Dordogne Valley Tour - westwindtours

Medoc B&B
One of the B&B's we use in the Medoc region

Sarlat Market 3
Part of the huge Saturday market that fills the medieval section of Sarlat.

Ch. Leoville Barton in St. Julien
Mme. Nebolsine, our guide, describing the methods used at Leoville Barton

Ch. Pontet Canet vineyards
Visiting the vineyard in the Pauillac region.

Medoc B&B
Lively, delicious dinners are the norm.

Dinner at our B&B in the Medoc
Another great meal, enjoying regional cuisine & wines

Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Posing on the terrace of this Pauillac vineyard, with the tower of Latour vineyard in the background

Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte
Chris, examining the vats.

Daniel Cathiard
The owner of Smith Haut Lafitte took us down to his cellar to show us some of the older vintages.

Ch. d'Yquem, Sauterne
Our guide, pouring a taste of the wonderful sweet wine for our group.

Lunch in the village of Sauterne
Our group enjoying lunch at the Auberge des Vignes

Vieux Chateau Certan, Pomerol
The owner, M. Thienpont, describing the wines we're tasting.

Grand Branet
An older, low tech (but still in use) press

Ch. Angelus, St.Emilion
Barrel room

La Sauve Abbey
Ruins of a Benedictine abbey, begun in 1079

Sarlat Market 1
Fresh breads

Sarlat Market 2
Roast chickens and a huge pan of Paella

La roque Gageac
The "gabares" for the river cruise dock here.

View from the ramparts
Looking down at the gabares cruising the Dordogne River, from the ramparts at Castelnaud

Julien's
Another wonderful dinner in the village of Paunat

B&B first two nights
This beautifully renovated barn now houses 6 great rooms, each qwith private bath.

B&B first two nights
Each room had so many special touches

Lounge/breakfast room
This comfortable room for guest use had a small refrigerator, tea & coffee, and a woodstove for cool mornings

picnic first evening by the pond
A quiet way to ease into the vacation, before jetlag caused everyone to drift up to bed.

Now, this is a vacation!
Kelli, enjoying one of several sitting areas at our first B&B

village of Paunat
This tiny village, about a mile from the B&B has a wonderful restaurant, featured in the next photos

An aperitif on the terrace
After enjoying an aperitif, we moved inside for dinner, as the evening was cooling off.

Decisions... one of each??
Julien (owner, chef & sometimes waiter) offering us a great menu selection that changes according to season.

Hautefort
Castle and village were featured in the film "Ever After".

Hautefort chateau


Hautefort gardens
Part of the gardens, with the medical museum building in the background

B&B near Beynac


Beynac B&B


room at 2nd B&B
This B&B is on a hillside just below Beynac castle

Dinner at B&B near Beynac
We had a delicious dinner (fresh melon, guinea fowl, dessert & wine) on the terrace overlooking the Dordogne Valley

Saturday market in Sarlat
Every Saturday the entire medieval section of town is filled with vendors - food, table linens, spices, wine & more...

Sarlat
most buildings in the Dordogne Valley are built from this beautiful golden stone

La Roque Gageac


Gabare on Dordogne River
Gabares are flat bottomed boats that were once used to transport cargo on the river, now just tourists.

La Roque Gageac
An ivy covered house in one of France's most beautiful villages

troglodyte house
La Maison Forte

Castelnaud
Viewed from a "gabare" on the Dordogne River

Rocamadour
Pilgrimage town built into the side of a cliff

Beynac castle
This view is from the ramparts of Castelnaud looking across the Dordogne

Monpazier
One of many "bastide" towns in the Dordogne Valley

Chateau de Monbazillac
We toured the historic chateau, then tasted the sweet white dessert wine produced in this region

"timeout"
I told her that if I had to turn around one more time...

Chateau de la Riviere
The ivy covered wing houses a luxury B&B, and a good Fronsac wine is produced here.

Chateau de la Riviere
IMG_7112.jpg 2007-09-16

B&B near Bordeaux
This chateau is an excellent B&B, and also has a winery on the grounds & fields of grapes surrounding it.

Back of chateau/B&B
The glassed in room at the right, is where we enjoy breakfast & dinner, and the rooms are upstairs.

our room at chateau B&B


Church, St. Emilion
Church carved from rock by Benedictine monks

St. Emilion


St. Emilion


Farm B&B
Once a barn, now a beautiful home & B&B, it's a favorite of ours.

A great fireplace
This was designed by the owner qwhen the bulding was renovated from a barn to a B&B. He often uses it for cooking.

Dinner at the farm
This wonderful table was once the bottom of a vat used to keep the grapes just after harvest.

Trebuchet
Dan & Kelli loading the trebuchet to attack Castelnaud

Tacy being shot from a cannon
This photo was taken before I could point out the sign (in French) saying it was "forbidden" to climb on the equipment

What we'll do for clients!
Dan & I posing behind the cardboard figures, muttering to one another "are you sure we want to keep doing this?"

World Rugby tournament frenzy
Our lack of knowledge of rugby made this fellow guest feel obligated to show us a chant/dance seen before matches?????

Dan's many "hats"
Daniel (our chauffeur) displaying one of many talents - deflating soccer balls for transport in luggage.