Girls' Road Trip - Bergerac, France 12th-27th of June, 2026

Visiting Monpazier, a bastide village

We set the alarm for 7:30am this morning as we had decided to make the most of the cooler temperatures today and visit the gorgeous village of Monpazier. Before we set off, we had coffee at the table outside. It was deliciously cool at this time of the day! We set off at 9:00am with a bootful of recycling, but in the village we had to separate it, so we decided to try somewhere else. In Bergerac, you can put the whole lot into a recycling container as long as it's in a yellow bag.

Jeeves directed us onto the D709 (our road) and towards Bergerac. Wherever we go, we always have a road we use all the time, and on this trip, it's the D709! We skirted Bergerac today and drove along the Dordogne River, which looked beautiful. The area along the riverbank looked worth exploring and was very pretty.

We then ventured out into the countryside, passing the airport and through the vineyards of the Montbazillac appellation, which makes a sweet white wine. Vines stretched in all directions, and numerous vineyards were offering dégustations or tastings. The roads were empty, and the route to Monpazier was lovely, passing through the medieval village of Issigeac and another bastide town, Villareal.

"The Smugs" 

It took us just over an hour to reach Monpazier, and we were able to park on the street. We discovered the meaning of bastide - it's a "fortified new medieval town", which was ahead of its time, and set out on a chequerboard grid with a central square, dating from the 13th century.

We came across the square and ordered a coffee from the friendly waiter. The café was mainly a cocktail bar and had a wide choice of drinks. I can imagine it's a great place to sit and have a drink in the evening. Two men sat next to us dressed in Lycra, and opposite was another couple, similarly attired. We had passed several cyclists on the way, so the area is obviously popular for bicycling. In fact, we discovered that Stage 8 of the 2026 Tour de France will be from Périgueux to Bergerac! That will be worth watching!

While we sipped our strong coffees, we couldn’t help overhearing a lively conversation at the next table. The British couple in Lycra were chatting with two other people about a recent house purchase. It turned out the other man had actually sold them their house, and soon the two couples were sitting at the same table and chatting.

Annabel and Giles, the Lycra pair, spoke loudly and enthusiastically about how wonderful life was. Giles had retired just two weeks earlier (as he kept telling everyone) and was still adjusting to this new period in his life. They were spending four months in France, and talked endlessly about all the changes they’d made to their house, as well as telling the other couple about their lives so far (including a spell in South Africa).

Looking back on this episode now, I think that Annabel and Giles were a little lonely and had seized on the opportunity of talking to another British couple. Giles looked a little panic-stricken at times, as if the enormity of what he'd done was finally dawning on him. I presumed he'd had a high-powered job to afford a second home in the Dordogne and to retire so early (he was probably in his mid-to-late fifties).

We finished our coffees, paid the bill and set off to explore a lovely street leading away from the square. Sophie made friends with a gorgeous little dog with a black patch on his head, and I thought he was going to follow us! Overhead, flocks of swifts wheeled about and when we went into a beautiful ceramics shop, they had little pottery ones to buy. Sophie bought one for her bedroom, as well as a gorgeous little bowl which we'll use for snacks.

Sophie and "Patch"

It was very pleasant to wander the beautiful, old streets and peer into shops. We found a lovely place selling wine, beer and local produce (including soap), and we couldn't help making some purchases! At the end of the street was another square and the restaurant that we'd earmarked for lunch. It was closed, but we were hoping it would open at 12:00pm.

Turning back towards the centre again, we walked along another parallel street and popped into a wine shop, this time selecting two local bottles, one of which was a Pécharmant, from a chateau near Bergerac. The owner was a real character!

Sophie took our purchases back to the car, and we decided to have an aperitif before lunch. We wandered around the square and down another street and found a brocante shop run by an American woman and her little dog, Bean. The shop had some lovely antiques and pottery, and we bought a bag of lavender and a card. How lovely to run a shop like this in such a beautiful place!

