The Dordogne (Collonges-la-Rouge, Beynac, Domme, La Roque-Gageac, Sarlat, La Roque St. Christophe, Lascaux, Font-de-Gaume, Rouffignac, Carennac, Loubressac, Autoire, & Rocamadour)

Prior to planning my trip to France, I had never heard of the region called Dordogne. Provence, the Riviera, Normandy, Burgundy, and the Loire Valley were all well-known in my mind and probably to everyone else as well. It wasn't until I saw a television show that Rick Steves had produced on the Dordogne that I knew I was definitely going to go out of my way to ensure I would visit. The picture-postcard scenes I saw of people lazily paddling down a serene river with a golden-hued stone village as its backdrop captured my attention immediately. As I drooled over the images, it appeared as though it would be a photographers dream setting, so I was quite looking forward to photographing it myself!

The Dordogne is an area of Southwest France that is located within the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire Valley and the High Pyrénées. It is well-known throughout France as a gorgeous river valley with both natural and man-made beauty including rock-sculpted villages, quiet back roads, 1,500 castles, amazing panoramic vistas, foie gras, prehistoric caves art, and cliff-side villages that reflect perfectly upon the calm Dordogne River. For some strange reason, this region of France is not well-known amongst most visitors, but I was determined to find out more, so I decided to spend four nights in the area. This was definitely the part of my trip that I was most excited to see and experience!

Day 10 (Sunday, September 6, 2009)

I left Chinon and the Loire Valley bright and early in the morning, and began the long drive south towards the Dordogne, where I planned to spend four nights in the small village of Beynac. Prior to my arrival however, I had two stops planned along the way in order to break-up the long drive.

The first of these stops was the town of Oradour-sur-Glane. The first two hours and 15 minutes of the drive went smoothly, until I was about 15 minutes away from reaching the town. Although I was hesitant to do so, I listened to my navigation system when it instructed me to turn down a gravel road. Considering that I hadn't yet driven down a non-paved road in France, it seemed slightly peculiar, but I figured that the navigation system knew what it was doing. Unfortunately, it did not. After having turned down the road, I was soon greeted with some of the worse driving conditions I have ever seen. The road literally appeared as though it hadn't been driven upon in 40 years. There was so much brush covering the "road" that I wasn't quite sure if it was actually going to lead me anywhere but the woods. There were massive ditches and huge boulders that I had to drive over; remember, I had rented a very tiny little car, so I was absolutely panicked that I was going to either get stuck as I bottomed-out or that I would do so much damage to the underside of the car that it would stop working.

In addition to the problems described above, the road was so unbelievably narrow that even if I had wanted to turn around (which I did!) I wouldn't have been able to; I would have had to reverse, which I didn't think was much of a better option than if I continued to drive. I just kept envisioning getting stuck, or the paint job getting so scratched up from the amount of trees and bushes that were brushing up alongside it. I kept telling myself that there was no way this road could continue on for much longer, but of course, I was completely wrong! Nearly 15 minutes after I had initially turned down the road, I finally saw a "real" road (i.e. paved) in sight! I was so stressed out by this point that I could barely breath; thankfully, I was only minutes from Oradour-sur-Glane, so I had some time to try and relax in order to prepare seeing what I knew would be a very emotional visit.

Sign to Oradour-sur-Glane.

Entrance sign to Oradour-sur-Glane.

Portland, Oregon (Sightseeing)

Portland may surprise visitors with it's options of places to visit and experience. Although Portland is a large city, the easy-going nature of it's residents has resulted in a a small-town vibe that it very focused on it's uniquely hip neighborhoods. Portland is an extremely easy city to get around by public transportation due to it's comprehensive light rail and bus system. A car is definitely not necessary for a visit and it actually not recommended due to the cost of parking.

Below, I have described the different places we saw on our three day visit over Memorial Day weekend. Be forewarned that this blog post is very photo-heavy!

International Rose Test Garden: This 4.5 acre park is located within the much larger Washington Park and has no entrance fee. The garden is one of 24 sites nationwide that tests new rose varieties and today displays over 550 different varieties.

Since our visit occurred at the end of May I was hopeful that we would be able to see some roses, especially considering the annual Portland Rose Festival took place over the course of our visit. Unfortunately, this was not the case. In fact, there were so few roses in bloom (we probably saw less than ten rose buds and flowers) that the local newspaper even made fun of the "no rose" rose festival. No roses aside, the Rose Test Garden is still a beautiful place to stroll, no matter what the season is.

International Rose Test Garden

The many rows of rose-less rosebushes.

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

Two rosebuds at the International Rose Test Garden.

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

International Rose Test Garden

One of the few roses in bloom at the International Rose Test Garden.

Beautiful rosebud at International Rose Test Garden.

International Rose Test Garden.

Artwork at the International Rose Test Garden.

International Rose Test Garden.

International Rose Test Garden

Portland, Oregon (Hotel, Dining, & Nightlife)

My fiance Shyawn and I spent four days over Memorial Day weekend visiting Portland, Oregon to celebrate our one year anniversary.

I am going to divide my report on Portland into two separate posts; one on hotel, dining, and nightlife and the second will be on sightseeing.

Portland is located about three hours from us by car, although neither one of us could claim that we had ever truly visited the city. As with many people I know from Seattle, we had both experienced many drive-bys and a few half-hearted visits. For years I had wanted to get a true taste of the city so when we were thinking of places to go and visit for our anniversary weekend I figured Portland would fit the bill as the perfect place for an economical long-weekend trip.

