La Roque Gageac - More eye candy!

Are you tired of pictures yet? :)

All of the following are from a little mideval village called LaRoque Gageac  - perched above the Dordogne river... and ancient beginnings. (Here they have proof of people having lived IN these cliffs... if you look closely you can see windows and small openings in the cliffs. The stairwell that had been built much later for tourists' sake was disintegrating and currently being rebuilt).  

We got to enjoy a small market - food (always food! lol) and wares. There were handmade raw silk scarves that I was absolutely drooling over. Only 35 euro... almost caved and bought one. Wishing I had! LOL! 

Then, after sight seeing for the first half of the day, we had a picnic lunch and then set up our easels to paint.

 Castle across the river...

 The sunflowers were just starting to bloom. (remember all their crops are running late because of the long rains) At this time of year, they would normally be at their largest and in full glorious bloom!

 The Dordogne River... with LaRoque Gageac on the left...

 the cliffs above/behind the village where prehistoric man once lived

 Sausages of all kinds!

 le fromage!

 desert wines

 the silk scarves that I SHOULD have bought! lol! Gorgeous!!

 olives, antipasto makings

 fun little baskets with screened coverings

 Nuggat - over the top expensive!

 rotisserie duck... mmmm!

side view of the church, high up on the mountain

 I LOVE alleys in these villages! They are tiny.. one, maybe two people wide.. and yet, shops and homes are tucked in here! Would you just look at that stone work?!?!?

We finally made it to the top... the old church... wish I could remember when this was built!

 The view from up there..... amazing, right?

 one of the little shops tucked into the mountain... this one specialized in frois goix (grr.. don't know if i'm spelling that right?)  Duck liver pate. 

 Just breathtaking! You could rent canoes and paddle down the river..

 This is the row of Gageac shops... very touristy shops... I didn't go in any of them. I liked snooping around the other places better! :)  This is where I set up to paint. Sun beating down on my back. lol It was hot!! Again!!! Painting here went a "little" better than previous attempts. Not much.. but a little!

I believe this is the castle that is talked about in the book "A Castle in My Backyard" -

Castlenaud-la-Chapelle. It was either this one, or the one across the river high up in the hills. (they might be one in the same... i'm forgetting? lol!)

Either way,  magnifique... n'est pas?

Tomorrow is the market at Sarlat! :)

jusqu'a demain! Au revoir!

(until tomorrow.. bubbye!)