Last Midweek I got upwards brilliant as well as early, headed over to Stansted Airport as well as hopped on a plane to Brive, create to start a trip around the Dordogne Valley. We visited nutrient markets, ate everywhere from small-scale auberges to Michelin star restaurants, explored Medieval towns as well as stayed inward chateaux. I'm as well as therefore excited to part the trip alongside you lot all, as well as to kicking it all off I desire to part some of the fantastic nutrient nosotros ate, towns nosotros explored on our rootage afternoon, as well as where nosotros stayed on our rootage eve inward the Dordogne Valley.
After the airport, our rootage halt was the beautiful Chateau de Lissac, gear upwards inward the hills for a much needed drinkable as well as seize alongside teeth to eat. There are to a greater extent than Chateaux inward the part than inward pretty much the residue of France, as well as a lot of them bring been turned into some pretty beautiful boutique hotels.
The kitchen tabular array was laden alongside plates of dissimilar mini dishes, the separate of thing you lot tin bring eaten inward 3 or 4 bites. We managed to avoid the rain, as well as sat out on the terrace alongside spectacles of local vino as well as our rootage flavour of the Dordogne. Some of the combinations were familiar; salmon as well as cream cheese tartines, as well as Sun blush tomatoes alongside cured ham as well as burrata. Others were hyper local; cured duck (the part is all nearly their duck) alongside braised peas as well as wide beans, as well as French staff of life alongside rich as well as creamy foie gras.
For sweets, nosotros dug into the most creamy as well as fresh raspberry panna cotta, java people enjoyed java puddings, as well as nosotros all fought over the petit fours. For a rootage repast inward the Dordogne Valley, the nutrient was bloody fantastic, as well as genuinely gave us a flavour for what was to come upwards (many courses, as well as lots of duck!)
Before heading off to our ain hotel, nosotros took a picayune tour of some of the rooms at Chateau de Lissac. Each had its ain subject as well as colouring system (a mix of modern as well as traditional), alongside some of the most dreamy bathrooms I've always seen. I'm i for bath porn, as well as the chateau had plenty. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 room at the Chateau starts at around £92 a night; incredible value if you lot intend of my attempts to remain somewhere inward East London the nighttime before, finding I'd endure spending at to the lowest degree £300 as well as ending upwards at an uncomfortable airdrome hotel!
Would you lot non desire to remain inward this stunning room on the tertiary flooring exactly as well as therefore you lot tin bring a soak inward that incredible bathroom? Green stripes, whitewashed walls, drinking glass lather jars as well as his as well as her sinks? Beautiful.
While Chateau de Lissac was beautiful, I intend nosotros were all to a greater extent than than happy alongside our rooms at Hostellerie de la L'Imaginaire, a pretty 17th century edifice inward the ticker of the town of Terrasson. Every room was merely as well as elegant, mine alongside a super comfortable (seriously, those pillows!) duck egg accented bed, armchair inward the corner, beautiful rock bath as well as Nuxe toiletries. I slept incredibly well, fifty-fifty later enjoying a rather wonderful, six plane repast inward the hotels restaurant, headed upwards yesteryear accolade winning chef François Adamski. If you're looking to stay, my room toll nearly £95 a nighttime inward depression season, as well as around £135 during high season.
Even though the hotel was inward the midpoint of the town, as well as my balcony looked out over the foursquare as well as the surrounding valley, it was beautifully tranquillity at that spot for my whole stay. You know people alive at that spot from the strange car, or when you lot encounter people come inward their businesses as well as houses, but when nosotros visited it is similar the town had been left for exactly us to explore, otherwise completely devoid of tourists or crowds.
Hostellerie de la L'Imaginaire are famous for their beautiful gardens, but sadly nosotros alone arrived later they'd unopen for the day. So, later washing the journeying off, settling into our rooms as well as changing for dinner, nosotros decided to explore the town a picayune earlier the downpour the heaven was promising started.
Most of the pretty painted store fronts were unopen for the eve equally nosotros climbed upwards towards the church, but the local drinking glass maker was soundless opened upwards as well as nosotros passed some fourth dimension watching him blow, plough as well as decorate some of the merely stunning vino spectacles he was working on. It was mesmerising to watch, as well as side yesteryear side fourth dimension I'm inward town alongside a motorcar rather than having caught a flight, I desire to halt purchase for a whole tabular array full.
Even if you're chasing the rain, it is worth making it correct upwards to the church building for the view out over the town. You tin human face out over the river, across the valley, downwardly on Medieval wall tops, spot frescos on the sides of the buildings from your birds oculus view upwards there, as well as bask the topiary inward the church building gardens.
