Hiya there.
I’m finally back in the States after leaving you guys with a bit of a cliff hanger. The Wifi got spotty while I be-bopped through France, and after attempting to post the last post for almost an entire day, I decided to continue recapping once I returned to the good ol’ U.S. of A.
Wifi: The U.S. = stinky cheese: France
I tried to think of something more clever, but I’ve done nothing but eat for the past five days so that was all the cleverness could muster.
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On day four of our trip, Brad and I woke up and made ourselves breakfast in our apartment kitchen. Our daily breakfast whenever we didn’t go to a cafe almost always consisted of: hardboiled/scrambled egg and/or plain yogurt, baguette, honey, cheese, fruit (berries, peaches, or grapes).
Side note: All photos in this post were take via iPhone because 1) I refuse to put my DSLR into a boat, taking into account my poise and grace and 2) I forgot to grab my memory card later that afternoon.
After breakfast we set out to do a self-guided canoe trip of the Dordogne River (i.e. the adventure I eluded to in my last post).
We went through Copeyre Canoe for our canoe rental, as suggested by Rick Steve’s Guide to France. The whole experience was so much fun and very easy. The concierge at our hotel made the reservation for us and then Copeyre sent out a driver who picked us up near a bus station a couple of blocks from our hotel.
When we got to the place where we were to pay and pick up the canoe, we found that the company does not take credit cards and we were a few euros short of the fee. No worries, however; the canoe company was gracious enough to let us pay later once we returned the canoe at the end of our trip. The cost for each person is 15 euros and we also paid an extra 2 euros for a water proof bucket.
Once they helped us pick out our route, places of interest to stop, and life jackets, they loaded up the canoe and we hopped in their van to go to the river. There are several options for canoeing on the Dordogne with the canoe rental company depending on how much time you have. We arrived in late morning so we did not do the longest trip, but a slightly shorter version.
I’ve canoed several times but this was Brad’s first time. My last time was with a wooden canoe that I had to help carry out of the water and back to our trailer with another female. It was quite difficult to pick up and tote around, but the canoes we used in France were plastic so they were lightweight and easy to maneuver in and out of the water.
The canoe rental company is on the Dordogne River and along one of the sites into which you can enter the river, but our trip was supposed to be a bit longer. So they transported us up the river a bit, put us in, gave us a little push, and sent us on our way.
The weather and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. All in all, I think we saw at last four medieval castles that day.
Knowing where to stop along the river was easy because of the map they gave us which highlighted the towns along the river. There were also “snack bars” that said (in English) “Canoeing Snack Bar — Stop here!”.
We got out at a small stop at Restaurant La Maison du Passeur (The Passeur House Restaurant) because it is so similar to my maiden name. Everyone in our family says the Pasours are German, but who can say, right?
Later on, we stopped at a little pebble beach to eat the lunch that we packed. It basically resembled our breakfast except we substituted jambon (ham) for the eggs and was a great way to save our money for more important things (like wine).
I started the day with a cardigan, but it really warmed up by the lunch hour.
Besides medieval castles, there were also these really interesting caves (les grottes) in the side of the cliffs. These caves contain some of the oldest prehistoric drawings on the earth.
We stopped at two little towns along the way: La Roque-Gageac and Castel-Naud.
At La Roque-Gageac Brad ordered us Coca Lights (Diet Coke) and glace du chocolate (chocolate ice cream).
Side note: I drank more Diet Coke in France than I have in a really long time. For some reason, all of the water tasted strange to me (except Evian). So even though I would pound some from time to time because I knew that I should, my consumption of Diet Coke far exceeded the H2O. And let’s not forget about the wine. Whether I drank more wine than Diet Coke is a close call.
After our snack, we walked to the tallest peak of La Roque-Gageac, then returned to our canoe and paddled down river to Castel-Naud.
Here, we hiked through the town a bit, then had a drink at a small restaurant near their camp grounds. I, of course, ordered a glass of white wine.
Our last stop was Beynac where the canoe rental company waited for us to take us back to their location.
According to the canoe company, there was supposed to be an ATM in Beynac that we would be able to withdraw the cash in order to pay for our canoe rental. However, the town’s one ATM did not work and Brad and I were very perplexed as to what we should do.
Once we returned to the canoe rental location, we explained what happened, and luckily they were very understanding. When the driver took us back to our hotel, she dropped us by an ATM and we were able to finally pay them what we owed.
Copeyre Canoe was wonderful to us and I highly recommend both canoeing the Dordogne River and using them if you ever find yourself in France.
After resting a bit, we headed out to dinner at Le Bistro de L’Octroi, recommended by Rick Steves.
After perusing the English menu (props to them for this accomodation!) a bit, I decided to order off the 19.50 euro menu, while Brad chose to order a la carte. Often restaurants in France will offer preset menus with anywhere from 2-5 choices for each course. In my experience, they will also allow you to order a la carte, but the menu options are typically a better value and feature the best of their menu. Menu prices are typically based on either the number of courses or the priciness of the ingredients. For example, roast chicken (which is cheaper) is more likely to show up on the lesser priced menu, while something more expensive like beef will show up on the higher priced menu.
Brad ordered the foi gras du canard (duck foi gras) and said it was excellent, even if it was pate-style, while he prefers seared foi gras.
I ordered the melon and ham with a mixed salmon as my entree (starters/appetizers are called entrees in France). It was tasty, but also pretty basic. I often make little prosciutto and cantaloupe skewers as a quick and easy appetizer for parties, so this wasn’t too far outside my comfort zone.
For my plat (entree/main dish), I decided to order duck for the first time ever. I’ve tasted duck many times and even had it on the menu at my wedding rehearsal dinner, but I’ve never actually ordered it myself.
This was a butterfly filet of duck with walnut sauce, potatoes au gratin, ratatouille, and some other things (green and yellow cubes) that I tasted but couldn’t identify.
My first true duck experience was very disappointing.
The duck was not overcooked (it was bleeding for heaven’s sake), but it was very tough. So tough that I could not enjoy it. Brad says that he has never had duck so tough before.
However, he absolutely adored the goose that he ordered. Brad said that he had no idea that goose was so delicious. It was served with ratatouille and a potato cake-like thing, much like I had in my dinner in Amboise.
For dessert, I had Vanilla and Raspberry Vacherin which they called Baked Alaska in parenthesis. To be honest, I had no idea what was coming to me when I ordered it and if I had to describe it to an American, I would say that it’s raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream layered into a mold. It was light and refreshing, but I needed something oozing warm chocolate to make up for the duck fiasco.
Brad and I spent the rest of the evening wandering around Sarlat, poking our head into shops open late into the night and observing the people around us like the true people watchers we are.
The next day was a traveling day and one that would be a bit interesting since we decided to forgo the four trains and 12 hour trip to get to Nice. Instead, we rented a car to travel to the French Riviera and also attempt our very first experience driving in Europe.
Planes, trains, and automobiles…
