Tour de France

Well, not quite... but a mini tour of where we've been over the past few days. We spent a lovely sunny day in Brantome.

We wandered along the river, browsed the shops and ate a leisurely lunch outdoors by the river bank.

On a not quite so sunny day (torrential rain actually) we still ventured out and ended up in Auberterre in the most amazing cathedral carved right into the rock.

By Wednesday the sun was shining again and we ventured out to Bourdeilles, another picturesque town on the river Dronne.

Full of typically French buildings with painted shutters and window boxes brimming with geraniums and petunias.

The streets were also adorned with fabric streamers...

and yarnbombed trees complete with tissue paper flowers in preparation for a festival this weekend.

Onto the lovely old centre of Perigueux where we stopped for another al fresco lunch. I wasn't very hungry so ordered a vegetable salad... and this is what they brought... a mountain of vegetables! Later we joined our hosts Jules and Charlie again for a fun evening at a local restaurant in Verteillac where Charlie was playing Guitar.

Today we drove further afield to visit Saint Emillion, another quaint town full of winding lanes and interesting shops...

including several wine shops! (He's not really that serious... but he just realised I still had his wallet!)

I was more tempted by the wonderful display of macaroons in this window.

Tomorrow we are going back to Brantome for the market and possibly canoeing on the Dronne (as recommended by Kim) before starting our journey home on Saturday. We've packed plenty in yet still found time to read and relax and generally sit around... just what we both needed. And I can definitely recommend Le Petit Fournil if you are looking for a cosy, friendly base from which tour this part of France.