June 11 – Gourdon and on to Beynac-et-Cazenac

We checked out mid-morning and headed to Gourdon.  The drive took us along narrow country roads and through lovely villages.  From a distance we saw a lovely church in a tiny village and decided to make a quick detour.  Turns out the town was Séniergues and we got a few drive-by photos before heading on.

Gourdon is an old town high on a hill with great views across the countryside.  We found the tourist office, got a map and headed out to find parking.  Turns out it wasn’t too bad.  Gourdon is only moderately touristy, so it wasn’t too crowded. The view near our parking spot was great. 

We were very close to a gate into the old town so it was easy to head inside.  Unfortunately, the streets inside were very steep. 

The climb took us to St. Pierre Church where we stopped for a visit.

Across the square was the city hall.

What a funny poster near city hall. What a well trained dog.

Then we headed up the stairs to the very top of the hill.  This was the site of a great fortress which was destroyed by the British in the 17^th century and there is almost nothing left of it except part of a wall.  Now it is a viewing point, with more great views. 

Saint Pierre as seen from the walk from the top. 

Then we wandered down through the narrow streets...some pretty decent, some very steep.  

We found home of the seneschal (representative of the king)...

and the garden of the Seneschal Garden with a huge, boxwood butterfly.

The walk eventually took us down to the main street that circles the hill.  We found a place for lunch and then headed back out on the road. 

By early afternoon we were in Beynac-et-Cazenac, out home for the next nine days.  The town is right on the Dordogne River.  It is very touristy and it was a bit harder to find a parking space.  The main lot by the river had large trees every so often, on the side of parking spaces.  Unfortunately, the spaces are pretty narrow and Paul managed to really scrape a tree.  Did a minor bit of damage to the car.  Rats.

We wandered along the river front to take pictures.  

We can see parts of the hilltop castle from the river. 

We eventually stopped and got some ice cream while waiting for the guide to our room.  We eventually found Martine who directed us to where we could unload the car and where to park the car. 

Then we grabbed the luggage and started heading up a very steep hill with very rough cobblestones.  It was quite a hike up the hill and we were all exhausted by the time we got to our little house. 

We have three floors…a kitchen/living area, upstairs bedroom and bathroom, and a third floor with a bedroom that we don’t expect to use.  We also have a lovely terrace.  Maybe we will picnic there sometime.

We didn’t go out for dinner but just stayed in and raided our stash of snacks.