[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
A Down Day in Domme
Heidi and Eric leave tomorrow and the rest of us start the trek for home on Saturday. So everyone is going over their lists to see what still remains to be seen, purchased or otherwise handled before heading back to the real world.
Margene has been talking about wanting to see the town of Domme all week, so today seemed like as good a time as any, particularly since they had a small market going on. As you may have figured out by now, French market days are an integral part of the culture here. In the US we are just coming to appreciate the Farmers' Market idea but it is still more of an event than a cultural institution here. Pity.
Domme is actually a bastide, a fortified town built in this area during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They were built from scratch by a single founder -- usually the Lord of the region -- and represent the first real housing developments. Once the town was built and the houses occupied, the Lord could start receiving taxes from the residents. This was a much more efficient model than tax collectors having to ride all over the countryside to get their money.
The day was gray and threatening, but we got nothing more than an occasional sprinkle of rain. We wandered the town to get a bit of exercise, then sat down for a light lunch in a local cafe -- the usual omelets, salads and pitchers of the local red.
Afternoon was also the usual -- reading, napping and today, a little pre-packing. Since we would be losing our Canadian contingent in the morning, it was also time for the last meal as a group. There were many local possibilities but we opted for the one that did not require driving anywhere: a lovely restaurant just down the hill from us called La Petite Tonnelle (the small arbor). Their patio did, in fact, have a cover of grape vines overhead, but we were drawn to the warm inside dining room where the back wall was actually the cliff against which the restaurant is built.
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