We are in a very rural part of South West France in the Dordogne region. The nearest “bigger” city is Sarlat, where a lot of foie Gras is made.

I think James is finally getting into a somewhat regular sleeping pattern now, so he was up a little before 7 am this morning. It was still dark outside, but the sun soon came up. I muddled through making some French press coffee and watched a little Mickey Mouse with James. I don’t think that I mentioned this before, but Justin brought our Amazon fire TV with us. He also loaded some of James’s favorite shows and movies on an SD Card so that we can watch TV even if the WiFi isn’t working. We haven’t been watching a ton, but it is nice especially in the mornings.

I spent a little time before we left getting in a fight with the washing machine. It ended in total frustration, but I thought that I got it working…..I thought. But more about that later. I also broke the French press as I was trying to wash it. It was glass and slipped out of my hands and broke in the sink. I’m basically a bull in a china cabinet :-/

We set out around 10:30 this morning and headed for Chateau de Fenelon.it is a beautiful castle built about 1,000 yrs ago. True to form, James fell asleep in the car on the way there. Luckily, I was able to load him up in the Ergo baby and carry him for a while. We walked around the outside of the castle as Samantha acted as our tour guide as read the descriptions of each highlights. Inside the castle has some incredible artifacts and a huge collection of armour and weaponry. I think we all really enjoyed it.

After that, we had lunch at La Gabarre. It really was fantastic. We sat outside on the patio and overlooked the Dordogne River. James was very well behaved. He didn’t even need his kindle or French fries! The waitor brought out a big chalkboard that had different menus for us to choose from. We decided to get an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Sam and I started with a pumpkin soup with mussels and fresh cheese made nearby. Justin got the foie Gras dish. The were both delicious. For our main course, Sam and I got the trout with to atones and white beans, Justin got the “duck two ways.” The desserts were fantastic rice pudding with berries and sorbet for Sam and I. Justin got the cake with caramel ice cream. We were stuffed, but it was worth it!

After that, we looked for a grocery store and found a pretty big one. We picked up some essentials like milk, juice, bread, wine, and coffee. We also looked for a French press to replace the one I broke, but couldn’t find one.

When we got home we played outside for a while and we continued to fight with the washing machine. Apparently, the clothes had been soaking the whole time we were gone and didn’t go through a spin cycle. This should not be a difficult thing to figure out, but the washer is in French and we were really guessing as to how to use it. Aaahhhh. Stuff like this is so frustrating. I ended up putting it on a quick 15 minute cycle hoping that it would at least spin. It seemed a little drier when Sam took it out, so we hung it on the line to dry.

After relaxing a little bit at the “farmhouse,” we headed out to Domme, a nearby town. We walked around town for a bit. There are tons of foie Gras shops,old churches, and gorgeous views. We ate dinner in Domme, but James was just not having his feeling it. He was extremely tired and there were a few meltdowns.

I got him off to bed quickly. Busy day tomorrow!

Alyce