Caving in the Dordogne

La Barde in Montfort is a great little B&B.  Breakfast was wonderful. (Is it just that I love being waited on?)  We had croissants, baguettes, cereals, yogurt, fruit, coffee or tea and juice.  We really enjoy sharing a table with the other guests.  It's always interesting hearing what they've done in the area, and where they're from, and their input sometimes helps us decide what we'll do with our day.  One couple had been at the B&B for a week and said the nearby caves, Les Grottes de Lacave, were really interesting.

Our hosts had brochures and info about everything in the area, and said the caves were about 25 minutes away by car, so we were soon off to see Les Grottes de Lacave.  After a short train ride into the hillside, we were met by a guide who would show us around.  He apologized right away for not being able to translate everything he was saying into English, but would give an English synopsis as we went along.   The caves weren't claustrophobic at all.  There were easy walkways throughout, and beautiful rock formations in the walls.  Still pools of water created a fairytale reflection of the stalagtites.

This formation is called the spider, for the bent-leg appearance.

Lots of dramatic formations all through the caves

The reflection in the water makes it look like a fairytale village below

We bought sandwiches at a local deli and had a picnic in a nearby park.

What is a picnic without a bottle of wine, or in this case, three bottles?

Our actual priority for the day was to do a canoe or kayak trip down the Dordogne.  Phillipe, our host at the B&B, would have arranged this for us, but we hesitated to commit based on the weather.  As the morning progressed we all agreed it wasn't really warm enough to be on the water.  We decided instead to visit a few of the most scenic villages along the stretch of river we would have floated, but to visit them by car.

Domme is a picturesque hill town high above the Dordogne river valley with beautiful views over the town walls to the valley below.

A view of the Dordogne from the hill town of Domme

A view of the farmland surrounding the village of Domme

Next we headed to Le Roque-Gageac, a medieval town built along the river.

La Roque-Gageac, with stairs going up to ancient cliff dwellings.

More of La Roque-Gageac, built into the cliff

We got back to our B&B in time for a glass of wine out on the lawn.  We asked our hosts for another restaurant recommendation, and hoped there would be a place within walking distance.  This is a tiny little hamlet, and we'd only seen two restaurants, but Phillipe said one of them was pretty good.  We walked down the street and had a nice dinner.

The restaurant owner spoke some English, and told us he loves to go fly-fishing in Montana.  There aren't many big fish in the Dordogne, so fly-fishing is not very exciting here in France.  The music playing in the restaurant was American jazz and blues.  We complemented him on his choices.

We walked down the dark lane back to our B&B with the chateau looming above us.