Tuesday, July 26, 2011

On the way to Confolens

It had been an awe inspiring week in the Dordogne but it was time to move on. Our next stop was Confolens via Limoges for a morning tea stop, and lunch. We drove the 40 odd kms to bypass Perigueux which was a shame as our "Rough Guide" told us that the original site was founded sometime around 400BC. Then came the Romans followed by the Germanic Barbarians. Later the city was affected by both the Wars of Religion and the 100 years War. We missed seeing its Medieval and Renaissance heart. The next 100 kms on would be our coffee stop at Limoges.

I must admit that except for the coffee and the Brocante we might not have enjoyed Limoges but there's always hidden treasures in every village or city. The bigger the city the harder it is to find those treasures sometimes.

Limoges was midway between our time in Provence and the Languedoc on our way to Normandy and then back to Paris.

We found parking in a side street and walked by shop fronts with the crockery of Limoges and then on to an open square - It all seemed deserted until we discovered that most people were at the Brocante. How lucky were we to discover a "hidden treasure".



By chance it was Saturday and Limoges was having a Brocante.

A side walk cafe stop for coffee before discovering more interesting Brocante stalls.

I can't resist a pic with a Deux Cheveaux in there somewhere.

What do you think - Gaudi comes to Limoges??????

Its a bit of a worry when you come across "the Ladies of the Night" with a sign with a map of Australia outside.
Ohooo La La


The narrow lane ways and wooded houses did offer some ambiance of Limoges.

 We actually stayed longer in Limoges after discovering the Brocante and decided lunch there - the city started to buzz in the late morning and into the early afternoon.
It was still another 60 odd kms to go but we decided to let Tommy take us his way to Confolens and we are so pleased he did - he showed us some wondrous pieces of history that we may never have discovered - BUT more next Wednesday.

OK maybe a little teaser

 

4 comments:

  1. I never gave Limoges fair dues. I always went through it on the way to somewhere else and managed to usually get lost on the infuriating road system it has! So it's nice to have the balance re dressed and see a nice side to it.

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  2. We could have spent a little more time to discover more but when you are on the way to say a few nights, time is limited.
    Maybe we could have been fairer but Limoges did lack a little something.

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  3. Another interesting virtual journey, thanks for sharing.

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  4. LLM - The next few days travel to the Loire were more interesting to us, especially Confolens, a town we had very little knowledge of.

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