Tag: France

Domme to Uzerche

We had a wonderful breakfast this morning in the kitchen at Le Relais de Galais. Duncan and his wife Jane built the house and grounds. Duncan was away while we were there but Jane showed some of his amazing wood work.

Duncan built the table we ate breakfast on.
He used the lathe that is now part of the counter to help build the house.
Duncan used the lathe to make the bowl that Rick is holding.

After breakfast we went for a walk along the trail above the Dordogne.

This is the trail we took.
This was the view on our walk.
Before we left Jane took a nice picture of the four of us.

Our drive to Uzerche was relatively short so we made several stops along the way.

Our road went under the toll road.

We had a lovely picnic lunch at road site rest area that was built as a memorial to four village men who were shot by the Nazis here.

Our picnic lunch spot.
We are staying at Hotel Joyet de Malbec in Uzerche.

After resting a bit we walked down to the river that we can see from our windows.

This gate used to be a part of the town wall.
This is the river we can see from the windows of our rooms.

On the way back from our walk we stopped for beers.

Having beers after our walk.

We ate dinner in the hotel. Everything is home made and locally sourced.

Foie gras
Sweet breads
Sorbet and lemon cake.

Bordeaux to Domme

This morning we took a taxi to the Bordeaux Airport and picked up a rental car.

This is Bordeaux airport where we picked up our rental car.

From Bordeaux we drove east on back roads through beautiful country.

This is one of many beautiful vistas we drove by today.

Tonight we are staying at the fabulous Le Relais des Galet overlooking the Dordogne River where we canoed in October of 2021.

Le Relais des Galet
The view from Le Relais des Galet

For dinner we drove down to a beautiful golf resort right on the River, Domaine de Rochbois and ate at their bistro. We had a wonderful meal.

My Sea Bream
The chefs special desert
Our table overlooking the putting green

Collioure, France to Roses, Spain

The place we stayed at in Collioure is one of my favorite places we have stayed on the trip. Hotel La Casa Pairal is right across the street from the harbor so after breakfast we went for a lovely walk along the water out past the castle.

This is Collioure harbor.

We drove the slower scenic route from Collioure, our last stop in France to Roses in Spain, where we are now.

The coast near the French Spanish border.

When we arrived at our hotel in Roses we had a picnic lunch. We still had a bottle of wine that we bought about a week ago. Roger quoted the proverb “Wine before beer never fear, beer before wine is fine.” Duke said “That’s from the Bible!” I about died laughing. In any case we drank the wine with lunch.

Picnic lunch
Mas Palou hotel Roses

About 6:30 we drove into Roses and walked along the waterfront. It was very windy. Although the temp was in the high fifties it felt cold.

Duke and Roger make friends wherever they go.

The restaurant we wanted to go to, Rom, opened at 7:45. We had a fabulous dinner

Amuse bouche – anchovy oreos and sangria bubbles.
Razor clam starter
Duke’s Hake

Lacabraede to Collioure

It was still raining when we woke up this morning. We found a boulangerie near our hotel and had coffee and pastries.

The Boulanger where we ate breakfast

We drove south almost to the Spanish border to the lovely seaside town of Collioure. Duke and I have been here before and loved it. Before we checked into the hotel we browsed in the bustling market next to the hotel. We bought and shared some brioche. The apple brioche was wonderful. It was full of crispy tasty apples

The breads looked fantastic.
Duke eating his apple brioche.

I’ve got the cold that Duke had a few days ago. So after we checked in I took a nap and Duke, Roger and Gayle explored Collioure. Then they played cards in the courtyard outside our room.

This is the courtyard at Hotel La Casa Pairal where we are staying.

We had dinner in a small little restaurant near our hotel, El Capillo. We talked to the chef and his wife who waited on us. There was great music in the background and it was a wonderful meal.

El Capillo where we ate dinner
At dinner. That’s the chef in the background.
My lamb
Really refreshing and tasty amuse bouche. A mixture of Rrspberry juice, beet juice, milk and lemon juice

Carcassonne to Lacabraede

When we went looking for a breakfast spot this morning we first walked over the bridge towards the old town. When we couldn’t find anything open we went back across the river and found a little place in the newer town center. The owner pushed some tables together for us and we had our chocolate croissants and coffee.

Breakfast

Our car was parked in the municipal garage under the main square, quite close to the hotel. Although it was lightly raining it wasn’t far and we decided to walk to the car after we checked out. But as we started to walk the skies opened up and it poured! We waited under an awning for a few minutes until the rain lightened up a bit and then we made a run for it. With the heat turned on we dried relatively quickly.

Packing the car after our run through the rain.

Today was a short drive through the French countryside. As many of you know we love to stop at Roman bridges. So when we saw a sign today of course we stopped.

Roman Bridge sign
Those Romans knew how to build bridges
Duke on the bridge

The rest of our drive was on a scenic, windy mountain road through the Montagne Noire in the rain. Eventually we arrived at the restored 19th century mansion, Demeure de Flore where we are tonight. We had a relaxing afternoon resting and playing cards and the the owner/ chef prepared us a delicious dinner.

My veal stake on leaks