Beynac Reboot

 If At First You Don't Succeed...

If you read the last post you'll remember our episode of Obstinate Optimism in attempting to summit, by car, the mount upon which Beynac Castle resides and the quasi-tragic outcome of our attempt.  Well, cinching up our sneakers, we set off the next morning to scale the heights on foot.  Basically here is how you have to ascend.  Begin with a moderately steep, cobbled street rising about 300 vertical ft. from the road at the base.  Turn left and then up several "flights" of rock semi-steps of uneven levels for about another 200 vertical feet.  Turn right to a very narrow, slippery stretch of randomly strewn rocks for another 100-200 feet arriving at a smattering of tourist shops, ice cream shops and coffee shops lining yet another inclined cobblestone street.  There are no handrails anywhere because those are for sissies.  Turning one last uphill corner you see the entrance to the castle.  And directly across from the entrance you see.... the parking lot. Yes, you COULD drive to the very top of this cursed hill. If you knew how... which we didn't.  Oh, well. 

Worth The Effort... Well, pretty much

We have seen our share of castles but this one is something special.  The pictures will show how impressive the outside is in terms of sheer size and height.  You can see Beynac from miles in any direction.  It is positioned directly above the Dordogne River and its arch rival, Castlenaud, sits slightly down river on the opposite side, Beynac was English while Castlenaud was French.  Oh, how they hated each other.  I mean you have to hate each other to stage a Hundred Year War.  A serious grudge.  We will not be covering Castlenaud in depth because it has been turned into a tawdry tourist attraction (think "dress up like an ancient knight") and besides that we simple could not climb up another damn mountain to see another damn castle.  Back to Beynac.  The defenses devised as the castle was built were intricate and many.  I felt is was a bit over the top because all those knights ladened with all that armor surely would have died just trying to scale the heights to reach the drawbridge but the English are known for being fastidious.  While the entire tour of the Castle was interesting, the best part was seeing where Richard the Lionhearted laid his head to sleep after a long day of fighting, guzzling ale and wenching.  The kitchen was also nifty.  Michael will provide exhaustive photos so you will never feel the compulsion to have to ascend to the Castle to personally experience it.

Shooting from below, it is impossible to get the full impact of the Beynac Castle...

although in these photos you can see the birds...

are actually flying below the castle.

This photo from Chateau Marqueysac gives one a much better perspective.

The parking lot was on the other side, where you see the car.

A portion of the cobblestone path we hiked up to the Castle.

I am not sure if I would be comfortable standing in a wooden structure hanging off the wall with a very significant drop to solid ground.

A side view of a section of the castle.

The Chapel altar in the Castle...

as opposed to the Church located on the Castle grounds.

A view of the Dordogne river & countryside from the top of the Castle.

Here are two of the tapestries adorning the walls of the Castle.

You can see that these stairs have had some wear over the years.

This was the bed & bedroom of Richard the Lionhearted in Beynac Castle.

Two views of the Castle kitchen.

Another view of the Dordogne River & countryside from the Castle.

And Now An Amazing Story - The Story of Josephine Baker

I will give you the short form -- which actually isn't that short.  For more in-depth information you can watch The Josephine Baker Story which is, I think currently, on Netflix.  After Beynac, for a change of pace, we visited Chateau Milandes -- the home of Josephine Baker for many years.  The Chateau itself is beautiful.  It is so easy to pick out the chateaus or manses that were built by women.  Less angular, more cozy, generally on a smaller scale.  Chateau Milandes was ordered constructed by the wife of the nobleman who commanded Castlenaud because she was sick and tired of being in a cold, drafty, immense fortress.  I mean, who could blame her.  Years and years pass and the chateau is passed along or appropriated by various folk who let it decline. There were the Religious Wars which pitted Catholics against Protestants and the inhabitant of Milandes always seemed to be on the wrong side and ended up being murdered in various ways.  There was a lot of turnover.

So, Josephine Baker visits Milandes with a friend who owns it and she falls in love with it.  The owner sells it to her and she lives there for many years.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  Josephine Baker was a black woman born in 1906 into extreme poverty in Saint Louis, Missouri.  At 8 years old, until she was 10, she left school to help support her family.  By her mid teens she was dancing in revues and by the early 20s she was in New York where she spent several years dancing and in various revues.  She left New York for Paris in the mid 20s and took the town by storm.  Many black actors, writers and performers found France much less prejudiced and they were not subjected to the rigid segregation that plagued the States.  Baker performed in many dance halls and revues with the most famous being the Follies Bergere.  She stunned audiences when she appeared on stage wearing a G String with bananas hanging from it in profusion.  She was also part of the Revue Negre in which she introduced the Danse Sauvage -- once again a big hit.  Many of her outfits are on view at the Chateau.

