A MARKET, A TOUR & A HAPPY HOUR

Today was picture perfect, so Bob took a few of them. But it is hard to be the photographer, driver, map reader, etc. Warm, sunny, springlike. Could not be better. But according to predictions, we'll pay the piper for most, if not all of the rest of our stay in Sarlat. But first, just a word about dinner last evening at Le Regent, recommended by our host “Pippa,” Rick Steves, and now us. 

Le Regent

It was reasonably priced, the food delicious, the wine (Chateaux Theulet, Cote de Bergerac 2010) delightful, and a waiter with no trace of condescention. Karin and I were good to our tummies and ordered omlets, but Bob plowed ahead, ordering a fillet with truffles. He expected a juicy red steak, but what arrived was a lovely fillet of white fish. He shrugged, tried it, and raved about what a good choice he'd made. For dessert, Karin and I had one of the region's specialties, walnut cake served with crème Anglaise. Splendid. Forget what Bob had. (Some sort of walnut liquor soaked walnut ice cream.--Ed)

Our haul!

Today, being Saturday, was Market Day in Sarlat. Virtually the whole town gives over its roads and squares to street vendors, some of whom, according to Rick, keep their same location for generations. Not surprisingly, Karin came home with a sign for her store and a tiny dog that looked something like a Westie on a keyring. Bob and I, with advice from Karin, bought three kinds of cheese (including the famed Roquefort), snap peas, cherry tomatos, spring potatoes, tiny strawberries, and the usual baguettes and fabulous desserts. Dinner tonight will be in, preceded by Prosecco that has been chilling for a couple of days. (Now I really want to hurry to finish this blog entry.)

Sarlat in bloom

The shopping and a photo or two of some of the amazing buildings in Sarlat finished a picture perfect morning.

In the afternoon, we set out on one of my two planned sight-seeing trips, a lazy boat ride down the Dordodogne River snapping photos and marveling at the Medieval castles hovering over it. However, one of our members had an issue with the small boats we'd have had to rent (kayak!), and a major traffic jam where traffic was at a complete stand still made us miss the

Beynac Castle...in the traffic jam!

parking lot where we might have caught a larger boat, so it was on to Plan B, a meandering tour of the French countryside. But who cares? We all had a good time, and arrived home feeling well pleased with ourselves and ready for some down time to prepare us for Happy Hour. We even found a grocery store on the way home to pick up a few items including tea lights to set the ambiance for our dinner Chez Nous!