France: Four Days in Four Photos
plus a bonus snapshot
You’re reading life: examined, a compendium of ideas, thoughts, and questions about living a creative, intentional life—written to you from my home in Portugal.
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Last week, we took a trip to see our neighbor in the north.
It’s been years since I last visited France, and C had never been.
What the heck are we doing in Europe if we don’t see France? It’s like living in California and never going to Nevada. Actually, it’s nothing like that. But France is that close—from one state to the next state close.
BORDEAUX
We flew into Bordeaux on a cheapy-cheap carrier, with our mandated and respective one minuscule bag per person stowed beneath the seats in front of us.
The flight was quick and uneventful. Once landed, we headed to the shuttle bus that would take us downtown and within walking distance of our hotel.
Bordeaux was our place for the night. We walked around the historic zone searching for Land & Monkeys, an all-vegan bakery and café. At L&M, we had a quick dinner and took away croissants for breakfast the next morning.
We had an early-ish morning train to Périgueux in the Dordogne as our stop for the next 48-ish hours, so we made it an early night. Ha! Who am I kidding? We’re not usually out after dark!
PÉRIGUEUX
We were curious about Périgueux, which has a unique cathedral from the late 1600s, and we were looking forward to wandering around what we'd heard was a charming historic center.
The cathedral in Périgueux is massive!
A Catholic Church dedicated to Saint-Front (the first bishop of Périgueux), the cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Périgueux is also on the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France, a UNESCO World Heritage designation.
The cathedral’s architecture is fascinating.
Victor Hugo nicknamed it the great mosque of Périgueux, and it’s easy to see why with its Romanesque-Byzantine style. We didn’t check out the interior (we’re not good at touristing) as we were content to view the church from different angles outside, but we will on our next visit.
We spent our brief time in Périgueux exploring the pedestrianized historic medieval part of town, crossing the bridge across the river Isle to check out the non-touristy side for an hour (notable architecture, there, was sparse).
Throughout our brief stay, I spoke with locals using a new language—a mess of words and sounds that combined my rusty, sad French with my sad Portuguese.
This new language was undoubtedly a hit with the good people of Périgueux (insert eye roll here) and I hope they’ll be excited to converse with me again.
Decades ago, I toured a few villages in the Dordogne, like Sarlat, but was put off by the region's specialty, foie gras. Sarlat was charming; force-feeding geese is not.
Many people consider foie gras a delicacy (maybe you do?), but I was so bothered by the ubiquitous dish that I didn't think I'd ever return.
Yet all these years later, despite my aversion to foie gras and its production method, I'm glad we went to Périgueux, even if it was only for two days. It gave me a taste (ugh—bad pun) of the region and a desire to see more of it.
MONTAUBAN
To get to Montauban, we had to return to Bordeaux, an easy 1.5 hour train trip, then board a different train going back in the direction, but not the same tracks, we came.
On hindsight, going to Montauban was silly; we didn't even have a full day to wander the city because it was late afternoon upon arrival. However, we love a good train ride—even if the landscape is dull and the skies are overcast like it was on this day.
Montauban is about 40 train minutes north of Toulouse.
A city with buildings constructed of more red brick than I care to see, Montauban's highlight was the Musée Ingres Bourdelle.
Keep in mind my rating of the brick and the museum is based on a 12-hour visit, so I don't recommend using my impetuous proclamations as a travel guide to this town.
I confess—it's a confession because it's probably not cool—that I love La Grande Odalisque by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. I was excited to see this masterwork up-close.
If you don't know it, the large rectangular painting features a nude woman (of strange proportion and one too many vertebrae) with her back to the viewer, her face (her head is so small!) looking over her shoulder.
La Grande Odalisque wears a beautiful silk head wrap trimmed in tassels. In her right hand, she holds a peacock-feathered fan. The fabrics, textures, and overall color scheme are lush.
Maybe it's just a pretty (read: frivolous) painting, but I like it.
—> While researching for this post, I discovered the original La Grande Odalisque lives at the Louvre! The one at the Musée Ingres Bourdelle was painted by the French painter Jules Flandrin (the scoundrel!)
Despite the painting not being the original, we enjoyed it nonetheless. We had fun and plan to make more mini-jaunts now that I feel better and more road-worthy.
Maybe we'll head to the Louvre next time, slip past the crowds ogling the Mona Lisa, and see La Grande Odalisque instead!
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Always a treat to see a new post from you, and also to read of your "non-tourist-y" tourings...just how I like them, as well!
(And I far prefer stone buildings to brick!) :-D
Loved the recap of your quick trip to France! Thank you for sharing this journey and as always your insights.