An Escape To The Heart of The Dordogne
For the past 10 days my parents, best friend Steph and I went on holiday to Saint-Laurent-des-Bâtons in France. This is an area in the Dorgogne, in the south-west of France which has a large river running through it. We had a wonderful time and I would definitely recommend going on holiday here!
I have also created a vlog which you will find by clicking here.
1st July:
We travelled by car on the ferry and drove from St Malo down to Nantes where we stayed overnight in a Campanile Hotel.
2nd July:
The next day we had a long 7 hour drive ahead of us down to the Gite. The Gite was everything we were expecting and more! We were the first guests in this converted barn, with a private swimming pool and beautiful surrounding countryside, away from all the hustle and bustle.
3rd July:
Food was on our minds and so we ventured to the French supermarket to stock the cupboard (and here my brioche addiction started...). As we had been traveling the day before we chose to have a lazy afternoon by the pool and went for a stroll down to the nearest village in Saint-Laurent-des-Batons.
4th July:
We set off early and travelled through Journiac and many idillic villages along scenic routes stopping at Beynac-et-Cazenac for a walk and picnic lunch. Next we carried on driving to Domme. Domme was my favourite place on this trip, the panoramic view at the top of the Dordogne River was breathtaking (the photos don't do it justice). After looking in shops and taking endless photographs we went to the Grottes which is the underground Caves. Unfortunately photography was not allowed, however I'll never forget the unique formations within the caves like icicles.
5th July:
Market day! Since the moment we booked our trip I couldn't wait to go and see the French markets so Le Buge was the place to go! There was endless markets of everything you could think of; fruit, veg, jewelry, clothes, bags, meats, post cards, fabrics etc. After the market we got lost on the A89 going all over the place, we finally made it back to the gite in one piece. After a quick dip in the pool we got ready for a meal at Chez Julien. Chez Julien is situated in Paunat within the grounds of an old Abbey - it was really beautiful.
6th July:
Another day out and about this time to Perigoux, wondering the streets and shops. Steph and I both bought a few things in a shop called Pimkie. Once back at the gite we swam in the pool and played an intense game of jenga!
7th July:
The most built up place we visited was Bergerac with a variety of shops. We then drove to Pombonne and found a lake to sit by to eat lunch and paddle our feet.
8th July:
To make the most of our last day we decided to do something a bit more active than walking about a village and decided to go canoeing. We started at Limeuil where we were driven to Campagne and canoed for two hours down the Vezere river. We had so much fun, and Steph and I had a bit of a crash nearly chopping our heads off under the trees, which added to our list of hilarious moments on this holiday!
9th July:
Time to say goodbye - We were up early and packing our things into the car for the 6/7 hour drive to Nantes and an overnight stay in a Campanile hotel again.
10th July:
Also known as the worst travel day. With the 2 hours drive, boat to Jersey and a change over then back to Guernsey on another boat, this journey felt twice as long as the drive on the previous day. After feeling all the motions we finally made it to Guernsey.
It's only been one day since I arrived back home and reality is kicking in hard. After many very late nights and early starts I think my body is shouting for a routine! This holiday was everything I was hoping for, the gite was perfect and I had the perfect company.
♥
1st July:
We travelled by car on the ferry and drove from St Malo down to Nantes where we stayed overnight in a Campanile Hotel.
2nd July:
The next day we had a long 7 hour drive ahead of us down to the Gite. The Gite was everything we were expecting and more! We were the first guests in this converted barn, with a private swimming pool and beautiful surrounding countryside, away from all the hustle and bustle.
3rd July:
Food was on our minds and so we ventured to the French supermarket to stock the cupboard (and here my brioche addiction started...). As we had been traveling the day before we chose to have a lazy afternoon by the pool and went for a stroll down to the nearest village in Saint-Laurent-des-Batons.
4th July:
We set off early and travelled through Journiac and many idillic villages along scenic routes stopping at Beynac-et-Cazenac for a walk and picnic lunch. Next we carried on driving to Domme. Domme was my favourite place on this trip, the panoramic view at the top of the Dordogne River was breathtaking (the photos don't do it justice). After looking in shops and taking endless photographs we went to the Grottes which is the underground Caves. Unfortunately photography was not allowed, however I'll never forget the unique formations within the caves like icicles.
5th July:
Market day! Since the moment we booked our trip I couldn't wait to go and see the French markets so Le Buge was the place to go! There was endless markets of everything you could think of; fruit, veg, jewelry, clothes, bags, meats, post cards, fabrics etc. After the market we got lost on the A89 going all over the place, we finally made it back to the gite in one piece. After a quick dip in the pool we got ready for a meal at Chez Julien. Chez Julien is situated in Paunat within the grounds of an old Abbey - it was really beautiful.
6th July:
Another day out and about this time to Perigoux, wondering the streets and shops. Steph and I both bought a few things in a shop called Pimkie. Once back at the gite we swam in the pool and played an intense game of jenga!
7th July:
The most built up place we visited was Bergerac with a variety of shops. We then drove to Pombonne and found a lake to sit by to eat lunch and paddle our feet.
8th July:
To make the most of our last day we decided to do something a bit more active than walking about a village and decided to go canoeing. We started at Limeuil where we were driven to Campagne and canoed for two hours down the Vezere river. We had so much fun, and Steph and I had a bit of a crash nearly chopping our heads off under the trees, which added to our list of hilarious moments on this holiday!
Time to say goodbye - We were up early and packing our things into the car for the 6/7 hour drive to Nantes and an overnight stay in a Campanile hotel again.
10th July:
Also known as the worst travel day. With the 2 hours drive, boat to Jersey and a change over then back to Guernsey on another boat, this journey felt twice as long as the drive on the previous day. After feeling all the motions we finally made it to Guernsey.
It's only been one day since I arrived back home and reality is kicking in hard. After many very late nights and early starts I think my body is shouting for a routine! This holiday was everything I was hoping for, the gite was perfect and I had the perfect company.
♥
Tags:
travel
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