On May 11, we visited a village that we had missed in the past due to schedule conflicts.
We’ll start with two beautiful villages north of Boru, along the Gironde River.
Our first stop was Mornac-sur-Seudre.
It’s near the mouth of the Gironde River, so it has a somewhat harbor-like atmosphere.
However, it was a very disappointing village, probably due to the fact that I was a little frustrated because I got lost in various ways before I got there.
The street photography is beautiful at times…
It was a Saturday, so there were a lot of people in this beautiful village, and the parking fee was 2 euros.
Next was Talmont-sur-Gironde, also on the Gironde River, about 30 minutes by car from Mornac-sur-Seudre.
It looks like a harbor because it is also the mouth of the Gironde River.
The atmosphere and upkeep of the city was much better here. I was impressed by how many beautiful alleyways there were.
Then, for the first time here, we found the new logo of « France’s most beautiful village »!
It’s changed in the 30th anniversary, hasn’t it?
Now, the next step is to go a little further inland. It took us less than two hours by car to Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, which is almost due east.
It seems that this is a town on the pilgrimage route of St. Jacques de Compostela. I see, that’s why I feel the church is more splendid.
As usual, I’ll look into the details slowly after I return home.
By the way, I saw a lot of snail signs and statues just before I arrived here, so maybe this area is the Mecca of escargot.
Finally Saint-Robert, a bit of a fast ride through Perigord, a little over an hour from Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, or was it a bit more?
This was our last visit of the day, and I think it was the best of the day in terms of the beauty of the village.
I especially loved the majesty of this village church!
So the sightseeing of this day ends here. Now, I didn’t take a lodging at all this day.
However, when I was driving, I noticed that there are many small chateaux scattered around Saint-Robert, and it seems that there are several small auberges in the town overlooking the chateaux.
So we decided to stay at an auberge in a small town called Hautfort, about 10 minutes by car from Saint-Robert.
In the evening, I asked if there were any rooms available on the spot, and I was told that there were rooms available for 48 euros, so I decided to stay there.
It seems to be a family-run auberge, and the family was having dinner when I visited.
The name of the town we’re staying in is something with a very fine chateau. I didn’t know there was such a place. I was surprised.
Of course we had dinner here. It was quiet at first, but the restaurant was crowded at dinner time, probably because it was Saturday. It might be my first experience to see such a big crowd in such a rural area.
But still, it’s foie gras every day…. I’m in Perigord, so I have to enjoy it, but I’m worried about many things lol
But the real foie gras is still delicious.
I’m grateful to my parents for giving me a body that can handle this amount of drinking and eating.
これが旅だなあって思った一日でした。