Bean

Next to the brocante shop was a hotel - Le Chevalier Bleu - and bar. We took our seats outside and ordered two small glasses of wine. It was heaven to sit outside and relax with a drink. What a delightful place! The woman who served us then brought out a delicious quiche for us to eat with our wine. Bliss!

We sat and chatted about France, and although we love the Dordogne, Sophie said she would still prefer to buy a place in Normandy. We do need to up our game with speaking French, though!

Lunch... at last!

We paid the bill and wandered back up to Bistrot 2, where we wanted to have lunch. Unfortunately, even though the opening hours had been advertised as 12:00pm until 1:30pm, it was still firmly closed. This was a little disappointing, so we walked back to the square to look at the choices there. There were several eateries on the edges of the square, but we didn't like any of the menus, so we walked back along a parallel street to the very end, where we found the restaurant, Privilège du Périgord. A couple of tables were set out in front of the restaurant, but when we enquired about a table, we were taken to one in the pretty, shaded courtyard.

Most of the other tables had been taken, and we detected several British accents (although the couple next to us were Australian, despite my thinking otherwise). There was a set menu for 26 euros which included a couple of starters, main courses and desserts. We ordered a carafe of rosé, a bottle of sparkling water and perused the menu. We both chose the intriguing melon gazpacho with a ham tartine to start, followed by cod for Sophie and duck for me. We also had to choose our dessert, so we opted for clafoutis, a favourite of mine.

Only one woman was serving the food, and she was calm and unhurried. We didn't mind, though! It was lovely to sit and sip our water and wine, which was salmon-coloured and looked like it hadn't been filtered, chat and do some people-watching. It had been great to relax around the pool for two days, but we do love getting out and seeing all that this area has to offer.

Our food arrived, and we tucked in. The melon gazpacho was served in a little Mason jar with a straw, with a slice of baguette, ham and tomato on the side. It had a peculiar taste and reminded me of a French shop selling candles, incense and soaps!

We had a short wait between courses, and a party of four Brits arrived. To the left of me were two older English ladies, one of whom looked familiar, so we were well-represented in this establishment! The party of four didn't seem to speak any French and made a big fuss of ordering their food from the very patient waitress!

Our main courses were served, and Sophie's cod looked beautiful. I began to wish I'd ordered that instead! My duck was good, but it was a little chewy, and the fat hadn't been rendered down enough. Having said that, the mashed potatoes it was served on, and the cherry sauce, were delicious.

We made sure we were drinking plenty of water, and we had soon emptied our bottle, so the waitress brought over another that was half full. We have learned a new word over the last couple of days: canicule, which means heatwave! We could feel the temperature rising as we sat and relaxed over lunch, and the thought of the pool and its cool water was enormously tempting!

Our desserts arrived, and they were a delicious ending to the meal, and a dish I'd like to recreate at home. The cherries still had their stones, and the custardy filling was gorgeous.

By now, the restaurant was emptying out as service was finished. We had seen two men turned away when they arrived, presumably because they were too late. We paid the bill, a very reasonable 66 euros for three courses, wine and water, and left. One of the Brits smiled at Sophie and said, "Bonsoir," even though it was only 3:00pm. At least he tried!

We walked back to the car, trying to keep to the shaded areas as much as possible. The countryside was baking in the afternoon heat, and it was lovely to get in the car, open all the windows to let the heat out (it had been parked mostly in the shade), and switch on the aircon.

Vines everywhere!

We took the same route back to the house and saw a couple cycling who looked to be in their 60s. The temperature was about 34 °C, and we both thought they were mad! There are warnings not to go out in the heat of the day, and certainly to be careful of doing anything strenuous!

We made good time back to Monbazillac, and Sophie asked me to stop so she could take some photos of the vines. I pulled onto a layby, and she snapped away.

