We just returned home from our stay at the Stoneroofed house in Beynac and we miss it already.
In the week that we stayed in this magical place we enjoyed starting our day by opening our windows to the cool air and hiking down to Les Delices de la Vallee for morning pastries. The croissants, plain and chocolate filled; the pain au raisin; the pistachio/chocolate-filled and almond-filled pastries; the eclairs and bread - all were wonderful. (We justified eating all of these, as well as our tasting of area glaces and gelato, by all of our hiking up and down the small stone paths, climbing stairs in villages and chateaux, and daily walking to explore the many sites of the area.)
My camera is filled with wonderful sunrises and sunsets, including morning mist in the valleys and hot air balloons rising over the chateaux at dawn and dusk.
We canoed the Dordogne one morning, starting our trip at 0930, which meant we almost had the river to ourselves and it was before the heat of the day. We would definitely do that again.
We enjoyed touring Chateau Beynac very much - the amazing construction of the chateau and the views of the valley were well worth the climb. Chateau de Castelnaud-la-Chapelle was also enjoyable, with an interesting display of weaponry of the time.
We explored many villages in the area and attended several markets. I think our favorite villages explored were Beynac, La Roque-Gageac and Domme. We also enjoyed the market in Cenac-et-Saint Julien and made an impromptu picnic from some of our purchases there. Our early September weather was perfect.
The path up to the Stoneroofed house is steep, as several reviews have mentioned, but definitely worth the climb. The home is comfortable and we appreciated the updated kitchen and bath. The patio and garden areas were the perfect site for picnics, evening glasses of wine, or just gazing at the amazing view.
We had the opportunity to meet Frederique, daughter Kim, and Pascal one evening and count our time getting to know them as one of the highlights of our visit. Martine, who met and checked on us regularly, is a delight and was always helpful with whatever was needed.
Our most memorable evening meals were at La Petite Tonnelle and La Terrasse des Chateaux in Beynac, and La Traverse "Chez Les Filles" in Cenac-et-Saint Julien. We also had a good pizza at Chez Tom while visiting La Roque-Gageac, and caught a live music performance (Blues) at Le Bo Bar in Beynac.
We hope to return someday!
