Adventure Travel Photography Blog
Domme is a medieval, bastide town located in the Dordogne Valley in the Nouvelle-Aquitane region of southwestern France. Perched on a rocky outcrop, Domme provides magnificent views of the Dordogne River and valley. A member of the association, Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Domme is a popular tourist destination.
EXPLORE!
Sarlat-la-Canéda is a lovely French village in the Dordogne Valley. It is home to the highest concentration of medieval, Renaissance, and 17th-century architecture of any town in France. Its picturesque lanes and facades display the privileged status Sarlat received in return for its loyalty to the French crown during the Hundred Years’ War.
EXPLORE!
Gimel-les-Cascades is a small commune in the Corrèze region of France. Not in my France guide book, this tiny town is truly a hidden gem. It is a picture-perfect French village and was one of my favorite places in the Limousin and the surrounding area.
I was thankful to arrive around lunch time, as most everything closes between 12-2 in the Corrèze, and I didn’t have to contend with any traffic. As such, somehow, I managed to drive my giant rental car through the few narrow streets that we were wide enough for only one vehicle at a time.
There was so much to see in Gimel-les-Cascades including remains of castle La Rouche Haute, Church Saint Pardoux and its treasury, Chapel of the Penitents, the home of Gaston Vuillier, and of course the waterfalls for which Gimel-les-Cascades is named.
EXPLORE!
Uzerche is a town in the Corrèze department of the Nouvelle-Aquitane region of France which includes the Limousin. The town is perched on a rocky outcrop above the Vézère River. Uzerche dates back to the Roman times, and it was the last place the Gauls fought Julius Caesar.
EXPLORE!
Oradour-sur-Glane is a village in the Haute-Vienne department of the Limousin region (now part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine) of France. The new Oradour-sur-Glane was rebuilt after World War II next to the original village which was destroyed by a German Waffen-SS company.
DELVE INTO HISTORY
I wanted to go to the French Open in Paris for a day, but it was a long way to go from the USA without other plans. Having visited Paris previously, I was looking for other options when I found a “housesit” in Lagraulière, a town in Corrèze on a website called Trusted Housesitters. There are several other similar ones, but basically the site matches house and pet sitters with homeowners who need help with pet and home care.
I paid my application fee for the site, applied to the job in Corrèze which includes details about the owners, pets and home, and miraculously got it! After some communication back and forth, I booked my plane and train tickets in preparation for my next adventure.
PET A FARM ANIMAL
The Danube River originates in Germany and flows southeast 1,770 miles through ten countries and into the Black Sea. With the help of a lock system, 1,500 of those miles are navigable, thus it is an attractive river cruise destination.
TAKE A CRUISE
Being from the USA, it is not often that I have to take trains. As such, having to navigate train stations in a foreign country, knowing which tickets to buy, and what services are included can be challenging. This is what I found out about taking the České dráhy train from Prague to Krakow .
TAKE A RIDE
I arrived in Krakow from Prague via a seven-hour train ride. I followed the signage from the train station to Krakow’s Old Town which took me through the mall, up to an exit through a Christmas market, down into a tunnel beneath a street and then into a lovely park dusted in a light snow. The walk through the park to one of the many streets that lead the square was quite soothing after a long day.
EXPLORE!
While it is easy to simply google “free walking tours in Krakow”, I recently came across an app called freetour.com. It is great! I typed in Krakow and found a walking tour of Krakow’s Jewish Quarter and one of Krakow’s Old Town.
Today I joined the tour for Krakow’s Jewish Quarter. The English-speaking tour met at in front of St. Mary’s Basilica in Old Town at 2:30pm. Given it was winter time and dark very early, the tour was two hours rather than the advertised two and half hours. That was fine with me.
EXPLORE!