Jeeves took us on a different route around Bergerac, and we crossed the Dordogne further up the river. Before long, we were nearing the house, and that pool was within reach! As soon as we could, we donned our swimsuits and were straight into the water to cool down! It was bliss to float about in the pool and get cool!

It was also lovely to retreat into the house a little later, relax and decide what we were going to watch on Netflix after the final Michael Jackson episode. We decided on a documentary about the Rachel Nickell murder, and while we watched the Michael Jackson documentary, we had a supper of chicken and cheese toasties. They were delicious!

Perhaps a documentary about violent murders wasn't the best of ideas for this evening, and we watched an hour of the show before going outside and making the most of the relatively cooler evening. This house and the surrounding area are so quiet, and even the birds had gone to bed, with only the bats out for their nightly ritual! 

Girls' Road Trip - Bergerac, France 12th-27th of June, 2026

A day of relaxation, part 2

Today has been a repeat of yesterday, and it's been lovely to relax, do lots of reading, soak up the sun and cool off in the pool when we get too hot. The groceries we bought on Monday are doing us well for lunches and dinners, but we have decided to venture out tomorrow for lunch and maybe have something different. Although we love salad, we are getting a little fed up with it now!

Sophie had the rest of the pizza for lunch, and I boiled three eggs to have for lunch and to add to the salad to eke it out a bit. Unfortunately, without Keith around, I always find it difficult to get the eggs right, and I had difficulty peeling them... Next time, we'll add them to boiling water and let them stand in ice-cold water for a while before attempting to peel them. They were a complete mess!

In the afternoon, while floating about in the pool, Sophie said she had spotted something in one of the filters. It looked like a dead animal... When she said this, I peered in as well, and at first I thought it was a snake, because of the speckled brick behind the filter. I nearly took off to the other end of the pool! It turned out to be a very dead baby rat, so we scooped it out with a fly swatter and threw it onto the grass. No doubt our resident magpie will make use of it!

The other excitement today was the appearance of a car driving along the track behind our house. We have never seen anything other than a tractor on this track, which eventually leads to the village. The car stopped opposite our house, so we stood at the kitchen window watching it! It was probably a poor person who was lost, but the only other cars we see on the tiny road opposite the house are our neighbour's or the postman's.

At about 4:00pm, we retreated inside for naps and then lovely showers. I checked the weather again and discovered we have an Amber Warning for heat here:

This was a little alarming! We had decided to stay at the house on Sunday and Monday, but it now looks like we'll have to lie low on Tuesday and Wednesday as well, which is annoying. We would like to visit Périgueux and explore more villages in the area, especially the bastide villages. 

After dinner of cold meats and salad eaten outside, we watched two episodes of a Netflix documentary about Michael Jackson's trial in 2005. We both agreed that he was seriously weird and very disturbing.

Before bed, we sat with our feet in the pool and watched the bats fly low over our heads. A lovely end to a very relaxing day!

Girls' Road Trip - Bergerac, France 12th-27th of June, 2026

A day of relaxation

Today has been spent mainly around the pool or in it, when the heat became too much. It's lovely and peaceful here, with the silence punctuated only by the church bells ringing or birdsong. Yesterday, we carried on a conversation with a sheep who was making a right racket. At times, the baas sounded almost human! We have the D709 running behind the house (it's some distance away), and we do hear the occasional car go past. Yesterday, I opened my bathroom window and saw a huge tractor lumbering along the forest track.

We only have one real gripe about this house - the sun loungers don't have cushions, and they're wooden slats, so uncomfortable to recline on. This puts us off snoozing by the pool! We generally sit with our feet on the pool steps and read. Both of us wear hats and make sure we apply Factor 50 regularly!

Here are some photos of the interior of the house:

My bedroom

Living/dining

We ventured inside at about 1:00pm, and Sophie made delicious sandwiches while I put together a salad. We are so grateful for the air conditioning in the house!

We spent another couple of hours by the pool, and then went inside to cool down, have showers and a nap. We then played cards with a drink by the pool before making dinner. We enjoyed the rest of the salad, a pizza, and I cooked some potatoes in their skins.

