The chilly weather we’ve been experiencing for the past few days recently lifted and was replaced by scorching heat and cloudless skies. Realizing he would most certainly burn to a crisp if he sat on the concrete slab knapping, Alex made the wise decision to wait until later in the day before he started busting up rocks.
That left us with some time to kill. Without hesitation we decided upon Castlenaud as our first destination.
The castle has a sordid history, switching hands at least 7 times starting in 1214. The hundred years war also meant some more switching of hands, and in 1966 it was listed as a Historic Building.
The castle acts as a giant playground (at least for us), and Alex and I were running around, checking out all the nooks and crannies.
Alex had been dying to go here, and his expectations were more than met. There was armour, swords, trebuchets, an artillery tower, hackbuts, veuglaire cannons, wheel-lock harquebuses, organ with 12 gun barrels, giant crossbows, winch crossbows, and serpentines. The stuff men's dreams are made of.
All in all a great afternoon at CASTLENAUD!!
Our second destination of the day was to Les Jardins de Marqueyssac.
The gardens date back to the 17th century, and are responsible for the crazy hedge-trimming trend common across this part of France.
The garden itself is situated atop a cliff that overlooks the entire Dordogne Valley. It is 192 meters high and 130 meters above the river.
We took a magnificent 6K walk around the 360 degree panoramic trail which has views of 5 castles, including Beynac and Castlenaud.
This day of being touristy also revealed to me yet another reason why I adore my husband. As I ran around the castle and the garden like a 5 year old in a toy store, he would patiently read the pamphlet and point out all of the important things I should be paying attention to. It was like having my own personal tour guide. I'd hear "Tamara, come look. It's a....used for....". I'd rush over, nod, maybe snap a picture, and then head on to the next exhibit. My husband is a very patient man, and is probably one of the very few people in this world who can handle me. :)
PS: Alex has not put on that much weight in France. He is carrying both of our passports, all of our car registration/insurance information, and money around a neck pouch.
After returning from our wonderfully fun and touristy day Alex then sat down on his concrete slab (which is shaded now that the sun has moved) and started breaking up samples in preparation for shipment back to the states…which is why I think it would be best if we just stayed here. That way we wouldn’t have to bother with it…and we’d get to live in the south of France.
After returning from our wonderfully fun and touristy day Alex then sat down on his concrete slab (which is shaded now that the sun has moved) and started breaking up samples in preparation for shipment back to the states…which is why I think it would be best if we just stayed here. That way we wouldn’t have to bother with it…and we’d get to live in the south of France.
