This morning all the news channels were devoted to a single topic. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, a native Austrian, had been elected governor of California.
This European immigrant handily defeated a collection of child actors, porn stars,
and discredited politicians to attain one of the most powerful political offices in
the US. There was a tremendous amount of interest throughout Europe in this
development.
We left Blois around 7:30 am, while it was still dark, and followed the small
D765 highway to the Autoroute at Romorantin-Lanthenay. We filled up with gas
and soon picked up the A20 Autoroute at Vierzon. After lunch at a rest area
near Les Champs d'Amour, which means "the fields of love," we arrived
in Limoges about 11:30 am.
Limoges and the National Porcelain Museum
Our sole purpose for stopping in Limoges, a town whose name is literally synonymous
with porcelain, was to visit the Musée National Adrien Dubouché, informally
known as the National Porcelain Museum. Our assumption that directions to the museum
would be signposted throughout the city was mistaken. In fact, we did not notice a
single sign directing visitors to the museum and were forced to resort to the small
map of Limoges in our Michelin Green Guide for the Dordogne. With Carolyn navigating
from the Michelin map, we soon found the museum.
Unfortunately, we arrived at the museum about 40 minutes before the daily 90-minute
lunchtime closing, so we limited our explorations to a single wing featuring late
18th and early 19th century French porcelain, which included a
large number of historic Limoges pieces. It was a disappointment that we
were unable to spend more time in this museum that documents the history of porcelain
manufacturing throughout the world. Centuries of unsuccessful European efforts to
duplicate "true porcelain," distinguished by its translucent quality, as developed
in China are represented through the display of authentic period pieces. Although
the many failed attempts did produce, as a by-product, such well known ceramic types
as Delft and Majolica, it was not until the early 1700's that the secret of true or
"hard-paste" porcelain was discovered near Meissen, in present-day Germany.
The reproduction of Chinese-type porcelain required both extremely high firing
temperatures and a very pure form of clay, known as Kaolin. When this clay, which
is almost pure white, is fired at elevated temperature, it is transformed into a
glassy-like substance. This knowledge was closely guarded by the Meissen manufacturers
for more than half a century. (Anyone interested in the history of European porcelain
should consider reading The Arcanum by Janet Gleeson.) Eventually, French spies
employed by Louis XV, a porcelain fanatic who resented paying the exorbitant prices
demanded by the Meissen monopoly, discovered the secret of true porcelain and French
manufacturers began to make their own hard-paste porcelain using Kaolin imported from
Austria. When high-quality Kaolin deposits were discovered in the area just to the
north of the Dordogne River, the Limoges porcelain industry was born.
In addition to extensive Kaolin deposits, the area around Limoge includes deposits
of metal oxides that are a necessary ingredient in the enameling process and
abundant forests that provided wood for firing kilns. By the 1830's, dozens of
porcelain factories existed in Limoges. The economic vicissitudes of the European
porcelain industry were closely correlated with the capricious tastes of the elite
classes. Traditionally, the Limoges porcelain factories specialized in "snuff boxes"
for tobacco. When pipes and cigarettes became a more popular way of ingesting
tobacco, Limoges snuff boxes were simply remarketed as "Limoges boxes," a name that
is immediately familiar to any modern collector of porcelain. During its peak, the
Limoges porcelain industry attracted the greatest artisans of western Europe.
The Search for Porcelain
After leaving the museum, we unsuccessfully tried to find some porcelain shops, but,
much to our surprise, there did not seem to be any in the vicinity. At this point,
we drove to a different part of the city that the Michelin Green Guide indicated has
a significant amount of historic interest. We visited the Jardins de
l'Évêché and the Cathédrale St-Étienne, which includes
a chancel dating from 1273 and transepts from the 14th century. Less
significant components of the cathedral were added bit by bit over subsequent
centuries, with completion of the present-day western portal in 1876. Descending
toward the river Vienne, we crossed the 800-year-old Pont St-Étienne
where I got some beautiful pictures of the ancient multi-arched bridge reflected
in the stillness of the river with the cathedral in the background. One of these
pictures was virtually identical to a picture in our Michelin guide.
There were a number of restaurants and shops near the bridge, so we made one final
attempt to find some Limoges porcelain. The first shop we approached was exactly what
we were looking for. The gentleman that owned the shop spoke no English, but he was
extremely sociable and I was able to communicate with him using my limited French.
Carolyn was interested in many pieces. For each one, he patiently attempted to explain
the details in simple French and a little sign language. At one point, he motioned to
a chess set made of Limoge porcelain and offered to play a game. Eventually, we bought
several pieces, including a Limoges box with a decorative dancer for Beate, our house
sitter and ballroom teacher. As we were leaving, he motioned to a collection of small
boxes and invited Carolyn to choose any piece that she wanted as a gift. We felt very
fortunate to have discovered this shop, and I regretted the fact that we could not
communicate with him beyond the level of a four-year-old. His enthusiasm for Limoges
porcelain was infectious and his knowledge no doubt extensive. We have visited ceramic
and porcelain manufacturers throughout much of Europe (Delft, Hummel, Royal Doulton,
etc.) and his insight and opinions on the subject would have been very informative.
