Balcons de L’Ocean at Biscarrosse
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44°26’55.3128″N, 1°15’14.3460″W
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Saint Emilion Clock Tower
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44°53’36.1212″N, 0°9’22.5360″W
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Jardin du Sarlat
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44°53’40.1964″N, 1°13’5.0016″E
Today we were up early for our drive from Biscarrosse to Sarlat – a distance of about 290 kilometres & approximately 3 1/2 hours according to our GPS.
We planned to stop at a Bouygues Phone office to try to get our phone service sorted out but when we arrived at the GPS location advertised by Bouygues there was only an electronics shop & it was not open.
My phone was working intermittently so I called the help number & finally got through to someone who could speak English. When I explained our problem she simply said to ignore the text messages. I told her our phones stopped working yesterday & she said turn the phones on & off & it will be ok. So, we powered our phones on & off & voila – they were working fine. This is a very confusing system. Hopefully we will not have any more service interruptions before we go home. Fingers crossed!
Anyway, back to our travel adventures…
Back on the road again, about 1 hour into our trip we drove past Bordeaux on a ring road & then carried on to Saint Emilion. This is a medieval town built on a hillside & completely surrounded by spectacular chateaus & vineyards.
The place was so busy it was a challenge to find a parking spot. We were just about ready to give up & keep driving to Sarlat when we came across a few empty spaces so we snagged one & went exploring.
Photo above – our first stop was a small cafe to get some coffee & a snack. This photo was taken through the window beside our table. Outside the window it was straight down about 100 feet to the street below.
Photo above – after lunch we walked through the church that was across the street from the cafe. It was built in the early 12th century & is partially subterranean. The church & all of the town of Saint Emilion was recognized as by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1999.
Photo above – the exterior design of the church is very basic but it is massive.
Photo above – the clock tower dominates the town square. It chimed several times while we were exploring the streets.
Photo above – most of the streets in the town are cobblestone, very steep & no vehicles are allowed except ones associated the businesses in the town.
Photo above – bakery & cake shop in Saint Emilion. Places like this in France are almost impossible to walk past. Time to get back on the road again.
Photo above – grapes ready for harvest.
As we left Saint Emilion we drove through many vineyards & saw that their harvest was already underway. This reminded Catherine of her time in the Loire Valley in 1980 with her dear friend Jan when they spent 6 weeks picking grapes at a vineyard. No automated harvest then – all picked by hand.
Photo above – arched railway bridge passing over our road on the way to Sarlat.
We continued our drive cross country to Sarlat. It seemed like there was a spectacular view around every corner & at the crest of every hill. This drive took us over an hour longer than if we would have taken the freeway but it was worth every extra minute.
Photo above – le Jardin du Sarlat – our b&b for the next 4 nights.
This b&b has been operated by an ex-pat British couple for the past 16 years. Wonderful hosts in a very comfortable 230 year old home with lots of interesting stories about their life in France & a wealth of knowledge about the area.
Photo above – some of the buildings in the historic center of the town.
It was only about a 10 minute walk from our b&b to the center of the town & main restaurant area. We had a very nice meal at a place recommended by our hosts.
Photo above – more of the town center.
Sarlat has the highest density of listed historical buildings in France dating back to the Middle Ages. It is truly stunning. We can’t wait to spend a lot more time exploring this area over the next few days.
Cheers!