Day-trip to Sarlat and its surroundings

This Saturday, I went on a day-trip to Sarlat with a couple of other assistants from Perigueux. Sarlat is -- according to my boss at the Inspection Academique -- the most touristic town in the Dordogne region. Compared to Perigueux, it is a lot cuter and more manicured but it has a similar medieval architecture and farmer's market. 

We spend the day exploring the town and the Château de Castelnaud (pictured below), a medieval fortress in the nearby commune of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle. In the evening, we went to a very nice restaurant to celebrate the birthday of one of the Sarlat assistants. I highly recommend it, it was called L'instant Delice. Their specialty is regional Dordogne/Perigord food, which is basically duck or goose, duck or goose by-products, and anything cooked in duck or goose fat. YUM. I remember having foi gras as an entree, and the popular confit de canard with pommes de terre sarladaises* as a main dish. 

In my short time there, I was able to verify that Sarlat is indeed a very beautiful town with lovely plazas, restaurants, markets, and landmarks, so I can see why it has become the home to a lot of British expats and a favourite destination in the Dordogne. However, I did notice a number of odd and negative things while I was there that kind of made me happy I live in Perigueux. 

The most inexplicable one was the omnipresence of (quite expensive) porny fairy figurines in every gift shop -- each one more provocative than the next. Grim. They had also chosen "the big white North" a.k.a. Canada a.k.a my country as the theme for their Christmas market. It was very strange for me to be welcomed to a tiny french town with Canadian flags and weird, stereotypical, and borderline offensive scenes of Canada's Indigenous Peoples. The food also seemed more expensive than in Perigueux -- not only in restaurants but also in the market. Blame tourism for that I guess. Finally, after we left the restaurant, the town was incredibly dead, especially for a friday night! The assistants and teachers who were at the dinner were able to confirm that Sarlat is virtually devoid of any nightlife. I wonder if it's the same during the summertime. C'est tragique. On the other hand, Perigueux is not Berlin. At least there are a lot more assistants and we make our own fun. 

Either way, it was a very good trip and I will forever remember Sarlat as the Dordogne capital of porny fairy figurines. 

(*duck cooked in its own fat and potatoes cooked in duck fat. See? I told you)

Sarlat farmer's market + chick old lady

Castelnaud-la-Chapelle

Christan exploring Castelnaud-la-Chapelle

Château de Castelnaud 

Château de Castelnaud 

Castelnaud-la-Chapelle

Castelnaud-la-Chapelle

Sarlat

Sarlat

Sarlat

Sarlat - weird depiction of Indigenous Peoples of Canada

Sarlat

Sarlat

Sarlat's Christmas Market - Canadian theme

More weird depictions of Canada's Indigenous Peoples

Sarlat market

Sarlat market

Sarlat market

Outfit Review Parody

This weekend I went through a fair share of fabulous outfits. I think it's only fair that I include all my style inspirations... Get excited.

Outfit#1: I was really interested in exploring the contrast between a square, masculine, comfortable  shape and the use of feminine tones such as fuscia and pink. The burgundy also added an unexpectedly rich layer and depth to the outfit.

I wore:
- Snuggie (Gemma's)
- Scarf (I'm pretty sure I found it somewhere at Uni)

Inspiration: 

Chanel Fall 2012

Chanel fall 2012

Givenchy Spring 2013

Boney Tyler's total eclipse of the heart circa 80s

It's also really practical if one wants to take a nap but wishes to remain stylish. 

Daphne Guiness

 Outfit #2: I am all about contrast! The constricted nature of the pants paired with the airiness of the shirt gives the outfit a complicated, meaningful edge. I wore:

- Shirt from Perigueux only charity shop
- DKNY pants
- Aldo boots
- Friendship bracelet I gave to myself #treatyoself2010

Inspiration: Frida Kahlo, Stevie Nicks, and Jerry Seinfeld. 

Perigueux: medieval urban exploration

I have been living in Perigueux for two months now and I am ashamed to admit that before last weekend, I had not embarked on any urban exploration adventures! Usually, it's the first thing I do when I move to a new place; I walk around, get lost explore a bit, and try to familiarize myself with the neighbourhood. I was just being a snob, thinking that I had inevitably seen everything that my tiny new city had to offer. Spoiler alert: I was wrong!

A view of the Isles river and the Barris bridge, some old houses, and the cathedral at the back

Last weekend, another assistant (Gabrielle) from Bordeaux was visiting and I suggested we go on a self-guided walking tour of the medieval district, which is more or less my neighbourhood. For only 50 cents, the P-town Tourism Office gave us a little map featuring medieval touristic streets, medieval buildings, and cute medieval plazas. One or two of the "medieval buildings" were built in the 60s but to the untrained eye, they look mad medieval.

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Passage Taillefer

Place Saint Silain

Place Saint Louis

Inside Perigueux' Saint Front Cathedral

To be honest, the map wasn't that great. It suggested a route but it hardly gave any information about the different points of interests. Then again, it was 50 cents! Gabrielle and I eventually diverged from the route and did our own thing. To anyone who is really interested in the history or architecture of medieval Perigueux, I would recommend researching a bit online and crafting their own tour before coming to town.

Two assistants came to visit this weekend (Holly and Siwan) and I tried to take them on a similar tour but, like with Gabrielle, we ended up taking different roads after a while. On both occasions, I took a lot of cool pictures and I had a lovely time looking at old crooked medieval and fake-medieval buildings. I guess I could say now that I've seen everything that the center of Perigueux has to offer but I am not so sure. I mean, could go on the same walk everyday and depending on the weather, my mood, the people around me, or the time of day, the experience would be different every time... Also there's a lot left to eat in this place!