After we'd eaten, we watched the final two episodes of Unchosen and then sat outside until 10:00pm again. I wish I could bottle the smell at night as the heat is released from all the vegetation. We have several lavender bushes here and the butterflies and moths love them. We are forever being assailed by different kinds of insects, and today, we had a little green fly keep us company all day!

Girls' Road Trip - Bergerac, France 12th-27th of June, 2026

Dental disaster...

I pulled up the shutters this morning to see thick cloud overhead. Not what we had been expecting! The sky hadn't changed by the time Sophie awoke, so we decided to make the most of the cooler, cloudier conditions and visit Bergerac, about twenty minutes away.

We set off at about 10:30am and had a smooth run to the town, driving firstly through Les Lèches, which had a mix of old and modern houses, as well as the church we can see from the garden. Sophie had plugged the address of a car park into her phone's satnav, and this took me to an area of street parking near a huge, imposing church.

We both fancied a coffee and a pastry, and after having a little wander about the narrow streets, we found a tiny patisserie serving hot drinks and cakes. We didn't notice the breakfast menu until after we'd ordered... duh!

We sat outside, right next to an older French couple who smiled and said hello. The woman was smoking, but weirdly enough, I don't object to it so much while in France or Germany. To me, it adds to the atmosphere!

The waiter brought out our café cremes and almond and pear cakes, and we tucked in! Sophie mentioned she needed to see a pharmacist today as her toothache wasn't going away, and she was constantly in pain. It was hurting her to eat, never a good thing!

Just before we left, a little tourist train passed, and we waved to the people on it. Maybe if we go back again, we'll take a ride and see the sights. Bergerac is on the Dordogne River, and there were quite a lot of mentions of Cyrano de Bergerac, with a statue of him near the church.

We found a pharmacy a short walk away, and Sophie asked the pharmacist if she could supply her with antibiotics. The answer was no; we needed to call the "15", and they would fill out a prescription. She gave us the name of the pharmacy, and that was that. Outside, Sophie burst into tears as she was in so much pain. I gave her a hug, but I knew we'd get it sorted one way or another.

As we were walking towards a bar to sit, have a drink and try to make the phone call, Keith rang us. He had been given an ID4 as a courtesy car while Olive was being repaired. This surprised me as I honestly thought that VW would say there was nothing wrong with the car. Luckily, John had taken him down to VW to pick it up, so at least he was now mobile and could go and do his shopping!

We sat outside at the bar and ordered a small glass of local wine each. Sophie then called the "15", which is like our own 111 number. She asked if the person who answered spoke English, and they did, a little. Sophie slowly explained what had happened with her tooth, and she was put on hold to speak to someone else. 

Unfortunately, this woman was not at all sympathetic and refused to even try to speak English or French very slowly. She was extremely rude, and when I took over the call to try to understand her, I had difficulty hearing her, as there was a lot of background noise where we were sitting. She put us on hold, and then spoke to us again, but when I said I didn't speak French, she was rude and said, in French, "Well, you're in France!" I put the phone down on her!

This attitude upset us both; we speak French in cafés and restaurants, and I can understand far more than I can speak. However, the French for a tooth infection eluded us! Sophie's phone rang twice, but finally she was able to speak to someone who understood her, and they said they would send the antibiotic prescription to the pharmacy for us to collect.

Sophie ran off to get the medication as the pharmacy was due to close at 12:15pm. I paid for our drinks and met up with her in the pharmacy. She was given paracetamol, ibuprofen, a mouthwash and Amoxycillin antibiotics. We held our breath as the pharmacist totted up the price, as we expected it to be very expensive, but it was only 23 euros! What a bargain! We were so relieved that we had been given what we needed!

Doggy disaster!

