Hotel Max Paris 14
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48°49’40.6452″N, 2°19’47.6976″E

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Boulangerie (Bakery)
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48°49’40.5480″N, 2°19’49.4652″E

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Marche Aux Puces (flea market)
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48°49’40.0620″N, 2°19’57.1260″E

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Paris Opera – Palais Garnier
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48°52’16.8528″N, 2°19’55.2072″E

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Galleries Lafayette (Ostentatious Shopping Centre)
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48°52’23.1600″N, 2°19’59.0412″E

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Hotel Max Paris 14
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48°49’40.6452″N, 2°19’47.6976″E

Today, we planned to tour the Galleries Lafayette,  a major “high-end”  shopping center in Paris. We didn’t go to shop for Gucci, Versace, or Prada but instead wanted to indulge in the free elements of the place.

But first, it was important for us to get our morning treat of café creme & a delicious bakery treat from the boulangerie just a few steps from our hotel.

Photo above – the Boulangerie – neighbourhood bakery.

Photo above – inside the Boulangerie. The place was empty when we first went in & I wanted to get a photo of the bakery counter but a few minutes later it was packed with a steady stream of customers coming in to pick up their bread & other baked goods for the day.  It has so much character, great coffee & treats. It would be a dream to have a place like this at home.

After we finished our morning treat we walked just a few hundred feet to the local Sunday morning flea market. It was set up at an intersection of four streets. Two were closed for the flea market so traffic was very limited.

Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of the goods. A mixture of old nicknacks, cutlery, dishes, photos, small household goods & clothing. Not much different than walking through the Goodwill store close to our place in London.

Our next destination was to walk past the Paris Opera House, which was on our way to Galleries Lafayette.

Photo above – we had some entertainment on the subway ride to the Opera House.

Photo above  – the Paris Opera House.  This place is massive & it was very busy with tourists like us, tour groups & tour buses. We had considered taking a guided tour or even getting (cheap seat) tickets to a performance this weekend but we are running low on energy so we opted for the exterior walk-around instead.

Photo above  – these streetlights at the Opera would look good on each side of our garage doors. Maybe there is something similar available on Amazon.  I’ll check when I get home.  🙂

Photo above  – the glass dome inside Galleries Lafayette.

The shopping center is not all that impressive on the outside, but inside the building is a completely different story…

The dome is spectacular. The center of the main shopping area is open for 6 stories. You get a slightly different view from each floor but it’s hard to access the railings around the center on each floor from levels 2-6 because that space is taken up by counters selling jewellery, perfume, flashy handbags, silk scarves & such.

I looked at some price tags & quickly realized that we were way out of our league here. Many items had prices of 500€, 1,000€ & more. There was a huge lineup at the Louis Vuitton section.  Such a contrast compared to the flea market we were at less than 2 hours earlier! Not for us – let’s go up to the rooftop to get a view of the city. That doesn’t cost anything.

Photo above  – the rooftop viewing area.

Photo above – it was very interesting how much of the city we could see from this location.

Photo above – I love the zoom on this camera – the Eiffel Tower is approximately 3.5 kilometers away! We’re planning on going there early  tomorrow evening to catch the light show. 

Photo above – another zoom from the rooftop. Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre – approximately 2 kilometers away.

After all that touring around we were pretty tired so Catherine & I went back to our hotel for a rest & Emily went back to her place to work on her new business project. We met early in the evening for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Photo above – a hearty & warming noodle soup at the Asian restaurant across the street from “our” boulangerie.

Tomorrow we go on a tour of the Notre-Dame area with Emily & then hope to cap off our last night in Paris with dinner at a cafe somewhere near the Eiffel Tower.

Cheers!

Bordeaux Train Station
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44°49’35.5008″N, 0°33’22.3488″W

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Paris Montparnasse Train Station
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48°50’27.1176″N, 2°19’12.1404″E

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Hotel Max Paris 14
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48°49’40.6452″N, 2°19’47.6976″E

Today was a pretty easy day. Our train to Paris was not until 12:00 noon & our hotel was right across the street from the station.

We went to the restaurant next door for a light breakfast & then back to our room to finish packing & relax for awhile.

Photo above – the Bordeaux Blogger (limited edition prints are available to order)    🙂

Thankfully the weather was much better today. Although it really doesn’t matter much to us because we won’t be driving anymore.

Photo above  – Hall 1 Bordeaux Station

When we enter a train station in a city in France we really notice the difference from home. These stations are happening places… as busy as most airports but without all the security barriers. However,  it’s not uncommon to see groups of 2-3 policemen walking through the station with machine guns & body armour. It’s a bit unsettling but people seem to be used to their presence. I don’t think I’ll be asking them if they would pose for a photo for my blog.

Our train departed right on time. This particular train was configured differently than the others we have taken. Seats are set up as 3 together, the aisle & then singles on the opposite side. It was also a double decker & very long. It was fast & smooth but because of the seating arrangement it was not as comfortable as the others we have taken.

We arrived at Montparnasse Station just after 2:30 & took the metro to the Alesia stop just a couple of blocks from our hotel.

