From Neanderthals to McDonald’s
Since we were fast asleep relatively early the previous evening, I was awake at around 6 am. The sun was just peeking over the dew-soaked horizon, and I lay listening to the warbling of birds near my window. I ventured downstairs to plan our route for the day. Eventually, David stirred, and I heard him shuffling around above me. Showered and dressed, we made our way outside to the dining area for a rustic breakfast prepared by our hosts. There was crusty bread with a selection of homemade confitures (plum and cassis) as well as home-tended honey. D was quite amazed by this honey, as it had an extraordinarily potent flavour, complete with chunks of beeswax still in it. Yoghurt, pie and a sizable French press of coffee for David filled out our meal. We chatted at length with Jacque about a range of topics, including water filtration systems, energy-saving measures and the ins and outs of living in rural France. I went about packing up our things as D settled our account. After goodbyes to our hosts and their dogs, we were on our way.
We toured through the narrow, picturesque roads, northeast towards Perigueux, stopping by the side of the road occasionally to take pictures of the landscape. Perigueux was a larger town, and we wandered around looking for a parking spot nearer to the centre. We parked for free, likely because it was Sunday, and walked towards the main cathedral. It was an imposing structure, with large domed spires, that had similar leanings as Sacre Coeur in Paris (same architect). The inside was blissfully cool with large chandeliers dotting the room and an ornate wooden carving at the far end (which was lit up only if you put in 50 cents, cheeky buggers). We wandered down to the river and walked along, passing an old mill. Sticky and in need of a refreshment, we stopped in an ice cream shop for a couple scoops of deliciousness before wandering through the town square. As it was Sunday, most everything was closed, save a few restaurants, so we made our way back to the Musée du Perigord, as they apparently were known for having the most complete Neanderthal skeleton in the world. The museum was charmingly quaint (lots of handmade signage and a somewhat 1970s feel to it). We checked out the prehistoric artefacts, including the Neanderthal skeleton, which D commented had surprisingly short arms and proportionally giant hands. After making our way through the zoology section and the beaux arts section (which annoyingly had local children’s artwork placed in amongst the paintings), we headed out.
We set off from Perigueux in search of the McDonald’s (referred to in French as “MacDo”) to use their WiFi. After following the remarkably thorough signage pointing to McDonald’s, we stopped to re-connect with internet world for a while. Interweb-browsing complete, we drove northward towards to find the house we’d rented for the next four nights. We passed through the charming town of Chateau l’Eveque, with its impressive chateau loitering not far from the road, before veering off onto the smaller country roads. We found the little hamlet of La Marteille with relative ease and were soon at Chez Parsonage (which is amusingly owned by a Canadian couple who lives on Vancouver Island). We were met by the next door neighbour, Madame Joubert, a lively and talkative French lady who showed us the lay of the house and how things worked. We would be staying in a cute, two-story house with a spacious living room and functional kitchen, that also had a washing machine, which would be useful. As we hadn’t yet bought any food supplies, Mme Joubert recommended we head to the nearby town of Bourdeilles for dinner. So after hauling in our bags, we headed off to grab a bite to eat. Bourdeilles is a pleasant little town with imposingly fortified chateau lording over the town. After popping into a tabac to pick up some beer (which turned out to be locally-brewed artisanal beer), we had dinner at one of the hotels in a lovely courtyard. We indulged in a little bit of foie gras before having some veal and salmon main courses. It was a short drive home, and we soon got settled into our new house.
