Mother Nature Shows Off Underground...

We’d all been to caverns before, but this was the first time any of us had ever been on a boat underground and we were definitely impressed. At the end of the ride, we met up with a tour guide who walked us around for about an hour. Luckily Tony knew enough French to share some of facts with the rest of us. Even without full explanations, we thoroughly enjoyed the visit because of the incredible beauty of the stalactites and lakes. The above formation was called the Pile of Plates. While we only travelled 1 kilometer from the chasm, over 40 kilometers of galleries have been explored so far. It’s incredible to think that there could be still undiscovered caverns hiding such beauty elsewhere in the Dordogne. 

Underground Adventures...

Imagine that it’s 1865 and you have a bet to go to the bottom of the chasm in the town of Padirac, rumored to be the Gates of Hell. You descend the 245 feet, but quickly return to the top to claim your money. Now it’s 24 years later and you just happen to be the father of modern speleology, so you decide it’s time to go back and truly explore this giant hole. Of course, you don’t have a nice staircase or emergency lights to guide you, but you are brave and maybe a little crazy. You grab some buddies and find another hole to descend an additional 90 feet where you discover a subterranean river system and evidence of 14th century inhabitants. You eventually buy the chasm and turn it into a tourist attraction in 1899. You didn’t find the treasure you were searching for, but found something to be enjoyed by many for centuries instead. Fast forward 110 years and now it’s our turn to visit the Padirac Chasm. We didn’t need to be brave or crazy, just curious to see this wondrous place. 

Enjoying the Sun, Views and a Cave...

I’ve always thought the Loire Valley was beautiful, but must admit that the Dordogne region is much prettier with its hills and old stone construction. The weather was beautiful when we found this outdoor restaurant on the banks of the Dordogne River in Montignac. After lunch we went to a 16th century chateau and a museum about cave paintings found in the area. On Friday we visited a reconstruction of a cave discovered in 1940 by a boy and his dog that contained 2,000 paintings  believed to be 17,000 years old. Due to heavy damage to the paintings by carbon dioxide from the visitors, the original cave was closed to the public in 1963. Lascaux II was made to be an exact replica and opened in 1983. It is now an UNESCO World Heritage Site. While Ashlynn had a difficult time understanding what was special about seeing a fake cave, it really was cool. 

Further Afield in France...

After Vivynne booked flights to join us for another Easter at the Chateau (her family’s 2nd and our 4th), she started researching somewhere for us to explore for a few days. She chose the Dordogne region, about a 6-hour drive (plus the time to fix a flat) southwest of the Loire Valley. We had a weekend alone at the Chateau, then Vivynne’s family joined us there for a night to recover from jetlag before hitting the road for a 3-night stay in the medieval city of Sarlat. The 14th century historic center of this market town was very quaint. This area is famous for its foie gras, so duck was very popular at the restaurants since there would be a lot of parts to get rid out after removing the livers. Luckily we managed to find some other more appetizing options.

Funny Money...

It definitely took awhile to get used to using euros on a daily basis. It also took awhile to break the bad habit of converting prices into US Dollars. At first I was curious how prices were different, but since the dollar is worth less, it’s a pretty depressing habit which makes everything seem very expensive. Luckily, Jimmy’s paid in euros, so it’s all relative. The biggest physical difference in the currencies is there is no 1-euro bill; instead there’s a 1-euro coin and a 2-euro coin. Again, it took awhile to get used to the fact that coins are worth a fair bit and not just something to stuff into a jar. Best of all, unlike other European countries, the pragmatic Dutch have decided against using the 1-cent and 2-cent coins. Prices are rounded at the cash register to the nearest 5 cents, which I think is great. Each country on the euro mints different coins and we’re enjoying trying to collect one of each.

An Ugly Sight in Brussels...

Our weekend in Brussels also included some sadness as Jane found out her favorite uncle had died and we saw these horrible signs of hatred marring a historical site. Jane is deeply disappointed in the local government and the lack of response evidenced in not cleaning this garbage up. Even more sad is that they are unlikely to catch the garbage that did it.

Working Out in Brussels...

When I found out that Jimmy would be away over a weekend for business, I contacted our friends in Brussels to see if we could train down for a quick visit. The girls were thrilled that it wouldn’t be a sightseeing trip, but just a chance to hang out with friends (although Jane and I did sneak in a visit to the local museum to see medieval tapestries.) The weather wasn’t great, but we managed to get to a park each day; this playground was particularly interesting because of its fancy exercise equipment. Jane introduced us to one of her favorite vegetarian recipes for sweet potato falafels, which I was happy to be able to make in Holland.