Photo above  – Hotel Max

This is a nice hotel. The bedroom & bathroom are small but modern, comfortable & clean. It’s in a great neighbourhood location with shops & restaurants & public transit.

Photo above  – the view of “our” neighbourhood from our hotel room window. We really like staying in these small neighbourhood hotels. It gives you a sense of what it’s like to actually live in the area. There is a boulangerie (bakery) across the street & a fruit & vegetable store on the opposite street. Also within a few steps is a beauty salon, a wine store, a convenience store & a realtor. What else does anyone need?

After resting for a while Emily came to see us & we went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant just a block from our hotel. She had lots to tells us about her first few weeks of starting to live in Paris.

Photo above – Catherine & Emily catching up over a cup of tea after dinner.

Tomorrow we will explore a bit more of Paris with Emily.

Cheers!

Jardins du Sarlat
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44°53’40.1964″N, 1°13’5.0016″E

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Avis Car Rental Bordeaux Train Station
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44°49’24.5388″N, 0°33’12.7692″W

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Ibis Hotel Bordeaux Train Station
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44°49’35.1120″N, 0°33’24.5376″W

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La Taverne du Midi Bordeaux Train Station
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44°49’36.0840″N, 0°33’23.9904″W

Today we travelled back to Bordeaux from Sarlat. It was a 3 1/2 hour drive. About 1/2 the time was on secondary roads & the other half on freeways.

We were sad to say goodbye to our b&b  hosts Wendy & David in Sarlat.  They were fun people to be with. We also enjoyed visits from their cat Tiggy. A very friendly female that Catherine would have loved to take home with her.

We saw Tiggy sitting in the doorway looking out over the front step. Wendy said the cat often sat like that & it reminded her of T. S. Eliot’s poem “Practical Cats” which the play “Cats” is based on.

I managed to catch a photo of Tiggy in her familiar pose & then turned it into a “watercolour”.  Wendy loved it so much that she is going to get it printed & framed.

Photo above  – Tiggy contemplates her morning.

All of the GPS locations at the beginning of the blog look like we did a lot today but we really didn’t.

Sarlat to Bordeaux was the biggest portion of our trip. The Avis car rental depot is across the street from the “backside” of Bordeaux Train Station.

The Ibis Hotel is across the street from the front of the train station & the restaurant we had dinner at tonight is right beside our hotel. So, all told, we probably took 10 minutes to walk from the Avis depot to our hotel & 1 minute from our hotel to the restaurant.

The drive back to Bordeaux was mostly uneventful except that it rained pretty hard while we were on the freeway. The speed limit on a major portion of the freeway trip was 130 km/hr but I didn’t have the nerve to get up to that speed in such a small car & especially during a rainstorm.

We returned the car to Avis at 12:30, well before our 2:00pm due time. In total we have driven Opie the Opal 773 kilometers.  

I actually thought we had driven further but I guess that’s because several of the narrow roads we were on were “white knuckle” adventures.  Oh, & I almost forgot that Opie actually had a 15 kilometer piggyback ride on a tow truck when we had our flat tire.  It’s hard to believe that the tow truck ride was only 15 km. It was so hair raising that it felt like 50 or even 100km!

Good news from Avis – they will refund the cost of the tire to us! Maybe I should have asked them to refund a day’s rental fee as well seeing how that whole misadventure took about 5 hours. But, I think I won’t push my luck on that one.

Photo above – Bordeaux train station. Our Ibis hotel is right across the road from it. That will make tomorrow a lot easier.

Photo above  –  our hotel.  Very reasonable price & clean & comfy.

Photo above  –  La Taverne du Midi.  Our “favourite” restaurant in Bordeaux!  We have eaten here 3 times in the last 10 days. The service & the food is great & the prices are very reasonable. Breakfast here tomorrow morning.

Our train to Paris tomorrow leaves at noon so we will have an easy morning. Time for lots of coffee & maybe 2 croissants!

Cheers!

Jardins du Sarlat
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La Roque St. Christophe
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44°59’17.7468″N, 1°4’13.8180″E

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Lascaux Cave Paintings Exhibition
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45°3’30.0096″N, 1°10’10.2432″E

Today we went back on the road again. Our first stop was to visit La Roque St. Christophe, a 30 minute drive from Sarlat. It is a natural limestone cavity about 80 meters above the road surface & one kilometer long. 

Photo above – copied from the internet.

Archaeologists determined that this area was occupied by humans as early as 55,000 years ago & were developed during the middle ages as small cities that offered excellent protection from predator animals & human enemies.

Photo above  – Catherine getting ready to pass through one of the short tunnels linking the ledges together.

Photo above – the view from the beginning of the “community”. Thank goodness there was a substantial railing all along the outside edge. But it was still all I could do to grab this photo quickly & head back towards the inside. I was having quite a time with my vertigo.

Photo above  – the tour started with a model of what the area must have looked like in its prime – based on what remains & what archaeologists have discovered. I guess you could call this one of the original high rise communities.

Photo above  – one of the inlets was set up as a church.

