Wine Country

Monbazillac
Monday was our day to tour the forests, vineyards, and bastides around Bergerac. Our first goal was the château at Monbazillac, a 16th century dwelling surrounded by a dry moat, where we learned lots about the Protestant/Catholic conflicts and the "noble rot" that contributes sweetness to the famous Monbazillac dessert wine, which we bought a case of.

Eymet & Bergerac
We had lunch of crepes and cider in the Place Centrale of Eymet, a 13thC bastide town rich in military history, and then we drove on to Bergerac, where we tasted and bought another case of local wine. The amount of wine we were given, in huge, deep goblets was remarkable. On our return journey, we hunted blackberries for a pie that we baked later that evening, and found a gorgeous field of sunflowers to photograph.


Périgueux
Périgueux is an ancient town with a sanctuary whose silhouette bristles with Byzantine pinnacles. We had the best meal of our entire two week trip in Périgueux, in a shady square at a restaurant called Les Cigales (the cicadas). We were learning that, to eat properly in France, you have to eat at the designated lunch time of 12.00 - 2.00, and so we grabbed a seat and enjoyed a beautifully presented meal of cous cous, chicken, and mint salad, and a plate of grilled meats, ham, bacon, and sausages, with a small pitcher of rosé wine. Unforgettable. On our way back, we stopped by the viaduct for ice cream and to take saucy photos of each other in our underwear.



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