Armed with the meds and feeling a lot better, we wandered around the town, stumbling upon a gorgeous wine shop called Le Temps Du Vin. It was absolutely stuffed with wine and spirits of all kinds, and there was a lower floor that had bottles of seriously expensive wine. I saw a very old bottle of Château Pétrus in a glass cabinet that was selling for thousands of euros. It was similar to the wine shop we visited in Deauville, and the owner had different vintages from the 60s and 70s. He had a bottle of wine from 1968, but I wasn't tempted!

As we perused the lower level of wine, with the occasional gasp from me, he watched our every move!  But then I would probably have done the same with some of the bottles I saw! We eventually bought three local bottles of wine, a sparkling, a red and a white. They will probably go home with us.

We complimented him on his gorgeous shop, and he seemed very pleased! I dread to think how much his stock is worth!

Across from the wine shop was Restaurant Le Saint James, and we took a seat outside. The waiter was very friendly, and we ordered a bottle of rosé before giving our lunch choices. There was a British couple behind us with two yappy dogs that barked at any other dog passing by; they were very annoying! Why take your dogs to restaurants if they hate other dogs?

We placed our food orders with the waiter - a beef burger for Sophie and a chicken burger for me. As we sat and sipped our wine, we heard an almighty commotion from the doggy table and then the sound of smashing glass... the dogs had spotted a Beagle and one of them had lunged forward, barking, but the lead was wrapped around the table leg and the whole lot had gone over! Everyone stared at them as the poor waiter appeared with a broom, dustpan and brush. There was glass everywhere! 

The couple left shortly after that, and peace reigned! Two other tables had dogs with them, and they were perfectly behaved! We enjoyed our main course and found room for pudding - a crème brûlée for me, and tiramisu for Sophie. We lingered for a long time over lunch, as it was so relaxing sitting outside the restaurant and watching the comings and goings of people passing by.

I get snubbed...

While Sophie and I were having lunch, an older couple had arrived to sit at the next table. They were British, and they ordered a sharing platter of cheeses and meats to eat. Sophie looked at her phone and noticed an email from a podcast she listens to and subscribes to, hosted by David McCloskey and Gordon Corera. They were holding an event at Bletchley Park where they would record two podcast episodes, along with a guided tour and a Q&A session. She was hugely excited and said she would get tickets on Thursday when they were released. We chatted about Bletchley Park, and when she mentioned the ticket would give a year's access, I shrugged and said I'd enjoyed my visit, but I hadn't rushed back; one visit had been enough for me. 

The man opposite had got up to use the loo, and before he left with his wife, he came over to speak to Sophie about Bletchley Park. He said he had visited many, many times; there was so much to see, and he thought it was very interesting. He and Sophie chatted about the podcast, and he completely ignored me! That certainly put me in my place for dismissing Bletchley Park! Anyway, who was the rudest? Me or him for listening in on our conversation! Huh!

A little exploring

By now, the cloud had disappeared, and we could see fluffy white clouds and blue sky. It was also warmer! We paid the bill and wandered up the street, stopping to look at different menus and resisting the impulse to go into a foie gras shop!

We came across a narrow shopping street and several gift shops where we bought a T-shirt, hair scrunchies, soap and gifts for Keith (I'm not giving anything away as he will be reading this!). The shops were beautiful, and the women running them were friendly and welcoming.

Bergerac was a beautiful town, and we had only glimpsed part of it. As we neared the car, we could see a funeral taking place, which explained the tolling of the bells we heard earlier. Before leaving, we managed to dispose of our recycling, which was a bonus. I didn't fancy carting it around in the car for much longer!

Scrabble and cocktails

I manoeuvered out of the parking space, and we retraced our route back to the house. It was hot now, so we changed into our swimsuits and spent a very pleasant couple of hours in and by the pool. I looked at the weather forecast and was horrified to see it would be about 40 °C on Sunday and Monday! This was far hotter than we had expected and even hotter than the heatwave we had in Spain last year!

