Hello there, long time no see. Being on holiday made me feel inspired and I felt like posting on here again. I can’t promise it will take long, but for now, it makes me happy.
In this post you will find a little recap of our first few days traveling trough France. We decided to make a few stops along the way so the ride wouldn't be as hard and long.
We left Monday morning and drove until the Loire area were we wanted to visit the beautiful castle of Chenonceau. After checking in in our hotel, Auberge du bon Laboureur, we decided on visiting Chenonceau the next morning and drove up to Amboise, which was just a 20 minute drive away. We were told the village of Amboise had lots of nice little restaurants and a beautiful view over the Loire river. We arrived just in time to visit the castle of Amboise, which turned out to be a great time, with not to many tourists and a little less hot. Yoeri decided on the restaurant we would go to, L’Epicerie, which turned out to be delicious.
The next day, Tuesday, we wanted to go as early as possible to Chenonceau to beet the crowds. So immediately after breakfast we walked to the castle (the castle is just a five minute walk from the hotel). This beautiful place is a real recommendation but do not go in peak hours, because then the castle is filled with people everywhere.
When it got really crowded we had seen the most of it inside and decided on exploring the magnificent gardens and other buildings on the property, a vegetable flower farm, a carriage gallery, the wine cellar and a maze. You could spend hours in this place wondering around, you can even go to a restaurant or to the orangery for some tea.
After a good five hours we arrived in our next destination: La Roque-Gageag in the Dordogne area. The B&B was a bit tricky to get to, but the views during the ride uphill were more than worth it. Le Coin Tranquille is located in the old town itself, a beautiful renovated house that is believed to be over 400 years old. The owner kindly helped us book a nice place for the evening, La Belle Etoile, and a canoe for the next morning. A restaurant definitely worth whiles a visit, it’s recommended to book in advance so you can sit on the little terras overlooking the river.
The area is known for its canoeing. It was nice but not that challenging and the views were nice but nothing to special either. After a little nap, we spent the rest of our Wednesday in Sarlat, the capital of the area. A nicely kept city with lots of midcentury buildings. Scattered around the city were lots of street artists performing, some a better then other ones.
Before heading to our last stop in the Pyrenees we stopped at the town Castelnaud. We were told this castle would be worth a visit. The caste is built on top of a hill, so once again the views over the Dordogne were pretty amazing. This is a great place tot visit when you have little children. They offer a free games booklet which guides children trough the castle by illustrated games. Beyond this there are demonstrations of firing a trebuchet, a blacksmith and of a crossbowman’s equipment. Tip: If you visit Castelnaud in July or August before 1:00 pm, prices are reduced from € 9,80 to € 8,80 for an adult and from € 4,90 to € 4,40 for children between 10 and 17 years old.
Sadly our last stop in the Pyrenees didn’t end up that as well because of the weather. We decide on leaving a day early to go to Spain. On our way back home we will stop at this place again when hopefully the sun will shine and we can go out and discover this beautiful area of France as well.
See you soon!
Pictures taken by Yoeri Dierckx and me.
Wearing:
Amboise:
T-shirt - Sparkz / Skirt - old (similar here) / shoes - Castaner / Bag - Céline / Riva Hoop Ring and Moonstone Ring - Monica Vinader
Chenonceau:
Dress - Topshop / Shoes - Castaner / Bag - Chloé / Riva Hoop Ring and Moonstone Ring - Monica Vinader
La Roque-Gageac:
Skirt - Topsop / Blouse - Iris&Ink / Sandals - Steve Madden / Bag - Chloé / Riva Hoop Ring and Moonstone Ring - Monica Vinader