Grotto de Grand Roc
Being Tuesday and having not done a whole lot the day before, we decided to force ourselves into an early start. Somehow, miraculously, we were able to leave the house by 10. Learning from the kid protest yesterday, we decided to let the kids take charge today. The only thing that Eilidh was totally entranced by yesterday on our cave tour was the wet 'goo' that she saw on a stalagmite. Knowing how much both of the kids are into crystals, we looked into whether there was a good crystal cave nearby. It turned out that there was one about a 2 minute drive away from Font de Gaume. We gave the kids the camera and headed in for a half an hour tour through long, dripping stalagtites and stalagmites and strange crystal formations. The cave is unusual in that its entrance is halfway up a cliff face, so the walk up was quite exciting for all of us. Inside, all of us were entranced and were thankful we had kids as an excuse to visit the cave.
Beynac
Afterwards, we decided to visit one of the towns situated on the Dordogne, and settled on Beynac, which we'd heard was quite pretty. Sure enough, the Dordogne does not disappoint! From the winding, quiet road we were able to look up and spot a castle towering over the valley, built right out onto the cliff face. The town itself was spread out almost vertically huddled up against the castle. A 15 minute walk up the steep walking street of the town brought us the castle that played a pivotal role in the 100 years war between France and England, but that offered us a beautiful view of the valley. Feeling overwhelmed by the entrance fee, Sven and Bella decided to go in while Eilidh, Bubbe and Balika walked around, stole a couple of apples, visited a medieval gift shop to buy a Magic Tree House book about the middle ages, then settled down to drink cappucinos, Orangina (our favorite, like orange juice mixed with a little sweetened sparkly water!) and nutella and banana crepes. At one point Bella's head popped out between two wooden spikes of the castle wall, and moments later she ran down to help us finish the crepe.
Afterwards, we decided to visit one of the towns situated on the Dordogne, and settled on Beynac, which we'd heard was quite pretty. Sure enough, the Dordogne does not disappoint! From the winding, quiet road we were able to look up and spot a castle towering over the valley, built right out onto the cliff face. The town itself was spread out almost vertically huddled up against the castle. A 15 minute walk up the steep walking street of the town brought us the castle that played a pivotal role in the 100 years war between France and England, but that offered us a beautiful view of the valley. Feeling overwhelmed by the entrance fee, Sven and Bella decided to go in while Eilidh, Bubbe and Balika walked around, stole a couple of apples, visited a medieval gift shop to buy a Magic Tree House book about the middle ages, then settled down to drink cappucinos, Orangina (our favorite, like orange juice mixed with a little sweetened sparkly water!) and nutella and banana crepes. At one point Bella's head popped out between two wooden spikes of the castle wall, and moments later she ran down to help us finish the crepe.
Hummingbird moth again
Les Jardins de Marqueyssac
Afterwards we weren't quite ready to go home (although the kids might have been, but we didn't really ask them) but none of us wanted to do anything intellectually challenging, so we pulled into a garden along the road home. Les Jardins de Marqueyssac were signposted with a teeny tiny little sign but ended up being quite monumental, with a fantastic view of the surrounding Dordogne river valley. Beginning in the late 1800s, Julien de Cerval transformed the hill-top riding area into luscious and entertaining gardens. Ornamental boxwoods in creative designs pop out from every (and unexpected) angles, a children's labyrinth kid not only kids but peacocks, and little unexpected private areas were hidden behind every corner. It was a lovely way to end the day and Eilidh jump-roped all of the way back to the car with her new jump rope.
Back at the farm, we figured the 60 degree day was finally warm enough to attempt the pool and as fast as we could get in our suits we were in the water. It felt wonderfully refreshing, but the kids were trembling and unable to form words easily after we got out 20 minutes later. After a hot shower and an excellent dinner of Sven's marvelous steaks, some polenta and what the kids call 'alien' brocco-flower (it does indeed look rather odd), we headed to bed with our respective books. Harry Potter for Sven and Eilidh, a Matisse history for me, a book on champagne for Bubbe, The Muscle Machine for Eilidh, and Owl Babies for Bella.
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