Walking around Sainte Foy la Grande

the colonnades around the town square of Sainte Foy la Grande

The temperature was 32 degrees according to the display board outside la mairie (town hall) and it would be hours before the sun would begin to drop and the temperature with it. Not the perfect day for a ‘history’ walk around Sainte Foy la Grande , but that’s what we were doing with our french language group.

La Halle des Cochons - this market hall on the edge of the old town was once in the town square but now replaced with a new mairie (town hall) - not the best town planning decision

There has been building and rebuilding going on here for 750 years so the variety of house style is quite broad. The original town was a ‘bastide’, that is a walled town. There are only a few small sections of the original wall still standing as the town has grown beyond them. More recent excavations have turned up roman ruins ( you can visit the roman villa at Montcaret) and prehistoric stone tools. Examples of both are on display in the tourist information centre in Sainte Foy. The Dodogne region is renowned as a birthplace of European civilisation so you can visit sites like the Lascaux caves for the prehistoric art, and the Vezere valley for the troglodyte villages set into the cliffs overlooking the river.

this is only a replica of roman ruins found in the town

it is said that this is a Templar tower hiding in between buildings in the old town

Before the development of a good road system the river Dordogne was the only means for transporting goods from the countryside to the city of Bordeaux.  The river is fast flowing to the sea so, without power, these boats were only able to go one way. The carriers would chop down trees and build boats up in the Auvergne region, load them with goods for the market, and ‘float’ downstream picking up more goods along the way, including wine from le quai at Port Sainte Foy. When they reached Bordeaux they would sell the goods and break up the boats to sell the wood, then walk all the way home to the Auvergne to start all over again. That’s almost 500 kms !  These days they complain if they can't park outside the boulangerie.

the tourist information centre with a museum upstairs displaying roman and prehistoric artefacts

this style is called 'colombage' and is 12th/13th century - note the wooden figures on the vertical columns

one of the figures - there is a woman, a baby and a man  (obviously)

'colombage' above the colonades

medieval style balcony - I'd suggest it has had quite a few repairs over the centuries

 

the oldest building in town - now a hairdresser !

date over the door - 1683 - Captain Cook hadn't even been born !

can't even read the date anymore

there have been a few changes to use over the years

and here too

painted straight onto the stone, the sign says "house for sale - see Monsieur Faure"

There is a local ruling that old signs can't be removed - it all adds to the 'character' of the town

this would have been the house of a well-to-do business man in the 19th century

love the balcony but the door could use some work

one of the two hotels in the town - this one recently renovated - the other is of a similar age but only for those looking for an experience of 'autre fois' (olden days) because it hasn't been redecorated since it opened !

There are many empty old houses around the old town centre. The mairie puts a sign on the door stating that, if the building isn’t claimed within 3 years, ownership reverts to the commune. The house can then be sold to anyone. I am told that you can buy a ‘renovation project’ for around €50,000 (AUD75,000) more or less. If you are looking for a DIY project then this is the place.

During World War II the Resistance was very active in the area. There are plaques around the town marking events and lots of stories so Graham is putting together a blog about this for you.

Hope you have enjoyed the walk. Come and see it all for yourself and we can show you much more.

Bon week-end mes amis

La Fête de la Musique

France  celebrates the summer solstice by holding La Fête de la Musique in cities, towns and villages all over the country.

In Sainte Foy la Grande they started celebrating last night with bands playing a broad assortment of musical styles in bars and restaurants and DJs on street corners filling the streets with music.

We chose Le Girondin at the end of rue Victor Hugo and sat under the shade trees in front of the restaurant and listened to ‘jazz fusion’ as the sun set on another hot day. There was a simple set menu especially for the night of an amuse bouche with a kir royale, tortilla and salad, entrecôte or viande haché (hamburger) with the best chips I’ve had in a long time, and chocolate ice cream to finish. Naturally, it was all washed down with a constant supply of rosé. We shared our table with a large group of friends and relaxed under a starry sky to the mellow sounds of bluesy jazz. A perfect summer evening.

At midnight, as we walked home through the town we passed hundreds of people, young and old,  locals and tourists alike enjoying pop rock, folk blues, techno, ‘Les Shadows’, and anything else you can think of. It was a late night for this sleepy country town.

Since France was also playing Switzerland in the World Cup it was surprising how many people weren’t glued to their tv screens.

We went to sleep to the ‘thump, thump’ of techno music on the quai across the river.

Bon week-end mes amis