Canoeing the Dordogne

We have stayed the last few days in Beynac, a gorgeously scenic town on the Dordogne, with a castle on the heights above. The lush forested hills and green river valleys, spotted in various places with small river towns and castles have made this one of my favorite European areas. The building in the town are almost entirely built of stone, and with vines, flowers and other plants growing out of walls and niches the place has a very organic feel to it. Many of the older roofs in the area are made of stone, and these roofs actually have some venting to allow moisture *in* so that the lichen and moss which fully seal the roof have a change to grow and thrive.

Sunday we took a canoe trip down part of the Dordogne - Trish and Noelle in one canoe, Pete and Sophie in another, and Marie in a kayak. After a bit of an interesting start in which Sophie almost flipped Pete over trying to escape spider in the front of the boat, the trip was really pleasant. The river has a pretty reasonable flow, but it's so wide that the current isn't that strong. We got lucky and hit the only window of sunshine we had during our days here in Beynac. Floating down through the forests and past the river towns was a great way to really appreciate the natural beauty of the area. We finished off the day with a trip to a castle where besides amazing views and a historical building they had quite of bit of detail and examples of medieval armor and weaponry. Marie has an interest in this subject I hadn't realized before, so we poured over every exhibit. This particular castle, Castelnaud, was manned by the English in the Hundred Years War - our castle above Beynac was French, and they are only about 5 miles apart.


Noelle on a perfect French spring day

Pete and Sophie check out the shoreline

Lunch stop in La Roche, a little river town a few miles upstream of Beynac - we just pulled the canoes up and walked into town

Marie looks like such a natural in a kayak - she really loved having her own boat




Noelle and Trish heading downriver

Trish and Noelle checking out one of the riverside castles on the Dordogne

Trish and Sophie walking the streets of Beynac - wonderful old stone streets with plant life popping out all over

Marie and Sophie on the ramparts of Castelnaud, the English castle in the Hundred Years War, with a nice view of the river and valley behind

Trish looking over the valley

Marie and trebuchet - I was going to try to get her to hold on while I fired it, but she would have none of that

The girls going into our hotel in Beynac, with the castle towering above the town

Dinner by the river - and Sophie's preposterous "Le Americain" pizza with frittes (French fries), hamburger, and onion

Noelle's version of the perfect dinner - cheese noodles and fries