Spontaneous France: A Weekend in Dordogne and Corrèze | Medieval Villages and Châteaux

Spontaneous France: A Weekend in Dordogne and Corrèze | Medieval Villages and Châteaux

We rented a car in Bordeaux with only backpacks and no reservations and found ourselves exploring medieval villages and chateau across Dordonia before accidentally crossing into Corez and discovering even more hidden gems. Sometimes the best adventures happen when you have no plan at all. Subscribe to our channel for more Zeke and Terry adventures. It’s our first weekend in Bordeaux and we are off on an adventure. Toonia. Yep. Uh hopefully. Although once we get the car, we may decide to point the nose in a different direction other than the car rental. We have no other reservations. Uh so onward onward. Let’s [Music] go. Zeke needed needed a little snacky and I need a little drinky. So, we popped into uh one of the restaurants. These tend to be pretty nice. Uh it used to be you had to have a coin in order to go get an espresso, but now you can just, you know, choose whatever. You can even get a snack with it and just pay with a credit card. And in 5 years, when our kids are watching this, they’ll go, “There was no retinal scan.” Now, what we need to do is find a place to grab you grab us some lunch in the next half hour uh in a pretty location cuz basically we’re just on a main freeway right now before the lunch hour expires and everyone goes takes a siesta for the afternoon. You are cranky. Have some lunch. [Music] Asurak is turning out to be pretty darn cute. We parked up in a spot that was near a church that we thought was going to be a cute area and then we walked down and found a restaurant. Do they not understand that we’re trying to film something here? How many times does this happen to us? Jesus Christ, these people. Uh 15 – 12. It’s 3:00 right now. That was only like two chives. Well, they haven’t adjusted for daylight savings, I guess. I guess I guess not. [Music] [Music] We had a lovely visit in Berserk and Sarah knows there. Not sure exactly what his connection to that is. Him him and his nose. Also known as CD Bailey from Rock Sand, my one of my favorite Steve Martin movies. And then we drove uh a little further about another hour and a half to Sarat and the surrounding area. We did not have a destination. So, we went to Hotel One and Julie was there. She was absolutely lovely, but everything was a view of a parking lot. The second place she recommended was really not in the greatest area. Then, we were looking at various different boutique hotels, and Zeke found this place, which is the Domin de Roa, Rockwood, and we’re amongst uh all sorts of wooded areas. And the property is absolutely gorgeous. And the lovely folks at the front desk were very accommodating because we would we got all signed into one room, went up and looked at it and goes, “Uh, that might see trees in the distance, but in between there is a parking lot.” Parking lot. And it was not tranquil. Yeah. So then they found us another one and we Yeah, that’s another parking lot essentially. And so then they looked and looked and looked and went and had a secret meeting with a a manager in the back room and decided that they’re probably not going to rent this room out to anybody else at 7:00 at night. So, they gave us this room here, which is absolutely gorgeous, hatial, and the view is out here. And let’s do a let’s do a 360. We have a patio and then there’s like forest and stuff, golf course and then so mercy to Valentina for making this happen. [Music] Well, how quickly the weather changes in one day. We got a little drizzle going on here, a little fog, but it’s still a beautiful morning. Well, we had nine days of amazing weather between Paris and Bordeaux, and you know, I was kind of ready for the change. You can hear the birds. We had a really lovely stay at Domain uh de Roa. The first place we’re going to go is the place that’s built into the side of the hill. Shall we go? Uh Alon Alonzi. Alonzi or Oniva. [Music] We are in Bayak Azerac, which is very clearly a tourist location, but it is fascinating. But all up in this cliff face here are structures of some sort that have been built into the side of the cliff. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to go in there. Did you bring your harness? Yeah, I did. No, not that harness. Your climbing harness. But we’re going to go uh walk around and check this out. Should have some nice views from up there. Um, and this is our tourist portion of our travels today. [Music] So, Terra, what do you think about our little view up here on the rock? It’s a little high. I’m a little bit nervous about going back down the stairs. I can’t look down. I This is incredibly cool. It’s well worth it to come up here, but once again, my fear of heights makes it so that it’s uh a little anxiety provoking. But for you, you have no problems with this. M I select where I focus on. You just look down and you basically said don’t look down. Yeah. Well, you know, I get a good grip on the railing there and then I take a look and then I pull back. But this is gorgeous and I think I’m glad that it’s a little rainy today because there are a few people here, but I mean like a handful. Just in case you either want to visit some of the places or learn more about them and our experiences, you can sign up for our postcards from the road and get virtual postcards while we’re on the road and then actual postcards from today. It’s from where are we? Bayak a cazernac uh in the Dordonia region and we climbed way up high today. way up there somewhere. Yeah, it was scary as cuz I don’t like heights. But