stagger up the hill afterwards. Bruce is struggling in this area for dishes as in both the Dordorgne (Perigord) and Lot (Quercy) have a huge focus on Canard (Duck) on the menu. I had a most delicious Assiette for dinner..essentially a plate of salad with small samples of specialties from the area. The desert was a lucky choice. It was the most delicious poached pear - so refreshing! Michael had the kids menu which was a sausage Assiette (he could have had frois gras!) and then he had a choice of ice cream or chocolate cake - he was a happy boy - and again I'm enjoying kids meals that are not fish and chips etc!
We have found out that we are the last guests ever for this piece of paradise. Henk and Nerida own it with a cousin who wants to use it as his personal holiday home so he has bought them out.

	Photo stop on the journey [Map]		A lovely view over Rocamadour [Map]
	From the view point we found [Map]		Lunch [Map]
	Michael enjoying his crepe [Map]		Exploring [Map]
	the sanctuary [Map]		Inside one of the chapels [Map]
	Bruce taking photos [Map]