After a little nap, we sat outside to play Scrabble with an Aperol Spritz. It was perfect!

We see a little blackbird every morning and evening, and I think he now expects food from us, as we put some bread onto the lawn. We have also seen a little black and grey bird, pigeons, a magpie and lots of lizards!

We had a game of Scrabble (Sophie thrashed me!) and then we sat at the table until 10:00pm. It was a much more comfortable temperature and lovely to spend so long sitting outside.

At 10:00pm, we went inside and watched another episode of Unchosen. We have two more to watch, so they will have to wait until Wednesday! It was a late night for us!

Girls' Road Trip - Bergerac, France 12th-27th of June, 2026

Getting to know you...

Although I was awake a couple of times in the night, I had a much better night's sleep. It helps that we have shutters over the windows and doors, and we do have neighbours nearby. However, it's maybe not a good idea to watch any creepy documentaries on Netflix while we're here!

I was awake at about 6:30am and making myself a cup of coffee. I opened the shutters and was met with blue skies and sunshine. The temperature was perfect! I wrote my blog until Sophie woke up, and we decided to head to the nearby village of Mussidan, as there was a Super U supermarket there. We needed to buy groceries to last us a few days and fill up with petrol.

Before we went, we sat at the table with another coffee and relished the morning peace and quiet. This area is stunning, and we're looking forward to exploring our local village and further afield. We left the house and headed for Mussidan, which was a short drive away. On the outskirts, we found the supermarket and a petrol station.

With the car full of petrol (which will hopefully last us until our return journey), we made our way into the supermarket and spent a very pleasant hour picking out food and drink to last us a fair while! There was a large section of local wines, and I picked out two reds, one of which was a Pécharmant appellation, one I'd never heard of before. I learnt it's a blend of the usual Bordeaux varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec) and it needs some ageing, so the wine may go home with us! 

We both said we missed Keith here, as he normally makes straight for the beer aisle! We bought a six-pack of Grimbergen in his honour! We also bought lots of water, milk, salads, potatoes, bread, cold meats and a couple of pizzas we could heat up.

After the supermarket, we headed into the village to visit the pharmacy. We had a short, sharp bickerfest about parking, so I had to do another circuit and come back to a space right outside! Sophie has been suffering from a sore tooth since Friday and bought herself a bottle of mouthwash and a box of paracetamol. We also bought insect repellent as we don't want any more bites!

Mussidan was a pretty village with lovely old stone houses and narrow streets. We spotted a couple of restaurants that we may visit if we get fed up with salads and pizza! We drove home, unpacked everything, and I left the car in the shade of a couple of trees. It was then time to sit by the pool and relax! 

And... relax!

We spent the rest of the day in or by the pool. The water was very cold, but we soon got used to it, and it was a welcome relief from the high temperatures. The wooden decking burned our feet, so we used some of our beach towels to make a little stepping "stone" affair and unfurled the two big umbrellas for shade. Lunch was taken in the kitchen, and then it was back out to read our books.

I've been able to do several loads of laundry, and the clothes dry quickly in the heat. In the early evening, we sat at the table and lit a couple of mosquito "spirals" that are supposed to keep the little horrors away. We also have citronella candles burning. Unfortunately, even though we used the little stand for the spirals, hot residue dropped onto the table and marked it. As there were loads of other marks, we weren't too worried, but we'll be more careful in the future! Uppermost in my mind is the threat of forest fires, especially as no rain is forecast and temperatures are set to soar.

Our first attempt at lighting the spirals - it scorched the bowl!

Sophie prepared a dinner of ham, pasta salad, and bread, and we drank another rosé to go with the meal. After clearing away, we watched another couple of episodes of Unchosen and then decided to go for a walk and see the sunset. It goes down here at about 9:45pm, and it was a gorgeous evening.

Back at the house, we sat by the pool and watched the bats swoop overhead. They kept flitting into the water for a drink, just as they did in Rocamadour last year. It was heavenly!