Philippe's directions were impeccable. at noon, cross the bridge to Castelnaud on the south side of the Dordogne and wait on the terrace next to the parking area. Our implementation was imperfect. The road to La Roque-Gageac is common with the road to Castelnaud (up to onme critical turn-off point which we initially missed). When we arrived in La Roque-Gageac at 11:40, we saw a terrace next to a parking area and medieval castles and a church growing out of the rocky cliffs above. This must be the place and comfortably in advance of Philippe's arrival. At 12:05 and no sign of Philippe, I became suspicious that something was amiss...I recalled Philippe's directions about the south side of the river, so I consulted Tissot, and "oh shoot...we're on the north side of the river!". So, we consulted with la madame selling tickets for canoe rentals where else might one meet someone in Castelnaud. Cross the bridge to the south and you'll arrive in Castelnaud. Et Voila....what a goof am I. I had suggested to Philippe that if, by some unforeseeable circumstance we did not meet up by 12:15, he should head home, and we would follow with our GPS into which I had already plugged the lat/long position of his chalet. So, just in case Philippe decided to leave Castelnaud at 12:15 as I previously suggested he do, Michele waited at La Roque-Gageac in the evant that he scouted that waiting area for signs of our arrival. In the meantime, I rushed over to Castelnaud and understood immediately exactly where we had gone wrong on our first approach. At 1:20, I parked behind the terrace at Castelnaud, ran around the terrace and parking lot with no sign of Philippe who presumbably had stepped into one of the shops for about the same 30 seconds that I was scouting the area. Plus no Peugeot (the car he had reserved but which had subsequently not been available to him) in the parking lot. Right then...staright back to La Roque-Gageac to pick up Michele and then head up to his chalet. On the way there, I decided to stop in Castelnaud again and have a second look in case Philippe had returned..and, indeed, there he was with beautiful Lolo waiting patiently and looking great. He had never left...such is a characteristic virtue of good friendship. Upon arrival at La Terre de Blade, we had the pleasure to meet two of his siblings, his neice and nephews, and of course Max looking as trim and handsome as ever. Philippe and company have discovered a piece of paradise, a chalet on a hilltop overlooking the rolling hills towards the south of the exquisite Perigord region. Relaxation is the fundamental element of La Terre to Blade, and we indulged in the peace and tranquility accordingly. The next day, we drove with Max and Lolo to Lascaux where we visited a late Paleolithic cave (c. 15000 B.C.). In fact, for reasons of preservations of the original paintings 200 meters away, a perfect copy (Lascaux II) of the original cave had been constructed in shape, size, depth, and temperature (a refreshing 13 degrees). It took 15 years to reproduce the cave and another 5 years to recreate the paintings on the rough surfaces therein with the very same pigments originally used, Twenty years after having closed the original cave, the end result of the reproduction is stunning. Large beasts mostly cows, bulls, and horses with a few tiny reindeer (the only animal, apparently, that the Cromagnon artists actually ate) with excellent detail and form. It is claimed that the original paintings at Lascaux represent some of the best preserved in the world and one cow measuring well over 5 meters is the largest known paleolithic painting anywhere. Unfortunately, no photos (even withot flash) are permitted..you'll have to google Lascaux or buy the book if you want to see them for yourself.
