Saturday, October 20, 2012

Ferme de Tayac


B&B Ferme de Tayac:  The most loved and talked about B&B in the Dordogne.  Ferme de Tayac, a beautiful 12th century former farmhouse/monastery situated next to St. Martin, the fortified church of the lovely peaceful village Tayac, and 1 km from Les Eyzies known as the Prehistoric Capital of the World.
For hundreds of years Ferme de Tayac was worked by the Monks, and with all of it's authentic buildings, ruins, rooms carved into the rock, meter thick walls and original oak beams construction, it no wonder that Ferme de Tayac is a much loved and talked about B&B.  The bedrooms at Ferme de Tayac are former Monk's quarters, all with lovely peaceful views of the valley and the many Prehistoric dwellings in the cliffs rock face.
The Vezere valley in the Balck Perigord, where Ferme de Tayac is situated is known to be the most beautiful region of France, and with more than 250 UNESCO sites, has earned title of being the Prehistoric Capital of the World.
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(Taken from the Ferme de Tayac website   http://fermedetayac.co.uk/  )



















After our emotionally draining visit to National War memorial at the village of Oradour -Sur-Glane, we left with a new found reverence of the stamina and perseverance of the French Character   With the GPS programmed for Les Eyzies we headed out through increasingly beautiful rolling hills to moderate mountains.   Each village we passed through in this forested sparsely populated region of France...The Black Perigord, Dordogne boosted our spirits with postcard overlooks, mist hanging along the high ridges and the overwhelming feeling that we were in the midst of history...ancient history.

The sun was beginning to rest for the evening when we pulled up to Le Ferme de Tayac outside of Les Eyzies.  This was to be our only Bread and Breakfast of the trip.  We enjoyed the Gites (people's homes) that we had been staying in with the privacy of our own 4 walls and ability to cook our own meals but it was time for a break and time to be pampered for 8 days.  Le Ferme (Farm) lived in my imagination for a year.  I had booked this B and B a full year before we left the states.  I actually had dreams about what it would be like to stay in a Monastary built in the 1100's and sleep in the original Monk's (long since gone) quarters.  My hopes and imagination had set a high bar and it did not disappoint.

 The first to greet us was sweet Lillian...the friendliest, most wonderful perfect specimen of an Old English Bulldog we have ever known.  This may sound crazy but each time Lillian looked my way...I felt I was looking into the eyes of Winston Churchill!  The owners, Mike and Suzanne were perfect hosts.  Mike is Dutch and Suzanne is British and they complement each other perfectly.

We were looking forward to waking up the first morning in our new home to the sound of the Church bells beckoning the locals to Mass in the old Fortified church next door...a church where the Monks worshipped in the very early Dark Ages.  Tomorrow would be magical.

Dan

2 comments:

Paul L said...

Hi Dan, although we never met, I have heard alot of nice things about you from my parents at FdT. I'm glad you enjoyed your stay at their B&B.
Great blog and photo's. I'm new to HDR but really like using the HDR techniques. I've bookmarked your blog. My parents might have mentioned that I travel around the USA, so with your permission, if I'm ever in your neighborhood, I'll give you a yell.
Regards
Paul

Dan Felstead said...

Paul, I have heard quite abit about you a well!! I am so glad you left a comment. By all means if you get within a few miles of Evansville, Indiana (Very southern tip) give us a call. We would love to meet you. Thanks for the kind words on the blog and tell your mom and dad...we said hi! My email is felsteadd@gmail.com. Email me and I will send you our phone number etc.

Dan