A Few Days in the Dordogne..Sarlat & Le Bugue region

Off to the Dordogne

Le Bugue and La Vezerve

Just a quick post - We are currently on our 2 weeks Winter vacation with the kids.  We aren't travelling too much this break but did sneak in a few days at the beginning of break to visit the grandparents in the Dordogne.  

It's nice to head out that way to spend a little time with my husband's parents.  My mother in law is a fabulous cook and it's nice to have a change in routine and enjoy some of the local fare there.   It's definitely not tourist season now out there, so everything is very quiet.  When I say very quiet, I mean many stores, restaurants, castles etc..are all closed until about April.  This provided us with a bit of a challenge as we wanted to take the kids out and about.  We drove out there Saturday morning - enjoyed a very nice family lunch.  Later in the afternoon we headed down to the river and walked around - so nice to enjoy the fresh air.  The weather here is finally turning a bit warmer - a true Spring air.

On Sunday afternoon, we decided to take the girls out to play some tennis.  We luckily found some courts in town.  (In France, it's a bit harder to find tennis courts than in the States as they are not located often at schools or in parks - they are often only found at private clubs.).  Even though these belonged to a club, since it was off season - and these were outside, we could just play.  It was nice to get out there a bit and hit some balls.  (Yes, I took some breaks to snap a few photos) My youngest loved being the ball girl!!  

Always nice to play together as a family.

The ball "girl" had lots of fun....love how she looks like she's wearing a tennis skirt!

On Monday we went out and about for the day - just to do some exploring and also to let the girls further enjoy the area.  My girl's love rope's courses - so we thought that would be a nice way to end the afternoon - but then I was left with finding a place that was open and then finding something to see near it.....

After doing a little internet surfing and double checking, we found out that a rope's course near Sarlat that we had been to before was open and then I wanted to check out the Chateau de Montfort nearby.  Montfort is perched way up high on a cliff, it is privately owned and is not open to the public - but in reading about it, the village and area around the castle are very picturesque and interesting.   This chateau has been through many owners through the centuries and has been rebuilt several times.  This little walk did not disappoint - stunning castle, beautiful views and a quaint village.

Then it was off to Sarlat for lunch...a great little restaurant with delicious regional cuisine.

Duck Confit served with Cassoulet (White beans & bacon in sauce)

And then after we had our fill of delicious lunch & dessert of creme brule and ice cream for the kids...it was off to the rope's course to enjoy a little climbing in the trees.

What I love about this course is that there is something for every level.  This was our second time here - I wrote about this course in another post - La Foret des Ecureuils - Accrobranches in Sarlat region.  They are constanting building to improve the experience but at the same time preserve nature.  I love this little walk that they added by the smallest course to help parents walk along and assists the youngest climbers.

It was a fun day and a great way to end our mini vacation with the grandparents.  The next day we headed back home to Bordeaux.  

So we finished our week with some movies, bowling and shopping back home.  It's nice to just check up with things at the house.