Welcome to the Dordogne

On Saturday, we bid Lézargol a very fond farewell and headed south.

Is it possible to have a better gîte than this one? We don’t think so… but we’ll let you know for sure in June.

While at dawn the sky was quite clear, it almost immediately clouded up and the wind was blowing a gale – as seen below at the Plage de Pentrez. Definitely the most surf we’ve seen in France!

We thought, “Phew, getting out of Brittany just in time!” But no. There’s actually more rain and wind here in the Dordogne today than there is in Brittany. Just our luck…

We’ve managed to sneak out between the showers (and sometime torrential downpours) to take a few pictures of our new neighborhood, La Roque Gageac.

We have the second and third floors (or first and second, if you’re French) in this building. It’s reached by the stairs to the left:

And perhaps you noticed up on the cliff behind the house – an old dwelling in the side of the cliff:

In fact, it appears there’s access to the “troglodyte fort” – definitely something to explore when there’s a longer break in the rain.

La Roque Gageac is called one of the prettiest villages in France for good reason!

Up behind the main road is another, pedestrian-only, path closer to the cliff…

Apparently Brittany isn’t the only area where you need a little extra help finding places. .. and the hiking signs look promising!

We found this memorial as we walked along the houses closest to the cliff.

“On January 17, 1957, at 10 am, a part of the cliff overhanging the village collapsed, demolishing several houses. Three bodies were found under tons of rocks and rubble. The main road was closed for two years. It was feared that the village would never recover.
La Roque Gageac, where President Poincaré exclaimed ‘Here is the most beautiful village in France,’ has risen again.
In memory of the three victims: Margarite Ribe (widow Armand), Louise Delroc (widow Valette), Henri Lajoinie”

Does that cliff suddenly look a little more menacing?

As it started to rain again, we scurried back home, stopping only long enough to capture this bit of fallen fall color – something we see very little of in France.