Beauty and the Beast

3/14/22- After waking up and getting our first round of crepes at a french pub... we walked over to a cathedral inspired by the Almudena cathedral in Madrid. The church had a big dome on top that was similar to the one in Madrid. After the cathedral we drove over to the La Roque Saint Christophe cave dwellings were we read about the homes turned fort turned homes. The houses built into the side of a clif has been home to man since prehistoric times. As you walk through what remains you can read about the history and the uses of different rooms. After the caves we went to a castle built into a clif- Maison Forte de Reignac. This castle was home to the ruler of the cave dwellings from the dark ages all the way up until the 20th century. The castle featured uneven stairs, similar to the ones in Morocco, to prevent intruders from gaining easy access. We got pamphelts that told us about the history of the castle and the time period as well and lets just say im glad I was not born in the Dark Ages. After the castle we drove over to Les Jardins de marqueyssac, one of my favorite stops so far. These gardins are littered with playgrounds, cottages, binoculars facing beautiful views, and other fun surprises. The gardins pretty scenery is joined by peacocks wandering throughout the hedges and bushes. This stop is a must! Afterwards we wound our way through what we like to call "Belle towns". The nickname comes from our first trip to Europe 10 years ago when we decided that the Disney princess Belle would have lived in one of these towns. They are seriously taken from a storybook and placed in the backcountry of France.