HOW TO LIVE THE DREAM IN FRENCH STYLE
PREHISTORIC man selected the Dordogne valley as his destination of choice. Today this region is still a favourite playground of tourists. Just ten minutes from tiny Bergerac airport is La Tour des Vents restaurant, which offers a panoramic view of the town and a first reminder of the calibre of French cuisine.
I dived into succulent, crisp-coated langoustines, washed down with a Bergerac Monbazillac with a nose big enough to put Cyrano’s own in the shade.
Full of bonhomie, we drove to Tremolat, a village where the sleepy square gave clues as to the marque of its clientele. Restaurants, a hair salon and estate agents – essentials for when you come and live here, as you will surely want to.
Author Henry Miller came for a week in 1958 and stayed a month, making the handsome country house hotel Le Vieux Logis his home.
Our cosy suite of rooms, nestled in the eaves, was up a creaking staircase past Room 4 where Miller wrote in the deep peace of this region.
We were treated to Michelin-starred chef Vincent Arnould’s seasonal menu, eating in the hotel’s beautiful high-ceilinged dining room that was once a tobacco-drying barn.
The flavour of a working farm lingered on. After picking Crimson Delight apples from the hotel’s orchard, we crunched our way through golden oak woodlands and up to a rocky outcrop with breathtaking views of the Dordogne river snaking through the valley below.
If you visit only one market in this area, it has to be Sarlat. Bursting with regional produce, the seasonal star during our visit was the walnut, made into spreads, jams and cakes.
An hour’s drive east brought us to Chateau de la Treyne – a fairytale castle set in extensive grounds, and the suite we stayed in was indeed fit for a princess.
Henry Miller concluded that the Dordogne will live on just as dreams will live on. I couldn’t agree more.