Vacationinparis

Plazac, the Village:
The little medieval village of Plazac lies in the heart of the Perigord noir, famous for its history, its gastronomy and its joie-de-vivre. The village square sits at the feet of the 12th century roman church. It is a 15 minute drive to Montingnac or Les Eyzies, both famous for prehistoric caves. Cromagnon man once strolled these valleys. The village has its own bakery, only a one minute walk from the front door. The bakery has a small grocery store. Next to it is a post office and across the street is a wonderful cafe/bar. Five minutes walk down the road is a co-operative organic grocery store, Le Mille Feuilles. Local activities include hikes on the dozen walking trails in the hills around the village, canoeing on the Vezere, horse back riding and tennis on the town courts.The Surrounding Area:
There are two full supermarkets close by: one a 15 minute drive in Montignac and the other in Rouffignac just a 6 minutes drive (both are open 6 days a week and Sunday mornings). Many local towns offer traditional street markets – in Montignac (Wednesday, Saturday); nearby Rouffignac has a Sunday morning market where local farmers offer freshly picked vegetables, fresh foie gras and a large variety of local cheeses; the Wednesday and Saturday markets in Sarlat are famous, as is the Sunday market in Saint Cyprien. The Perigord noir is a gourmet’s paradise and there are many excellent restaurants nearby.

The Dordogne Region:
The Perigord Noir is the jewel of the Dordogne. This is the land of 1,000 chateaux. There are medieval towns everywhere. The Dordogne River (15 minutes drive) formed the border between France and the English territory of Acquitaine during the Hundred Year’s War. Castles were often built in pairs, one French, one English, on opposite sides of the river. In the Valley of the Five Chateaux (15 minutes drive) Castelnaud still features a medieval catapult, which once hurled rocks across the Dordogne at Castle Beynac (still occupied by the Count). Sarlat-la-Caneda (30 minutes drive) is a preserved medieval city where you can wander the narrow streets and marvel at the beauty of the architecture. The vibrant, more modern city of Perigueux (30 minutes drive) is known as the truffle capital. Also nearby are the medieval towns of Domme, Rocamadour, Saint Cyprien, Meyrals, Berbigueieres, Le Roque Gageac, and the bastide town of Monpazier. Bergerac is a one hour drive away.

Practicalities:

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Bookings are Saturday to Saturday, except by arrangement
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This is a two bedroom house, although it can sleep up to six
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All linens are provided and included in the weekly rate
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There is cable TV, DVD and a CD player included
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Broadband Internet connection for your laptop is FREE
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Long distance calls to North America and European fixed lines is FREE
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The keys are kept by our next door neighbors, who will show you into the house and answer your question


The owners put an enormous amount of thought into making the house comfortable and thoroughly enjoyable for visitors. The house has every modern convenience, plus a beautiful pool and garden. Our two week stay was simply glorious. We also loved the charming town of Plazac.

We did a lot of sightseeing and were totally smitten with the beautiful Dordogne. I highly recommend the prehistoric caves (Lascaux II/Lascaux Revele, Grotte de Font-de-Gaume (you need a reservation) plus a fascinating cave in Le Moustier. In addition, we visited the unbelievable, Gouffre de Padirac (bring a sweater!)

The castles and gardens in the region were also phenomenal. We went to many and found the architecture and history so interesting. We canoed on the Vezere and took a river boat trip on the Dordogne River. Both great fun. Loved the medieval "Bastide" towns. One of our favorite towns was the charming, Saint Leon sur Vezere. Sarlat is fantastic and so interesting.

The regional food and wines were spectacular. We visited a different market almost every day and were in awe of the amazing types of cheeses, fruits, foie gras, meats, etc. and of course, wine! Our general routine was to have a wonderful lunch out in a restaurant in whatever town we were visiting, go to a local market and then come back to the house and cook dinner. We love to cook and had great dinners, given the terrific foods that were available not only in the wonderful daily markets but also the supermarche! Needless to say, the local wines were superb. One more thought on food, our ten year old daughter is a very picky eater. After two or three days, she was eating foie gras sandwiches for breakfast and begging for more!

Lastly, the Sliepenbeeks (next door neighbors/caretakers) were extraordinary. They were caring, thoughtful and great fun. We enjoyed meeting them and they were so helpful and kind.

We had the most wonderful vacation. We can't wait to return to La Maison Jean Sylain Dupont and the Dordogne.

Barbara B
New York, NY


We loved our two weeks in the Dordogne; the friends we made and the magnificent sights we visited. Our stay was even better than anticipated.

We were overjoyed to find such a wonderful "home" waiting for us upon our arrival in Plazac, with all the creature comforts you afforded our weary bones.

Ineke and Theo were ready and willing to assist us when called upon... and
gracious no matter what the hour.

Francine L., Los Angeles, CA

Jan,

We really did enjoy our stay in Plazac. The weather was nice and cool, and for the most part sunny. Although the pool water was a little cool by our Texas standards (below 70 while we were there), the children of our French friends (who live in Brittany) loved it. The garden was fabulous. We had lunch out there a number of days, and dinner on a few more. The swallows were just back, and nesting. They collected moss from the neighbor's roof and then water from the pool for nest building. The Magpies were just fledging, and the Yucca plant flowered during our stay. The herb garden was very much appreciated, as well as the un-believably well-stocked kitchen. By the end of our visit, were were surprised if there was some obscure kitchen tool that wasn't there. We braised market-bought fowl in the cast-iron, enameled pot, we sautéed mushrooms and made omelets in the pans, and even baked our Bretagne Gallette and fresh fruit desert in the oven (it was the height of strawberry season). It was the best equipped kitchen we've had in France.

BTW: We made the trip back and forth from Plazac to Libourne, St. Emilion et al. a couple of times, so we got to know the route pretty well, it was no trouble writing up the description.

Talk to you soon, I suppose--you know us, we'll be hankering for a return to Paris soon. Next time we think we'll try Mark and Tim's place in the 8th.

Best,
Dave H. Houston, TX