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Report 1939: Chateaux, Rillettes, Sunflowers, Mistral and Tour de France Triumphal Finish

By Anastasia from Canada, Summer 2011

Page 7 of 28: Brantome - Feeding Ducks

Brantome cruise

Next morning we cleaned our chalet and checked out by 10am on our way to Brantome. At first we wanted to drive by a scenic road, but naturally our GPS drove us through some of the villages and Valencay where we refilled with gasoil. We decided to just drive directly to Brantome.

We arrived around 3pm and went directly to our hotel. The communication with the hotel for our reservation was good, the answers were always prompt for any questions I had. I was offered a cheaper room if we wanted to share our bed with our son, but we used the duplex room, which was on two floors and perfect for a family of four for more comfort. The room was big and had a terrace balcony with a table and chairs where we could have a glass of wine and some olives. Our room was on the first floor, upstairs facing the courtyard with the pool. It didn't have air conditioning but nights were really fresh beginning of July, we used covers. The room had a refrigerator for our use and it also has a kitchenette for longer stays, which was closed for short stays.

When we arrived we parked at the public parking in front of the hotel. The pool was a bit cold but we still used it as it was a sunny and a hot day. When I checked in, the woman at the reception came with me to show me the room to ensure we were happy; I found it a great attention. There is a restaurant in the courtyard that we didn't use, but it was full in the evening. It was pleasantly surrounded by flowers and bushes.

The hotel is very close to the center; just a busy street to cross and we were in the old part of Brantome. Our stay and overall experience with this hotel were very pleasant.

We went to the pool to relax before visiting Brantome. We walked around Brantome, and it is very small but beautiful. As we were passing the old bridge to the park, a man came to us, and basically sold us the last cruise of the day into the forest. He was very sympathetic and what sold it to our son was the fact we could feed ducks and other birds. The small cruise was pleasant, and the boat filled quickly for that last cruise of the day. There was some historical narration. It was amazing as soon as the ducks saw the boat they all came very quickly towards us, as they recognized the man. He’d given each child a big piece of bread, so they could feed ducks. We also saw la poule d’eau (literally a water chicken). They were black with red heads and looked exactly as a small chicken except they could swim.

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