Tour De France 7: Dordogne

We had a perfectly lovely B & B that was actually featured in the NY Times in 2002. This became relevant as our host asked me to try to find a copy of the issue with the article in it for their family. I am working on it.


La Ferme des Veyssières has exceptional food, real regional cuisine. As you shall see, we were in nut and goose country.


The Saturday market in the nearby village of Sarlat is known for its foie gras. This stall is actually the neighbor's of our B&B.

I learned alot about foie gras in the kitchen of our host, how the liver is naturally enlarged by the bird's heavy feeding before migration and this is a sign of good health where as an enlarged liver is usually a sign of serious illness. The farmers do not try to hide the practice of force feeding to mimick the premigration feeding behavior, and they are mystified why it is thought to be cruel. As the French say, alot, to each his own.

These birds were also our neighbors, and were fat and waddled around their huge yards freely. They particularly celebrated sunrise. And we celebrated them at dinner with a fabulous confit!

We went for an evening stroll through a grove of already harveste walnut trees. We soon realized that we were crunching the strays under our feet so we picked them up. A good cleaning and light roasting and they are delicious.

The Dordogne region i know for its caves. We visited the Gouffre de Padirac. The enormous chasm at Padirac is about 99 metres around the rim. We descended 75 metres to enter the cave and then had a boat trip along a subterranean stream, and then passed through various underground caverns full of extraordinary rock formations.

Some of the foramtions are calcifications and the water is green because of the lime. There are no fish because there is no light and therefore no photosynthesis to create the necessary oxygen to sustain life.

Grapes

Ripe grapes on a vine are more beautiful and temping than photos, especially of this size, can allow, but we will try.


The aroma of the sun on the grapes was intoxicating. Some were transluscent,

those in the shadows were cool and inviting,
and some seemed to know there destiny and just sparkled.The signs of autumn are the vines themselves.

It was an incredibly fun day, crisp and clear, and the breeze kept the bees at bay. Walking the village vineyards seemed like the perfect Swiss thing to do.
Actually, the Swiss do not export any wine; we are told there is not enough. With vines in every nook and cranny in our part of the country, this cannot seem possible, but it is. Happily, this leaves the world market to the French who seem to be able to make enough wine for us all.

Bois de Chêne: The Birch forest in its autumn splendor

These woods are lovely, dark and deep.

They hold treasures that can only be discovered on a quiet walk...




Most of which, according to my research, are pretty deadly,

all of which were left undisturbed.
And with one last bloom of summer color.

Desaples 2008: Mind the Poo

Desalpes starts, as usual, with lovely displays of Swiss pride in mountain villages.

Let's begin with yummy .....
creamy warm milk and
bubbling hot caramel a la crème.


Then the villagers lead the cows down from the mountains,


people and cows in their desaples finery.


And this year, bopping, fluffy sheep too!
Then the party begins!

music, music, music.

Even the bell ringers get to relax.

The vendors display their handmade Desalpes goods,
in the magical, mountain villages all over Switzerland.

And check out this interesting video we took of some boys playing music from another mountainous place, Colorado!