Doug wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 10:12 am
That's before I got round to the fact that France was virtually bankrupt for years and couldn't afford to rebuild. You couldn't get a loan for buying furniture, going on holiday (don't know about a car though the idea of leasing wasn't current then).
When we bought our first house in the mid-80s, banks wouldn't give loans for old houses, just new ones and the concept of packing them in cheek by jowl hadn't hit our area (49). But we've certainly seen changes ....
Doug - the north of France was far worse off just after the War than the Dordogne, particularly along the north coast. Many towns like Caen, Le Havre, Saint Malo, Brest, Lorient etc were so badly damaged that they had to be rebuilt (just like some towns in the UK). Rennes in Ille et Vilaine has some nice buildings in the very centre, and a few timber buildings, but the rest is just glass and concrete. What saddened me was the graffiti everywhere in the centre, even though it is cleaned off pretty well every day.
Yes Blaze, well aware of the destruction up north, a few towns down here as well.
People talk of how beautiful Sarlat is but it was in such a bad state that they were going demolished it and rebuild but the municipal council stood ground and insisted on restoration, today is the result.
glazedallover wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:05 pm
I'm going to go to Eymet for my holidays. In fact I think I'll make it a two-centre vacation along with Sarlat.
I'm not sure if you're being serious or sarcastic but if/when you go to Sarlat you will find a unique medieval town with real character. Its market is one of the best I been to anywhere. If you go in the holiday season it will be crowded, with reason, but only a small minority of the visitors will be British. I have visited there often, mainly in the autumn and winter but last summer I ended there on a cycling trip that I was on with some French cousins. We enjoyed the area so much we extended out stay there. I've only passed through Eymet once when I was returning from the Pyrenees last year. I'm not surprised that it's popular because it too is a beautiful town. I didn't stop but perhaps I will next time. For anyone who likes history and bastides in particular it looks to be well worth a visit.
Thanks. No not at all sarcastic. Both towns along with The Dordogne in general were often much maligned by an old foe on another forum so I have always wanted to visit. As a non driver Sarlat seems easiest to get to by train, so along with my dog, I will have a bit of planning to do.
Stayed in that area once, spoilt by the so called villa, overrun with mice, and another building 6 feet away with hunting dogs howling all night. Enjoyed the market at Sarlat a couple of times.
glazedallover wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:05 pm
I'm going to go to Eymet for my holidays. In fact I think I'll make it a two-centre vacation along with Sarlat.
I'm not sure if you're being serious or sarcastic but if/when you go to Sarlat you will find a unique medieval town with real character. Its market is one of the best I been to anywhere. If you go in the holiday season it will be crowded, with reason, but only a small minority of the visitors will be British. I have visited there often, mainly in the autumn and winter but last summer I ended there on a cycling trip that I was on with some French cousins. We enjoyed the area so much we extended out stay there. I've only passed through Eymet once when I was returning from the Pyrenees last year. I'm not surprised that it's popular because it too is a beautiful town. I didn't stop but perhaps I will next time. For anyone who likes history and bastides in particular it looks to be well worth a visit.
Thanks. No not at all sarcastic. Both towns along with The Dordogne in general were often much maligned by an old foe on another forum so I have always wanted to visit. As a non driver Sarlat seems easiest to get to by train, so along with my dog, I will have a bit of planning to do.
Our changed plan on the cycling trip was to spend a couple of days longer around Sarlat and to visit Domme rather than spending the time retracing our steps to return to our starting point near Saint Emillion. We returned on the train, bikes and all. It was a lovely train ride back through the area. Enjoy your visit.
'The Dordogne in general were often much maligned by an old foe on another forum.'
This is a long standing problem. Too many people look down on the area because it is well known, touristy and has been a magnet for the British for decades. Their loss. There are parts of the Dordogne that attract tourists but with good reason. It has beautiful architecture, stunning countryside, a rich history that includes everything from prehistoric caves dwellings through and beyond the medieval castles that were so important to both the French and the English to the modern day. On top of that there is the regional food and the wine. For every well known and possibly crowed tourist town there are hundreds of beautiful, quiet locations worth visiting. My next visit to 24 will be later this month when I'm spending a weekend in Le Bugue. I can't wait.
Yes, we've heard mention of the huge number of English that live in the Dordogne. We've been here 16 months and so far, we've not met a one. I've heard a few speaking English in the supermarket, but that's about it. Someone told us there is another American couple that live in Beauregard, but we haven't stumbled upon them. Beauregard is a small town.
We've met many French neighbors now. Most people ask us if we are English and when we say we are American, they seem shocked and always ask, what brought you all the way here ??
Doug wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 11:22 am
Yes Blaze, well aware of the destruction up north, a few towns down here as well.
Royan is a good example of a town in the south west that had to be rebuilt after WW2. It now feels a bit of a soulless seaside town but the post war buildings are just another chapter in its long history.
I visited East Germany shortly after the wall came down and loved the town of Quedlinburg. After a couple of days staying in Hameln it seemed that we had stepped back into the Middle Ages. The state had promised that it would be brought up to date sympathetically and I must go back to see if its charm has survived.
Lori wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 1:28 pm
Yes, we've heard mention of the huge number of English that live in the Dordogne. We've been here 16 months and so far, we've not met a one.
If you live where I think you live it's one of my favourite areas of France. There is so much beauty both natural and manmade close by but it's a bit of a coin perdu, Visitors arrive in the holiday season but not in the numbers that flock into the well known places not far away. You chose well.
Thank you. We certainly think so. Never ending beauty at every turn. And how we ended up here is kinda funny. We had not been in the Dordogne for nearly 20 years prior to buying this house. Every day we look out the window we are reminded what a great decision we made. And every single day, we are amazed at how welcoming the people are.
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