Photo above  – this church even had a pulpit that the priest would preach from!

Photo above  – the display even included some of the machines built to lift items from the ground below.

Photo above – this inlet depicts an area where pottery was made.  There were also sections that present a carpentry shop, a blacksmith shop & areas where food was stored.

There were 2 busloads of public school students touring the area while we were there. The kids were very well behaved but it made me wonder, if it feels this crowded on a rainy, chilly day in late September, I certainly wouldn’t want to be here during the peak season.

All in all it was a very interesting place – even with my vertigo & I am glad we got to see it.

Back on the road again, on our way to Lascaux Cave Paintings Exhibition, which was about another 30-minute drive. 

Photo above  – this area is called Lascaux IV, which was opened to the public in late 2016.  It is a museum/exhibit/replica of all of the painted areas of the original caves.

The original caves are nearby & were discovered in 1940 by a group of young men & their dog. Archaeologists have documented 6,000 figures in 600 paintings on the cave walls. The paintings are estimated to have been done about 17,000 years ago.  There are figures of animals, humans & abstract symbols painted in red, yellow & black colours. The colours were made from mineral pigments.

Photo above  – some of the paintings in the re-created caves.

The original caves were closed to the public in 1963 because the walls were starting to grow mold & fungus generated by moisture & carbon dioxide from the breath of over 1,200 visitors a day.  Authorities were concerned that the paintings would be ruined forever if something wasn’t done but it was also recognized that people wanted to visit the site, see the paintings & learn more.

The site had various exhibits & displays until this facility was created. It is truly amazing. All of the caves were 3D scanned & the location of all paintings was incorporated into the 3D scans.  Next, the caves & their paintings were replicated to be an almost exact copy of the real ones.

When you are on the tour it’s easy to imagine that you are in the real caves. It is dark & the temperature is much lower than outside. Each person is given an audio guide device that automatically senses where you are & then provides a commentary of what you are looking at.

Photo above – after touring the caves you go to an interpretive center where you can view cut-aways of replicated sections of the caves, learn more about the wall & ceiling paintings. 

This is an outstanding facility but it’s easy to become overwhelmed with details. So, if you go, you should be well rested & be prepared to absorb a lot of information in a relatively short time.

Photo above  – one of the main corridors leading from the recreated caves to the interpretive center. There are also several small theatres in the facility that give brief video presentations about the caves & the efforts made to protect & preserve them since their discovery.

We drove back to Sarlat & had a brief rest before going to dinner. We went to Chez Marcel,  a small place recommended by our hosts.

Photo above – our last night in Sarlat with a wonderful glass of wine & very tasty food.

Photo above  – the market square – very empty compared to the day before.

Photo above – the truffle museum at the edge of the square. We missed visiting this one. Oh well, perhaps on another trip. We would certainly be happy to come back to Sarlat again. 

Tomorrow we have a 3 1/2 hour drive back to Bordeaux to return our rental car. We will stay overnight near the train station & then take a train to Paris on Saturday afternoon.

Cheers!

Jardins du Sarlat
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44°53’40.1964″N, 1°13’5.0016″E

Today we thought we would give our car a rest & spend some more time exploring Sarlat.

Our b&b hosts suggested that we check out the Wednesday outdoor market in the center square of the town’s historic district. They cautioned us that it would be pretty busy & crowded & they weren’t wrong.

Photo above – the bronze statue in the foreground is of a young man sitting on the wall without a worry in the world looking at the plaza below.

The outdoor market was very crowded but everyone was in good spirits & it was easy to move around from stall to stall & to stop & shop when you wanted to without feeling pushed. If it’s this busy near the end of September it must be nuts in July & August!

Most of the stalls were fresh food vendors with lots of locals picking up their meat, vegetables, cheese & bread. Some vendors were also selling preserves.

Photo above – a few vendors were selling BIG cans of cassoulet. They were truly family size! I wonder if they sell spam in those size cans? Would be great to have a few cases of each stored in the basement at home as provisions in case of another pandemic or an apocalypse.

The side streets focused more on items that tourists would be most interested in. Catherine enjoyed looking at the scarves & linens & even made a few purchases.

Photo above – while Catherine was shopping in the market stalls I went & explored some of the quiet side streets. We just love this architecture & are so impressed at how France has done such an outstanding job preserving it.

Photo above  – I’ve been having fun learning to use some of the photo editing software that comes with this phone. It’s helped me improve my drawing skills (wink, wink). What do you think?

Photo above – as we explored the side streets it was easy to see that most of these places were private residences & also probably divided up into small apartments & short term rentals because several entrances had 2 or more combination lock boxes for access keys.  It would be interesting to get a closer look at the inside of some of these places.

We had a light lunch at a nearby cafe & then walked back to our b&b for a rest.

Photo above – we pass by this house each time we are walking from our b&b to the town center. It’s obviously much newer than most others in this neighborhood, but the architect did a great job in honouring the heritage of the surrounding buildings.

Early in the evening we had an excellent dinner at an Indian restaurant. Tomorrow we’re back in the car & on the road to see some more sights.

Cheers!