Hotel: Hotel Modera was selected after reading its glowing reviews on both Trip Advisor and Yelp. I wanted to stay somewhere centrally located in the downtown area that was recently updated but one that also wouldn't break the bank. By booking directly through the hotel's website and paying for the room in advance, I was able to secure two nights at $109 and the third night at $99. Had I not done that, the room would have been about $30-$40 more per night. Since we had our car with us, I also paid ahead of time for valet parking which was $20 per night instead of $27 per night that we would have paid upon arrival.

The hotel was very modern and clean with lots of simple details that made it feel as though we were staying at a very upscale and luxurious place even though we had paid so little! I loved the fun and colorful art as well as the heavenly smelling Tarocco products in the bathroom. The staff was extremely accommodating and went out of their way to help us. I would stay here again in a heartbeat and definitely recommend it to anyone!

Lobby of Hotel Modera.

Elevators at Hotel Modera.

Our room at Hotel Modera. 

I loved this fun mirror in our room. 

Pretty orange bathroom at Hotel Modera.

France's Château Country, the Loire Valley (Langeais, Chenonceau, Chaumont, Blois, Chambord, Cheverny, Amboise, Villandry, Azay le Rideau, Abbaye de Fontevraud, & Chinon)

Day 7 continued (Thursday, September 3, 2009)

From Fougeres, I began the very long drive towards the Loire Valley. Throughout the nearly three hour journey, the sun was in a constant battle with the clouds, but it appeared as though the sun was going to win, or at least I hoped so. Seeing blue skies while in the Loire Valley was extremely important to me as visiting and photographing the many château was one of the things I was most looking forward to during my visit to France.

My first stop within the Loire Valley was Château de Langeais, which was rebuilt in 1465 on the ruins of a 10th century fortress. This chateau is most famous for a well-known incident that occurred within its walls. In 1491, King Charles VIII secretly married the 14-year old Anne, the Duchess of Brittany at Langeais, a union which forever changed French history. Prior to the marriage, Brittany was complete independent of France, but afterward, it became a part of France.

Entrance to Chateau de Langeais.

View from Chateau de Langeais.

Chateau de Langeais.

Interior of Chateau de Langeais.

One of the many bedrooms at Chateau de Langeais.

Chateau de Langeais.

I thought that Château de Langeais had many interesting rooms, almost all of which were filled with period furniture from the 1400 or 1500’s. I also found it very helpful that there was an English explanation sheet in every one of the rooms.

A brief stop in Brittany: Cancale, Emerald Coast, Saint-Malo, Dinan, and Fougères

Day 6 (Wednesday, September 2, 2009)

I headed out of Mont. St. Michel early this morning in order to get a head start on my day. I was hoping to possibly see blue skies, but, unfortunately, that was not the case so my mostly cloudy and gray photos of the Mont from the day prior would have to suffice.

My first stop of the day was in the seaside town of Cancale. This small town of about 6,000 residents is famous for its many oyster beds, but I came to simply stroll the quiet backstreets and to enjoy the gorgeous water views. I also stopped in at a bakery to purchase my daily ration of croissants.

The town of Cancale from a distance. 

Cute house in Cancale. 

Cancale

Street scene in Cancale.

Oysters for sale in Cancale.

Waterless harbor in Cancale.

Normandy Part Trois: Balleroy, Coutances, Granville, Villedieu-les-Poeles, and Mont St. Michel

Day 5 (Tuesday, September 1, 2009)

Much to my disappointment, I awoke to a cloudy morning in Bayeux. After getting ready and packing my bags, I walked over to a nearby grocery store and then a patisserie in order to stock up on some food.

My first stop of the day was a small town called Balleroy, where I had wanted to visit it’s chateau. The approach to the chateau was via a grand avenue that had identical trees lining the street the entire way. The chateau was commissioned back in 1631, and was owned for several centuries by the Counts of Balleroy. In 1970, the famous Malcolm Forbes purchased the palace and restored it. He also decided to create a museum within the chateau dedicated to ballooning, an avid pastime of his. Upon arrival, I noticed on the entrance sign that the chateau was closed on Tuesdays. I wasn’t too disappointed with this news though as I would soon be visiting many chateaus in the coming days when I headed over to the Loire Valley. Instead, I decided to just walk up as close as I could to the exterior of the chateau and snap a few pictures. Along the short walk, I met a very friendly black cat whom followed me along the path. I also met what I assumed was one of her kittens, an extremely cute black and white cat. I was in absolute heaven as I missed my own kitties dearly and was in need of some kitty loving. After obtaining some great shots of the beautiful exterior, I walked next-door to a church, took some photos, and then said goodbye to the cats.

Chateau de Balleroy 

An outbuilding at Chateau de Balleroy.

One of my kitty friends.

Normandy Part Deux: Bayeux, Caen, and the D-Day Beaches

Day 3 (Sunday, August 30, 2009)

After another lovely breakfast, I collected my luggage and began the hour-long drive to Bayeux. Although I was looking forward to the next part of my trip, I was very sad to leave gorgeous Honfleur and the charming bed and breakfast.

Once in Bayeux, I immediately checked into my hotel, La Reine Mathilde. Although my room had not yet been cleaned, the girl at the front desk allowed me to store my baggage while I headed out, a huge convenience that I very much appreciated.

Exterior of La Reine Mathilde Hotel.

My room at La Reine Mathilde.