“Don’t like it – too many Brits”. That was the verdict of one seasoned Francophile I spoke with before we set off for a couple of weeks in south west France. I took the comment with a pinch of salt – after all, isn’t there a profusion of English folk at almost any holiday destination in Europe (and many places beyond)?
Market Place, Sarlat la Canada
We had driven around SW France for around a week before we arrived in the Dordogne region. Carcassonne had been enchanting, and the Pyrenees had offered us some good hiking in the warm September sun. Arriving in Sarlat from the south, we were pleasantly surprised to find it busy but with little evidence of an invasion of “les Anglais”. The cafe staff greeted us in French, our hotel reception conducted business in French, and there wasn’t even a surplus of UK cars on the roads around Sarlat.
The town of Sarlat is very quaint, and the type of place you could spend a whole day finding new angles to exploit its photogenic qualities. It also offers some of the best French dining we have experienced across the country. This is the heart of foie gras country, and being typically British we had taken our stance and decided we would not eat foie gras, on account of the cruel way in which the geese are fed before their slaughter.
Sarlat by moonlight
With that in mind, I ordered the pate and when it arrived, it was something quite different to what I was expecting. It looked paler, and while it tasted delicious it was nothing like I had expected. Still we decided it’s clearly the way pate is done in these parts. It was only towards the end that it suddenly clicked. My appalling French had led to my order being misunderstood, and we had indeed just polished off a portion of foie gras. The bill duly confirmed our thoughts. At least we felt less guilty considering it had been an unintentional order (and it was delicious!)
While staying in Sarlat gave us a central base, we took the chance to explore much of the Dordogne region over the next few days. Two spots were particularly memorable. One was the tiny village of La Roque Gageac, nestled against the riverbank and built high against the cliff. It was a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours eating lunch and enjoying the view. Again, we had a Brit free lunch at a lovely cafe – where were these bloody English people?
La Roque Gageac
Another memorable afternoon was spent at the nearby Chateau des Milandes. There are many chateaux to visit in the Dordogne area. This one took our fancy because of its recent history. Although hundreds of years old, its most celebrated occupant was Josephine Baker, a famous American music hall singer and dancer from in the 1930s, who stayed in France during the war and even played a part in the Resistance. She later adopted a number of children and created an international children’s village at the Chateau (an Angelina Jolie of her day perhaps?) Faithful to its strong tradition of falconry, the Chateau houses an impressive selection of birds and we were able to watch a display – again conducted only in French.
Chateau des Milandes
I really enjoyed visiting this area of France, and can fully understand why the wealthy retiring Brits would want to up sticks and live in this beautiful part of the world. But where were they? They certainly did not appear during our trip. Either we were just lucky, or the death of the Dordogne has been somewhat exaggerated.
Looks beautiful. Hey, if you are going to try Foie Gras the best way is to do it guilt free:)
Yes, there’s nothing like guilt to spoil a good meal. The area is gorgeous and well worth a detour on a French trip. Thanks for posting
Looks like a lovely area of France, despite the foie gras flub. Love your writing, stumbled this post as well!