Tomorrow morning I leave the charming and historical town of Sarlat-la-Canéda with its wonderful 15th and 16th century houses and take the early bus north-west to Périgueux, the heart of Périgord Vert.
As it was a warm day I decided to take a stroll along the shaded banks of Pèrigueux's river, the Isle, which itself is a tributary of the mighty Dordogne. On the outskirts of Périgueux, as I was about to descend to the river, I came across quite a remarkable construction, a medieval outpost. This imposing wooden edifice was called the "Eschif de Creyssac" and was built in 1347. Before Pèrigueux became a modern town it was known as the village of Puy-Sainte-Front, named after the usual suspect. Puy means a volcanic hill and this outpost straddled its fortifications and served as a look-out post between the village and the river. From the riverside one also has a splendid visage of the domes and cones of the Byzantine Cathédrale-Ste-Front.
Today I got in touch with a lovely lady from Bergerac through Airbnb and booked her apartment for the duration of my stay in the Dordogne region. Her name is Kti and the pictures she sent me depict a charming, beautifully furnished ground-floor apartment in an older heritage building with a shaded terrace for dining. It is located near the centre of this delightful market town, thus within easy walking distance to its places of interest and bistros. Kti has placed a bicycle there for my personal use and I also intend to hire a scooter for exploring the nearby towns and villages. So things are starting to fall into place and I am looking forward to immersing myself in French provincial culture and its way of life for a couple of months or so,
On Saturday I took a tour to Flanders Fields, about 40 miles south-west of Bruges. These World War 1 battlefields remain infamous in military history for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers from fifty nations and five continents who, over a period of three and a half years, drew their last breaths here. Today one cannot drive through this part of Flanders without passing many war cemeteries, memorials and, indeed, artillery craters. I'll post a few photos of the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Ypres, the Australian Memorial there, King George V visiting the area (second from right), an unexploded shell and the Menin Gate. This impressive Victorian archway is etched with the names of thousands of British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian troops who left Ypres for the battlefields and trenches, never to return. I stayed on for the moving Last Post Ceremony which is performed each evening by military personnel. I think it is fitting to end this post with a poem written by the Canad...
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