May 10 - Domme & Monfort - hilltop 'bastides'

 After another filling breakfast which included french toast (of course!), orange juice, coffee, cheeses, several breads, eggs, and bacon, we dressed in summer clothes for another warm and gorgeous day (it got up to 81 later in the day).   We drove south to Domme.

It's about 700 feet above the Dordogne River.   It's a quintessential 'bastide' town, a fortified walled-in medieval town.  It was founded as a stronghold in 1281 by Philip The Bold.    Several interesting gates!

This one, which Jan is standing in front of, is the Porte des Tours.  The towers in 1307 were the prison space for some of the Crusades' Knight Templars.  I guess they weren't too happy because they left a bunch of graffiti on the walls.   They must've been like visiting bikers getting too rowdy coming through town ..? :)

The entire village is still surrounded by high walls.   At the west end we found a park and some rescue staff practicing rope harness retrieval methods.

What a spectacular view overlooking the valley and farms below.

Would you believe they had a church ?

Lot of interesting buildings in town.

Flowers everywhere !!

Every town needs a main shopping thoroughfare !!

Can you believe it!   I needed a SUMMER hat for this trip !!

Sat on a bench at the top of the town, watched the clouds, and chilled for a bit, before finding a small cafeteria for lunch.

A very delightful stop, it's a MUST SEE on one of your next trips to France!!   The Dordogne Valley has so many sights to see!!

Down the hill we drove, actually drove through the Porte des Tours and across the Dordogne River to the north side.   Passed through another very interesting village called Vitrac on the way to Chateau de Montfort.  Coming down the hill we spotted the castle.    Pulled out into a farm field for a quick photo.

The castle has a long history of battles and sieges.   It was taken and razed to the ground by order of Simon de Montfort in 1214.   The castle was later rebuilt, but again destroyed another three times during The Hundred Years War.    We parked at the base and walked through the small village at the base of the high walls.

The castle wasn't open so we headed back to Sarlat.   We sill needed to visit a few more sights.    One was the panoramic lift in the bell tower of the former Sainte-Marie church.   (5-euros each)   It gave us a bird's eye view of the medieval city center.

This is a glass-encased structure, you can see my blue-striped reflection .. sorry.

It's a 12-minute look-see.  Afterwards we walked over to the back of the Cathedrale Saint Sacerdos to see the 'Lanterne des Morts', lantern of the dead, also found in Austria, Czechia, Germany, Northern Italy, and Poland.   They were built to warn passers-by of the danger of infection, as well as to illuminate cemeteries in order to cast out the darkness.

What another fun day!    History galore!    Good food, good weather, good people to visit with (many from England).

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we'll leave Sarlat after a short stop at their market, and head to the pilgrimage town of Rocamadour via Souillac and Lacave.    See you there!