Blooming Gorgeous

A good way to decorate the front of the house!

The Cosmos

A truly beautiful sight. It is a special thing to see so many flowers in one place together in bloom . A profusion of colour, and the life force seems so vivid, and the atmosphere light and joyful. It's Mother Earth's happy hour.

Les Eyzies

This was my last point of call. From here, I hitch-hiked back to Eymet. Some 80 km, thanks to 7 different people.It's great that it can work, and I find it interesting meeting all different kinds of people, it's quite a unique experience.

Playing it Cool

1 for the fans!
Here, I had just finished my head-spinning tour of the Prehistoric museum.

Meeting the Ancestors

You wouldn't want to get into bother with this chap, luckily for me, we got on just grand!

Prehistoric Art

I was told that when Picasso visited Lascaux he said after seeing the paintings that he had learnt nothing. Apparently he saw how their techniques of painting were just advanced as his own, 17,000 years on.
Whatever regard we have for our ancestors, I think we really underestimate them, their talents and knowledge.
Here is a beautiful Bison carving made before man was driven crazy by metal.

Togetherness

A headdress from another time.
I couldn't get the shot without the reflection.
None of these shells could have imagined becoming a hat, but together they have.

A Reflection

This was a section of layers of rock deposits. It was incredibly beautiful. It blew me away. It was like a masterful painting. The beauty that exists in the natural world is boundless.

Security

This was the security guard at the Prehistoric Museum in Les Eyzies. Quite intimidating! Didn't even say hello. Last time I try to make friends with an Irish Elk.

Bisons Bones

I think this Bison has probably had better days!

Rolls of Straw

Apparently it's been a very good year for cereal crops here, enough rain in the spring and since then plenty of sunshine and heat. There is certainly plenty of wheat grown in the region. My campsite was the other side of the trees in the middle of the picture.

Another World

I wonder what Man made of such places. Even when you kind of understand what is going on, it's still a strange alien environment.

All In A Days Work

I was quite pleased with myself, how I managed to chisel out these steps in a days hard graft. The expectations of these Help X hosts is getting worse!

La Roque St. Christophe

Inhabited going back 55,000 years! Hard to fathom, hey? Everyday I was being presented with timescales like this. But then, relatively, that is very recent in Earth time. Impossible to comprehend properly!

On The Trail Of Man

Visiting some of the prehistoric sites along the Vezere, I felt like some sort of detective of Man. And in some way I was I feel.

Quiet Sleepy Village

That is St. Leon. It is classified as being one of France's most beautiful villages. It was pretty, but not noticeably more than many other villages I've past through. There are so many small quiet sleepy pretty villages about France.

12th Century Church

I would say this is the nicest church I have been to on this visit to France. It is 1 of the oldest apparently in the Dordogne. It was very plain and simple inside, not full of gold or finery, which I find so distasteful, especially in a place that's supposed to be holy.

St. Leon Sur Vezere

It was lovely how the village put on a celebration to welcome me!

Transport

The kayak I hired for the paddle from Montignac to St. Leon sur Vezere, some 12 km. I think it cost 17 euros.

The Flowering River 2

It's not too often one gets to see a river in bloom. And to kayak on it also was such a pleasure.

The Flowering River

These beautiful flowers were in bloom while I was there. The plant grows in the river, and can be several meters long.

The Mirror

There were a few chateau's built along the stretch I kayaked down. As the photo suggests, the river was like a sheet of glass in places. It was nice though, how it varied, as there were places where the pace picked up, and there were plenty of twists and turns also. I also managed to eat my lunch, just drifting along.It was a really nice thing to do.  

On the Vezere

I kayaked down 12 km of the Vezere river. It was one of the main highlights of the trip for me. I thought Man must have been doing just this tens of thousands of years ago.

The Hanging Gardens of Montignac

Montignac was a nice town, it came as a welcome relief after a couple of days in over-crowed Sarlat.

Art Work

This was part of a series of paintings outside the library in Montignac. I really liked this one, the colours were beautiful. Inspired by the Lascaux paintings, sadly taking photo's in the cave was prohibited.

The Bridge of Montignac

Montignac was my next stop after Sarlat. I hitch-hiked here, thanks to a painter/decorator.
It is set at the start of the Vezere river valley, called the home of man due to the multitude of prehistoric sites situated along it. Lascaux is only a few kilometers out of town.

Sammy the Snake

Me and Sammy met along a forest track, I was on my way to Lascaux, a very famous cave for it's very special paintings. I think Sammy was just on his way home. A nice chap, but he did hiss a little. Still, no one is perfect.

Street Strolling

I did a lot of this around the dozens of  narrow streets, that you really come to appreciate the shade of. The town centre is more or less pedestrianized, I think all town centres should be.

The Tower of Sarlat

This was on a hill, just behind the church, I believe it is of Roman origin. It was quite striking, on the outside at least. The inside was very plain.

The Main Square

I came to think how tourists around a town centre must in some way resemble bees around their nest. The square is where the queen is, it's the place with the most activity and everything works outward from there. Even the positioning of the street artists seemed to follow in accordance with this idea. I am sure the Golden Ratio comes into this somewhere!

Grapes Please

A transportable distillation unit, just the ticket, all I need now are the grape vines!
This was in the street in Sarlat.

The Quiet Man

The guy on the left managed to hold this pose for the whole duration of my stay in Sarlat! I couldn't even get a word out of him. The guy on the right moved about quite a bit.

The Still Man

This guy was excellent. He held several different poses for an impressively long time.

Night Time Entertainment

The same shot at night.
I stayed for 2 nights here, and on both there was a lot of street theatre going on in different locations around the town centre. Most of it was very good. There were a few groups of musicians also.

Sarlat la Caneda

This was my first port of call on my travels around the Perigord Noir, the eastern section of the Dordogne. A very pretty town, built almost entirely from  a lovely honey coloured sandstone. It goes back to Medieval times. It is a major tourist attraction.

Green Door/Cuddly Toy

Taken in a really pretty fortified village called Monpazier. This will have to keep you going for a week or so, as I am off exploring the Vezere valley. Hopefully I will return with lots of great pictures!