we just had the most amazing restaurant at the Tavern La Tavern Delu Castelloo. And the vibe was the food and the service and the wine was pretty good too. And it went a lot longer and we hope we don’t have a parking ticket. Where we have to next? Hopefully a trebuche. Well, Terry, I was just explaining to you that here we’re, you know, in this beautiful place, this parking lot. And right right over here, there’s sort of a campsitish type thing with all these van lifers, and they’re pop their awning out and they’re sitting in their folding chairs right there. That’s we we could we could be we could be doing that, but we aren’t and we won’t unless we bring George. Are we bringing George to do that? Uh, you know, I that might be Yeah, that might be that could be the thing that tips it and makes me do it. And we are in the land of wine. That can help, too. [Music] [Music] One, two, So Terry, are you in a happy place right now? I like medieval stuff. I like armor apparently. I like tbuchets, pointing things pointy things. So yeah, this is really, really well done. The view from up here is absolutely gorgeous. And I love all of the displays. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you like long, hard, pointy things. [Music] [Applause] Zeke, you did good. My dart skills on the Google map landed us here. Um, we are in Yuzer. Never heard of this little town. It is so cute. It’s right on this river. I can’t wait to go walk around and check it out. I’m a little afraid of the toilet. It’s one of those Japanese numbers that when you walk in, it says hello. And then, you know, there is an instruction manual, but it’s all in French. And I didn’t have my glasses on. So, I think I managed to use it just fine. Uh, you’re still standing. I did not get sucked down. And what did you tell me is one of the best parts about this place? There’s a dog walking around here somewhere. So, we got to go find the dog. Well, we’re going to go sit down in the lounge. It seems pretty quiet and have an apparo before we go walk around. And I love actually that we’re forced to go walk around because now we can get out. Otherwise, I have work to do and this hotel room is fantastic and I would be super cozy just hanging out in here. But let’s go. Let’s go find a dog. [Music] [Music] I have eaten way too much again. We were supposed to do a light dinner tonight and yet we’re staying at this place and they made room for us in the restaurant and uh dinner was really good. But um good news is we are going to be home for the next two weeks home in Bordeaux and we can uh make pee, make Stanley Tui’s summer vegetable soup, celery, carrots, lettuce. uh we can still enjoy from but we’re going to do it in moderation. But one of the things that we were talking about is um because we didn’t spend anything on the four weeks in Bordeaux because we did a home exchange. We were able to splurge this weekend on you know where we stayed and uh some of the meals etc. And we wanted to make sure you all knew that there is a balance in the next two weeks. We’re going to put things into balance, supporting the local uh markets and eating a lot of produce. Yeah. And so Terry is going to jump in the bathtub and I’m going to get on the computer because I have a Paris video to make. We have an idea on how to drop some breadcrumbs of our Bordeaux experience with some like little mini videos. Just can it not be food? Don’t say food. [Music] Okay, Terry, keep your eyes on the road. Don’t look at the camera. We are in the tiny streets of Uzer. And we made it out of the hardest part. So, I think we’re home free now. But boy, that was Yeah. Somebody had to back up in order to allow us. Fortunately, it was a short place to back up rather than a long place cuz I’m like, I’m not going to be able to back out. We are now on the road. We’re going to take some back roads to Peru. Peru. Peru. And then we’ll be on the main freeway back into Bordeaux. By the way, do you notice I changed the car on the nav system? So, we have like a little green truck now. Did you fix the brake sensitivity? Ooh, no. I should have done that. I forgot about that. The brakes on this thing are just super sensitive. Yeah, when I was driving, I think Zeke thought I was I was just terrible. But I would never admit to that now after I drove and had the same problem. So my friend Alysia is looking for a chateau in France. And Alicia, I think you should definitely be looking in the Dordonia uh and the Korez uh regions. It’s absolutely gorgeous down here. Everybody goes to the Lir Valley. Everybody goes down to Caras. I would definitely look at this area and then we can visit you. How was your experience this morning with the Japanese toilet? That is a high-end unit. And uh for your high-end unit, uh no, my low-end unit. That was a high-end unit for my low-end unit. Um I would say that the warm water bet uh I have a different reaction to than the cold water bedet that I have at home. I think our videos are now taking things to a whole new level. We’re taking it down into the toilet. I Yeah, I don’t know if it’s going up or down. Pretty sure it’s going down. [Music] So, we are at the castle of Pompador, which is the home of the National Stud Farm. I think I took you to the right place. Yeah, I’ve got quite quite a pompador sometimes. Do you have thoughts? I do have thoughts. We just did a quick tour of the interior of what they show you. And they’ve got your period dresses and and furniture and such. Um, but apparently a big emphasis of this particular chateau castle chateau to pump the door. Chateau de Pmpador is equestrians and equestrian sports, the