June 1, 2024
A Day in Sarlat
And a Found Jacket
So after arriving yesterday afternoon we were unpacking in our small room overlooking the garden and - lo and behold- I found my jacket at the bottom of my pannier! How we missed it I don’t know, but it was rolled up with the purple side in and the black side out, so I guess when I peered in my pannier I simply didn’t see it. Now, of course, we have an extra jacket. We discussed returning it but were too tired that evening to figure out details.
Our b and b, Le Jardin Sarlat, is in an old house with a huge mysterious garden that right now is a bit overgrown due to all the rain this spring. Wendy and David, our hosts, are Brits. In addition to human guests they also host multiple cats, two bunnies and a cockatoo in the garden. This is a Rick Steves recommendation and it was very modestly priced for an expensive tourist driven town. It felt a bit like staying at your grandmother’s house- not the latest in decorating and a bit creaky, but the essentials are there. They have an honor bar where a glass of local Bergerac wine costs 1 euro or 5 euros for a bottle- and we can attest, it is quite drinkable. There were two other couples staying this weekend, an older couple from Florida and another couple from France. We talked to the Floridians quite a bit but not the French folks: they were sick so I kept my distance. Wendy and David were friendly and happy to visit. For us it was nice to have some easier conversations (in English). David, our host, was a professional photographer and the house is full of his excellent work. They clearly enjoy running the b and b and it shows. They even cleared out a shed and installed a multi outlet extension cord so we could lock up and charge our bikes.
Sarlat is a town with a well preserved medieval core and it attracts a lot of touists. However, we were there a little before the season was to begin so it was not too crowded and we could walk into a restaurant without a reservation for a change, which we did both nights.
This is the Dordogne so the cuisine is predictable: duck prepared all sorts of ways (confit, ground up, sliced in salads), foie gras, walnuts also prepared many ways (in a fortified wine, salads, walnut oil, walnut flour cake) and of course the usual: bread and local cheeses. The local wine is Bergerac and was very good as well as inexpensive. Besides two nice dinners in the medieval center, we split a Galette (buckwheat crepe) for lunch one day.
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Sarlat has a famous and impressive market which we visited on Saturday. It was crowded but not crazy but I bet in another month it will be insanely busy. We spent most of Saturday morning at the food end of the market, and it really made Dave want to cook.
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It was time for another laundry run, which, given his previous experience, gave him pause. He was getting advice from Wendy (re: necessary laundry coinage) and she offered to run a load for us. That was very nice and meant we could enjoy the afternoon. We did this by riding our bikes back to the Intersport to return the now redundant jacket. I am happy to say it was a smooth experience from beginning to end. The ride was much easier on a Saturday than it was on a busy Friday afternoon when we first arrived, Google maps directed us onto a pleasant and quiet route and there were no complications at Intersport. We didn't have to explain why we needed to return the jacket. (Not sure we could go there in French, as it’s just too complicated).
Tomorrow we ride to Brive-La-Gaillard.
Today's ride: 10 km (6 miles)
Total: 1,213 km (753 miles)
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6 months ago
Our record for this event though was six years ago, when I lost my iPad on day one of a tour. We looked everywhere, and I finally gave up and bought a new one. It was quite surprising to unload my panniers at the end of the tour and find two of them there.
6 months ago