Roque st Christophe part 2
Last October I did a post on Roque st Christophe. There are a few pictures and some information in that post and you should read that before looking at these videos. They were taken from either the on bike camera or static. If you want to see more bike videos then go to youtube and look for videos by me, username BMWbikerinFrance.
Here are the links click on them to see the videos:
Part onePart twoPart threePart fourPart five
A ride out on the bikes
Went out on the bikes today. Fantastic weather and very little traffic. I fitted the video camera and took some videos. The first one is the ride past the Grand Roc at Les Eyzies, here in the Dordogne. It is a short video but is quite spectacular in the way that the rock face hangs over the road. It can be seen
here.
The second video is a bit longer at 9 minutes but shows the twisty road to Sarlat. It is a very wekk surfaced road with cambered bends, perfect for a bike. As can be seen in the video, the scenery is fantastic and the traffic at this time of year is sparse, I only overtook one car the whole way, and that was turning right. The video is
here.
More to come next ride out.
Perigueux - the other part
You may have read the earlier post with the title "Versuna", that was the Roman name for the town of Perigueux, which is the administrative town of the Dordogne, also known as The Perigord. Many of these buildings date back 700 years, with alterations over time, but some are modern, but seem to keep the character of the town.
These pictures were taken today and if you want to see more detail then click on the picture and it will enlarge on your screen.
Don't know what this building is but it flies the French flag so I assume that is is an official building of some sort. Note how clean and tidy the square in front is.
This is an old building in amongst more modern ones in the same square as the last picture.
Walking down the narrow streets,
you need to look up toward the sky to see some things,
and down the side streets to see others.
In a small courtyard off to the side you find doorways like this,
which you have to look into to find stairways that people have used for hundreds of years.
Just outside that doorway, you look up and see things that many people do not notice. The small balcony looks like it has not been used for many years.
This is the building above a shop.
and this is the shop below.
A fascinating building on the corner of one of the squares.
This and the next picture show the same building at different times of the year.
This square has a number of cafes, with outside tables, where you can enjoy a coffee or a meal at very reasonable prices.
I love this one, it is the top of a very modern underground carpark. A green area with benches has been built on top, but the 800 year old tower still stands in the background.
Some of the more modern buildings that surround the carpark.
Even with the mirrored glass this one does not look out of place.
And another view showing one of the entrances to the car park.
There are many pictures here and when combines with the Versuna post, you can get a feel for the town, but believe me, this is not all. There is so much to see, the river running through Perigueux is quite stunning and the banks are lined with history. The cathedral is something to behold, but I shall not show you everything as I have to keep some things to myself, you are welcome to visit Perigueux and find the rest yourself.
New toys for the bike
I have bought myself a small video camera for the bike and mounted it on the handlebars. The idea is to take short videos and upload them to youtube just for the hell of it.
This is how it is mounted, The bracket is home made and bolted to the GPS mount.
The results can be seen on:
Down the driveThe road to PlazacBack from PlazacUp the driveThese are not yet super TV quality clips, but I am working on it.
Spring has sprung
It is now the 4
th of March. The weather has improved after the week or so of rain. I have bought myself another 200 litre water butt and plumbed it into one of the drain pipes so that there is plenty of water for flushing the toilet. That is one of my environmentally friendly projects. I can operate the electric pump to pump water into the water butts from the well, but rainwater uses no electricity so that has to be the preferred method. Today is one of those sunny days in the low 20s. The butterflies and the lizards are out, and the geese have flown over heading north in huge V formations.
I have planted the first of the marigold seeds, but they stay on the garage windowsill for now. I shall start putting them into the garden when they get bigger. I estimate that I shall need around 40 plants this year. I also have various tree seeds planted, but these are a long term job. Many of them are chestnuts and as soon as they start growing they will have to go out into the wood and be protected from the deer. I am fully aware that I will never see the fully grown trees in my lifetime, but it is fun trying to grow them.
The wild primroses and cowslips are growing all around the house now and this morning I noticed that there are also loads of wild strawberries. There is a huge patch of daffodils in the woods just in front of the house, I assume that the last owner planted and forgot about them. I am not sure if he wanted them for picking or planting on, but it looks nice to have a strip of yellow in the woods.
The bikes are cleaned and serviced ready for the first day trip. We are planning many trips this year and were intending to change the bikes, but that will have to wait now.
If you double click on any of the above pictures they will open much bigger.
