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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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!
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