July 8, 2017

July 8, 2017

Last night, we drove outside of town, stopping at a local farm. It is dinner time but not for us. It is feeding time for the geese that are raised here. Three times a day, geese are force fed a large dose of corn via a long tube inserted down the throat. This process causes the goose liver to enlarge 8x to about two pounds. These fatty livers are used to make the French delicacy of Foie Gras. We tour the farm, watch the feeding and then are served some samples. We have to buy some. I hope the can will pass security at the airport.

It was brutally hot yesterday. Plus the Tour de France is coming into town, bringing crowds, and closing roads. So we pack up, leave La Roque Gageac and head north.

Two hours later we arrive at the ghost village of Oradour-sur-Glane. The town is infamous in France because on June 10, 1944, just after D-Day, the Nazis massacred the 642 inhabitants of the town, including the women and children. It is not known exactly why. The burned out buildings have been left as a memorial. We walk through the somber town. It looks like it has been fire-bombed. Signs on most of the buildings identify the occupation of the owner. Dilapidated cars litter several yards.

From Oradour, we continue our journey north stopping briefly at the Abbey of St. Savin. The abbey church was built in the 11th century pre-Gothic Romanesque period. Its barrel arched nave is completely filled with frescoes. Each panel illustrates a story from the Bible. This World Heritage site is considered to be the Sistine Chapel of the Romanesque Era. It is in outstanding condition for being almost 1000 years old.

Another two hours north we reach the Loire Valley and find our Auberge (French Inn) in the town of Limeray.