The 20s become the 30s and we all know that the 30s did not end well.  Josephine, who by then is an international sensation, becomes involved with both the Red Cross and the French Resistance as Europe is engulfed in war.  She arranges a series of tours across Africa and Europe and she is accompanied by a top resistance officer who is posing as her agent (or something like that).  At each stop, while entertaining an audience, they are gathering intelligence for use by the Allies.  After the war, Josephine was awarded several of the highest military honors awarded by the French.

The war ends and Josephine really concentrates on fixing up Chateau Milandes while continuing to perform until 1956.  In 1950 she begins to adopt children from all around the world to try to demonstrate the power of brotherhood.  She calls them her "Rainbow Tribe" and they all come to live at Chateau Milandes. Perhaps this is where Angelina Jolie got the idea?  She insists the adopted children be integrated with the local children and ensures that all her children, and the town children, get the very best educations.  She is a terrible financial manager however and by the end of the 50s she needs to re-enter show business to support the Chateau, the children and herself.  During the 60s Josephine also made several tours in the U.S. and participated in Civil Rights Marches and Demonstrations.  She was a busy, if financially inept, girl.

And she never mastered that financial thing.  Ultimately she couldn't meet here obligations and the Chateau was foreclosed upon.  Josephine barricaded herself in the house and refused to leave.  One day, when she had to leave to get groceries they locked the house so she could not return.  The next morning she was found asleep leaning against the kitchen door.  Enter Princess Grace of Monaco.  They were buddies and Princess Grace was not going to put up with this so she whisked Josephine away and provided her with lodging and succor in Monaco.  Her children were grown, well educated and are now scattered around the world.  Josephine died in Paris in 1975.  This place and the story of Josephine Baker was one of the best days of our trip.  Rarely have we been on a trip that encompassed such a variety of historical events, personalities and geological oddities.  But more on all of those later.

Unfortunately no photographs were allowed in the Chateau. However the garden and the wild avian show made up for the lack of photos in the Chateau.

Once again the clipped, sculpted hedges reminiscent of the other French gardens was in evidence here as well.

The Chateau even had its own Church on the property.

The rounded towers was one of the most prominent features of the Chateua...

acting as bookends on either end of the Chateau.

Before touring the lower garden, we stopped to admire the raptors in the aviary.

This owl was in very much of a Zen mode.

Looking back toward the Chateau from the lower garden.

These stairstep pools led down one hill of the garden...

and up the other side of the hill...

This infinity pool was between the stairstep pools.

Looking to the back of the garden from the infinity reflecting pool.

The avian raptor show was a highlight of the visit to the Chateau, with a bald eagle...

these pictures of a great horned owl in flight...

and finally this cute pygmy owl resting on the rail. Looking at the talons, one can understand why the handlers wear very thick leather gloves.

One More Thing

I've got to squeeze one more thing into this blog or we'll end up with a zillion blog posts just from this trip.  Market Day is Wednesday in Sarlat.  Actually Saturday is the BIG market but we thought Wednesday was about all we could handle.  Sarlat is a beautiful town on any day but on Market Day it is truly vibrant. We spent the morning strolling the market buying more things than we ever should have and settled down for lunch in a Square away from the cacophony of the market.  While sipping wine, we listened to a cellist who had set up in the middle of the Square.  After a few minutes he was joined by a violinist.  A while later by a guitarist.  The music was marvelous but the ambiance of the square completed the picture.  Michael has pictures which try to capture those moments in time.  But still photos can't capture a toddler "dancing" to the music before making herself comfortable in the nest of the cellist's instrument case.  So, until next time my friends.

Market Day in Sarlat is a crowded affair with many vendors selling their wares.

As Deirdre mentioned, a highlight & delight was encountering this cello player in a quiet square away from the hustle, bustle & noise of Market Day.

 

We were also entertained by the young girl who decided to rest in the cello case...

and contemplate all those Euros which had accumulated.

Two women showed up with their instruments, and first the violinist joined in with the cellist...

and finally the guitarist joined in as well.

We'll be heading out to discover some of the amazing geologic treasures of the Dordogne in the next blog so hang in there.