Dr. and they have all sorts of things. And we can see off in the distance a big track over here with a bunch of different uh obstacles and such. Um including the once famous horse ball, which we really don’t know anything about. My French wasn’t good enough to try to figure that out. But you’re on a horse and there’s a ball on the ground. It’s not like polo. They didn’t have sticks. They weren’t whacking the ball with a stick. It appeared that they had to reach off the horse ground and grab the ball and then do something with it. It sounds like this was a was and continues to be a very important place for equestrian stuff for France. Yeah. And it’s active. There’s actual I saw somebody riding a horse out on the track. Well, we were told not to touch the horses. Don’t touch the horses. Let’s go. Let’s go find the horses. [Music] I love this kind of stuff. And we’re driving along and it’s like, “Ooh, squirrel.” There’s hardly anyone else here. I did enjoy the interior because I do like the seeing the outfits that people wore and the place settings and the the furniture and accessories. I enjoy the exterior, the actual scale of the place, the actual buildings. These Okay, but now we need to get back on the road to get to Perisu so we can have some lunch and then uh get on walk around and then get on the road to return the car by 5. Let’s go. [Music] Where are we at right now, Zeke? We’re at an Indian place in Pu. Perisu. Perigu. We are in the basement, which should freak me out because I’m claustrophobic. And we were just talking to the guy about making sure that he adds some spice cuz they’ve had to despise it because French people don’t like it super [Music] spicy. Well, that was delicious. That was delightful to have some Indian food in France. Uh we figured we’ve tried Lebanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Thai, and now Indian. Not that we actively search for, you know, global cuisine. Cute little area with a bunch of walkable little streets, quote unquote streets, and uh a lot of old old buildings. Yeah. We’re going to go look for the Roman stuff and see if we can take some pictures and video for our son, Adam, who’s kind of nuts about that kind of stuff. [Music] Well, I had to look up some of the stuff about it because otherwise we are totally the idiots abroad when we come across these kind of places. It’s old and it’s Roman and it was built in the 12th century. 12th century in a in a Byzantine style but heavily restored in the 19th century and this is on the comp uh the Camino de Compastella the Camino essentially. What I liked is this. I’ve never seen this before. Inside they have this huge, huge wood carved wall. It’s immense. And I was complaining. I was like, “Yeah, the lighting is horrible in here. How am I supposed to take a picture of this?” Some lady walks up and throws a coin in this little thing and the lights come on. Coin operated lights. Pay to play. Pay to play. So, I have actually walked part of the commamino now. 100 yards. 20 ft. [Music] While we were waiting for a gas pump to get cleared open for us, Terry, what was your favorite part of the trip? Ah, just this weekend. Just this weekend. Um, why don’t you go first? What was your favorite part? Uh, Ro Ro Gekk. Yeah, that with the stairs built into the side of the hill with the right on the water with the fort. Right on the water being the Donia also had to do with the time of day. Not a lot of people there. The weather was just barely drizzling at points so there wasn’t a lot of people and was early enough that we it was quiet. We sort of had the place to oursel and uh it was a good little bit of history but it was just a really uh impactful you know you’re out there on the edge looking straight down and all that kind of fun stuff. Yeah. was surprised that you had trouble cuz I’m claust claustrophobic and scared of heights and yeah that was that was kind of sketchy at certain points but even you were slightly bothered by that. Well, you get up enough to the edge and you look over and your body just sort of says mm- mm if I had my squirrel suit on then maybe I’d be fine. Okay, so a couple of things were kind of my favorites. One I No, no, no. One. Yeah. No, we we know I can’t do that. Um, I am surprised at how much my French is coming along in terms of being able to understand it and be able being able to speak it. I loved that we you found the hotel in user which was in the Cororez region which we didn’t know anything about. Um, and the the hotel was lovely. The restaurant was nice. It was a cute little town, lots of history and easy to walk around. So, that was kind of fun. But I also love the countryside. driving through the countryside. Absolutely beautiful. If you have not visited Dordonia, put it on your list. Um I don’t think it’s a place that a lot of Americans or a lot of our friends have been to. Well, all we’ve got left to do is fill a gas tank, drop off a car at Alamo, and take the tram back to our flat or whatever you call it in Bordeaux. In Bordeaux. So, how was the experience going in to pay for gas? You had to use a piece of paper and write down which gas level we wanted. We wanted the 85 to 100 or 95. You had to write it down because you couldn’t communicate it. And numbers were five numbers. Thank goodness it was all [Music] numbers. They did notice the scratch on the car. We think somebody hit us yesterday. You know what? I was looking at it and the there was rust in that. That couldn’t have happened in 3 days. So, that was already there. We just didn’t see it. Oh, okay. But I’m glad he didn’t bring it up. And here we are back at the train station. [Music]

