Day 6: Submarine base, travel to Sarlat, Atelier de Candale, walking tour of Sarlat, Le Présidial.
This is a travel day, but we start with a visit to an interesting site: the Bassins des Lumières
in the background.
It is a huge concrete building that used to be a submarine docking and repair facility during
World War II.
It is so large and has so much concrete that it is impractical to destroy it, so they turned it into
an art exhibition hall.
Inside, there is an array of catwalks...
...around the main chambers that are filled with water.
A short introductory video hearkens back to its original usage.
The longer main program is all about the work of Henri Matisse.
It is set to music and projected on the walls as you move freely around the area.
You can see the other patrons on the catwalks...
...and the reflections of the works in the water.
After a brief intermission, a second, shorter program plays.
This one is about the work of Frida Kahlo.
We stop for lunch at Atelier de Candale, a winery on our way to Sarlat.
A Chinese tour bus is also there for lunch, and they evidently dressed for the occasion.
The rain comes and goes as we tour around the winery.
Back on the road to Sarlat, and we arrive at the Hotel Plaza Madeleine and Spa.
Kimberly unpacking in the room.
Here's Maarten taking us on a tour of the old town, which is right across from the hotel.
The setting is idyllic with all the old buildings set around the market squares.
The Statue des Trois Oeis, paying tribute to the town's gastronomic history.
You can find foie gras and related products in about a third of the shops.
The Sarlat Cathedral is barely large enough to qualify as a cathedral...
...but it is nice inside.
On the grounds seeing a burial area.
Kimberly with a new friend she made in town.
Maarten is an absolute font of information on the area, its buildings, history, traditions, etc.
Much of the old town looks like small streets with small restaurants.
The rain keeps coming and going, so we keep our umbrellas handy. It really was a nice time of year to
go, however, as the weather was mild and there were no crowds at all.
Our carte for this evening. Like many of the restaurants, you take your choice of one appetizer, one
main, and one dessert.
We both start with the asparagus and morel mushroom tart.
Kimberly gets the duck breast with the house potatoes.
Wade gets the guinea fowl breast. The thing that looks like a hot dog on top is actually a carrot.
Wade ends with the chocolate lava cake in pistachio custard cream.
Kimberly gets the cheese plate, which we share.