Dinner started alongside champagne as well as canapés inward the drinks lounge inward the dorsum of the eating seat space, which inward the yesteryear has also been used equally the town postal service role as well as stables. The canapés were exactly a whisper of the thing to come. I stuck to the rounds equally they were the 2 cheese gratis options; a mouthwatering crispy as well as creamy ham number, as well as picayune dark balls of rich, wondrous warm foie gras.
When nosotros arrived at the table, nosotros started alongside a poached egg inward a loving cup of fragile cream. Now, equally many of you lot likely know yesteryear now, I don't instruct by good alongside cheese made alongside cows milk, as well as piece I tin handgrip most other dairy products fine, some restaurants translate that dietary demand equally dairy free. In some restaurants I abide by I goal upwards missing out on dishes I genuinely desire to examine because of it, but actually, that eve on some dishes I intend I got a meliorate deal. My egg was sitting inward a puddle of a rather wonderful cerise vino jus.
We ate a lot of asparagus (especially white asparagus) inward the Dordogne Valley equally it is wonderfully inward flavor at the moment, as well as everywhere. Here, nosotros had it served alongside morels (wonderfully perfumed as well as flavoured mushrooms which were also inward as well as therefore many other items nosotros tried) as well as hazelnuts, which created neat contrast.
Foie Gras is i of my favourite foods, as well as I'd never had it similar this before; delicately shaved into sparse ribbons, as well as curled as well as therefore that it had a familiar flavour as well as texture to what I am used to, but also as well as therefore dissimilar as well as unexpected. One of my favourite dishes from the meal; foie gras is non normally this fresh as well as bright.
For our main, nosotros had cerise snapper alongside its beautifully luminescent orangish as well as gilded pare crisped to perfection, sitting on a bed of vegetables as well as dark olives. Our server came to the tabular array as well as filled each of our bowls alongside a fish bisque reduction which genuinely pulled the whole thing together.
Before nosotros movement onto the sweets, a greenback on the wine. I did non pay also much attending to what was beingness poured into our spectacles (I was practically falling to slumber at this point, thank you lot to the lack of slumber the nighttime before!), but I exercise desire to greenback it equally it was real instance of our region. It was non all local, but the reds were all slightly oaky as well as complex, as well as the whites sweet, but soundless absolutely drinkable alongside food.
While everyone dug into a real rich as well as creamy kokosnoot panna cotta alongside a fresh coriander foam on top, I hitting the jackpot. I know it was alone sugariness local strawberries, lemon as well as a fighting of sugar, but it was frankly an explosion of flavour. Sometimes a unproblematic handling of the real best ingredients is exactly perfect.
Next, everyone else enjoyed a creamy pineapple concoction which genuinely divided opinion. They all liked the dessert, but were slightly unsure nearly the forest fume the dish came domed in. Some people genuinely enjoyed it, as well as some were slightly unsure. I yet was distracted yesteryear my beautiful plate of fresh fruit as well as berry sorbet everyone seemed to desire to photograph. Light, fresh, as well as the perfect goal to such a big meal.
Finally, breakfast the side yesteryear side morn was a lovely thing inward a quaint picayune breakfast room downwardly the hall from our rooms. Perfect if you're into a continental affair; equally good equally a fruit salad, orangish juice as well as a selection of coffee, each tabular array was laden alongside fresh bread, croissants, hurting au chocolat (with homemade jams inward every flavour from apricot to melon), as well as homemade cakes (lemon, chocolate, as well as chocolate chip madeleines).
I promise hither I've managed to give you lot exactly a taster of our trip as well as some ideas if you're looking to caput to the region. Check dorsum soon, equally side yesteryear side I can't hold off to part alongside you lot likely i of the best places I've always stayed overnight (as if Hostellerie de la L'Imaginaire was non enough), a stunning UNESCO globe heritage site, a see to Sarlat on marketplace day, a focus on lots of the pretty towns as well as villages inward the region, as well as a showcase of some of the fantastic local nutrient producers nosotros visited.
I was a invitee inward the Dordogne Valley of Brive as well as Bergerac Airports as well as the local tourism boards. Thank you lot to Chateau de Lissac and Hostellerie de la L'Imaginaire for their hospitality.
I was a invitee inward the Dordogne Valley of Brive as well as Bergerac Airports as well as the local tourism boards. Thank you lot to Chateau de Lissac and Hostellerie de la L'Imaginaire for their hospitality.