Sarlat-la-Caneda (Friday 29th September 2017)

A bit of a sleep-in was the order of the day today. Not too much as there was plenty of exploring around the streets of our home town for the next five days. Across the whole day I reckon we never ventured more than 400m in any direction from our front door! But we managed to fill in the whole day without any troubles!

Down Rue de la Republique we wandered for no particular reason, stopping at Place du Quatorze Juillet to watch an old gentleman directing traffic. He had his day-glow orange vest, a pair of binoculars and a notepad. He would put the binoculars up to his face, write something on his notepad and wave the cars through. I reckon he might have been a traffic policeman in his earlier life but was replaced by the traffic lights at the intersection a long time ago. He was certainly one croissant short of a picnic.

Not much was on offer down the street so we did an about face and walked up the  other side of the road. Passing a ladies fashion shop a skirt hanging on display in the shop window caught Kerry’s eye. She was still missing something for very warm days, which today already was. I broke out the shorts for the first time this morning and was glad I did. The mature lady in the shop offered great assistance and advice and Kerry was able to supplement her wardrobe with something more appropriate to the weather in the south-west of France.

From there we explored he lanes and alleys in the area directly behind our apartment. It is so good to be right in the middle of town! Hidden in the lanes between the tall medieval buildings are countless restaurants, cafes, galleries, fashion shops and a few souvenir shops. It is truly a photographer’s nightmare1 Every corner you turn, every passage you pass through, every square you cross there are fantastic street-scapes that just have to be captured. This is no exaggeration. There are so many WOW moments everywhere you look. I’ve no doubt it was at it’s absolute best today – blue sky, an abundance of sunshine and warm but not too hot. Not so many of those pesky tourists, either! Of course we stopped for a beer, with a coffee chaser.

 

Through a little passage back towards the main street we passed a shop selling local cheeses with enticingly placed sample of many of the cheeses with sight of the passers-by. We tried a few. They were all so flavoursome but the verte one won the day over rouge one. I think the former was blended with pistachio and the later with tomato. EUR 16.00 we walked away with 350gms, looking forward to dinner.We found an old building with a few fresh food vendors inside. The building was secured at night by what must surely be the world’s largest doors. See the pic above. In there we found a chap who made nougat and macarons. So, that was dessert sorted!

Jill, one of Kerry’s sewing girlfriends back in Bendigo, who travels to France each year (to supports her husband, an importer of French product) had told her of a craft store in Sarlat so we set off to find it. My navigation skill must be getting dusty because we walked off in completely the wrong direction. :( . That’s what accounted for us getting so far away from our apartment! Once our bearings had been sorted we ventured back into town, with a little detour. Seeing some steps we walked up them to see what was there. Another little lane that had a dusty old Red Cross “store” - more like a garage full of all sorts of weird and wonderful things. I found a little pewter vase which I thought would look good on the kitchen bench at home with a single rose in it. Kerry couldn’t see it but one day she’ll thank me. Kerry found a black and white bangle she liked. Altogether, EUR 1.50. We gave the volunteer a EUR 2.00 coin and told her to keep the change. Such generosity!

Onwards we walked, both happy with our purchases, eventually finding the store we’d been looking for. Kerry spent fifteen minutes in there but come out empty-handed. She’d done pretty well in Annecy the day before! My gaze wandered further down the street and to my dismay spotted the point from where we’d started this quest not two minutes walk away. Oh! The navigational shame! But anyway that little effort gives you some idea of maze-like streets of Sarlat. Further on into the alleys and passages we wandered popping out on a terrace just above the Cathédrale Saint-Sacerdos. We walked down the terrace to the lovely music of a chap playing an ancient instrument of some sort into the church. Churches always provide a great chance to escape the heat or the rain or the noise or the tourists for a few minutes and I’d highly recommend that you visit one every day if you’re traveling in this part of the world. Pray, if you’re so inclined, or just enjoy a moment of peace while you admire the art and the skill of the artisans of so many centuries ago.

Given that Sarlat is in the heart of the Périgord Nior region of France which is famous for its duck and goose produce we need to get a goose figurine to join all the others on our kitchen bench and we need some foie gras pâté to supplement dinner. Kerry knew of a store that sold both so we strolled over there, stopping at the gelati store on the way! Having picked up our produce we ducked (Ha, no pun intended!) across the street to the Carrefour for some other essential – more wine, more Perrier, a baguette, olives and gherkins. Dinner was ready! Before that we took the change to explore the other side of Rue de la Republique. This was the steep side of the old town, mostly given over to private homes and apartments with the odd restaurant/cafe and hotel here and there. No less interesting, however.

Back the main street, heading home, we stopped by a store that sold locally made leather goods. I’d seen a leather jacket in the window when we walked by yesterday so stopped for a closer look and to try it on. It was just one size too small (or I was one size too large. It will fit in six months time, I guarantee!) and the only one left. Kerry urged me to look at another one she liked, so I did and it was just right. So I bought it. It’ll go so well with the Vespa! Can a béret be considered to be a crash helmet? The shop was literally next door so up the creaky wooden stairs we went to prepare our evening feast and reminisce about the great day.