Join us for a completely unplanned weekend adventure through France’s stunning Dordogne region (and our accidental discovery of Corrèze)! 🏰🚗

With just our backpacks and no reservations, we rented a car in Bordeaux and let curiosity guide us through medieval villages, limestone cliff fortresses, and the château-dotted countryside. 🎒✨

✨ HIGHLIGHTS:
🏙️ Bergerac’s charming old town and creative lunch at Le Confluence
🏨 Scoring an upgraded room with panoramic views at Domaine de Rochebois
🧗‍♀️ Climbing 140 stairs at La Roque-Gageac’s cliff fortress (despite height fears!)
⚔️ Medieval weapons and trebuchet demonstrations at Castelnaud
🏘️ Discovering the preserved medieval town of Uzerche in Corrèze
👑 Visiting Château de Pompadour, gift from King Louis XV to his mistress
🥾 Walking part of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route in Périgueux

This shoulder-season adventure showed us the magic of traveling without rigid plans; sometimes the best discoveries happen when you simply follow the road! 🗺️🧭

Next time, we’ll finally make it to Beynac-et-Cazenac (which we could see across the valley but never reached). 👀🏔️

Let’s connect!
📷 Instagram: @zekeandterri
👍 Facebook: /zekeandterri
🌐 Website: www.zekeandterri.com

🚁Navigating our lives and the world together. 🚁

Video and images by Zeke and Terri from our iPhones
Video editing by Zeke using Finalcut Pro
Music from Epidemic Sound

00:00 Weekend in Dordogne
01:33 Lunch in Bergerac
02:47 Found a last minute hotel room
04:34 Weather change and shear cliffs in one morning
07:17 Lunch in the rocks
08:21 Medieval trebuchets
09:35 Uzerche for the win
12:20 Omega the dog
13:45 Japanese toilet experience
14:17 Chateaux du Pompadour / “Le Horse Ball”
15:48 Horses, but don’t touch
16:30 Spice up lunch in Périgueux
17:36 Old Roman stuff and walking The Camino
18:40 Best of weekend
20:40 Refueling by the numbers

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