Soon we were back in our car and on the Autoroute headed south into the heart of
the Dordogne region of France. We arrived in Sarlat-la-Canéda, our home base for
the next two nights, about 4:30 pm. A confusing array of streets, combined with
considerable traffic congestion, prevented us from finding our hotel in a timely
manner. Eventually, however, we pulled into a parking lot that we suspected was
close to our hotel, and I found the hotel a pièd, on foot. After checking
in, I moved the car to a private lot owned by the hotel. The lot was a few blocks
away near a farm house. Carolyn noticed a rooster as we walked back to the hotel.
Sarlat-la-Canéda
Although modern Sarlat is a typically ugly European-style conurbation, the historic
core, the Vieille Ville, aesthetically embodies more than one thousand years
of history and architectural style. Old Sarlat does not possess broad boulevards and
grandiose monuments typical of Napoleonic civic restructuring. Still, as we were to
discover, plenty of rewards await those that successfully negotiate the maze of
narrow winding medieval lanes. The traveler in search of a pristine slice of
pre-Revolutionary France will not find a more promising candidate than Sarlat.
As part of the "frontier" during the Hundred Years War, Sarlat exchanged hands
repeatedly between France and England. Moreover, the war and its aftermath brought
economic devastation to the town, which briefly recovered in the 15th
century. Most of the dwellings and commercial buildings date from this period (1450
to 1500), although many religious and government structures are significantly older.
In all probability, the medieval inhabitants of Sarlat regarded their town as quite
ordinary. To the modern observer, however, Sarlat is gorgeous. The majority of its
buildings are constructed from a beautiful honey-colored sandy limestone that is
quarried nearby. A few moments before sunset, just before the reddish-golden sun
disappears below the tree tops of the surrounding forest, the walls of Sarlat glow in
the reflected light.
The more elaborate stone buildings sprout corner turrets and feature ornate window
embrasures, whereas the more mundane structures are limited to colorful wooden
shutters that are picturesquely crooked. Most of the roofs are constructed from small
flat stones, a Dordogne Valley tradition. As if to reduce any risk of monotony, the
uniformly yellowish stone buildings are interrupted in places by one or two
half-timbered structures with red brick filling between the wooden beams.
The several hours that we spent wandering about the historic core of the town were
among the best of the trip. My cameras loved Sarlat as much as I did. There seemed to
be a great picture around every corner, sometimes several. It is worth mentioning
that traffic in the old town is heavily restricted and the area is very pedestrian
friendly.
Not surprisingly, Sarlat is an extremely popular tourist destination. In the summer,
the town is often paralyzed by traffic. Unlike Normandy and the Loire Valley,
however, the majority of tourists in this region are French. On this Fall day, the
majority of the tourists were indeed French, but the old town was pleasantly
uncrowded.
Like so many ancient European towns, the crooked lanes of Sarlat are as confusing
as they are quaint. A street map resembles a piece of Belgian lace. Beyond sight of
the unmistakable Rue Republique, literally the only straight street in the old
town, you are often not quite sure of where you are— or if you are sure of your
location, you are not quite sure how you got there. A modest amount of wandering in
this compact old town will inevitably return you to a familiar spot, such as the old
cathedral or the Place de la Liberté.
The Place de la Liberté is the heart of the old town. Lined with outdoor
cafes and souvenir shops, on Saturday mornings this square is the site of a huge
market that sells everything from flowers to foie gras, depending upon the
season. Judging by the postcard racks, the classic view of Sarlat is from this
square, with its buildings of yellow limestone and half-timbered red brick framing
the nearby ancient Cathédrale St-Sacerdos, which is the oldest structure
of signficance in the town. Some of the postcards include a touch of random color
introduced by the umbrella-covered tables associated with the cafes along the
Place de la Liberté.
Not far from the Place de la Liberté, the Place du Marché Aux
Trois Oies, which means Market Place of the Three Geese, is where the buying
and selling of geese has occurred for centuries. The "Trois" was added to the name
more recently when a small bronze sculpture of three geese was added. The picturesque
square is an architectural potpourri, full of turrets, pinnacles, dormer windows,
and "pepperpots."
The most unusual tourist attraction in Sarlat is a 12th century tower
known as the Lanterne des Morts, or Lantern of the Dead, located near the
cathedral cemetery. Although the name of this tower has survived the centuries,
the original purpose has been obscured by legend and superstition.
We discovered a photography shop that sold 50 ASA Fujichrome Velvia, so I stocked up
on film. After dark, we headed to an Italian restaurant, the Pizzeria Ramone,
just around the corner from our hotel, and had some spaghetti. No English spoken,
but my French, along with my confidence in using it, was improving daily, so no
problem. After calling Beate and Pat to check on the dogs and the house, we ventured
back into the labyrinthine lanes of the old town for some night photography. Many of
the town's most photogenic buildings are well illuminated after sunset.
We were fortunate to have selected the Hotel des Recollets prior to our trip.
The hotel was located within the old town, no more than a three-minute walk from the
Place de la Liberté. The room was, by a considerable margin, the nicest of
the trip, being one of several that lined an inner courtyard where dinner is served
on warm evenings. The room was unusually large by European standards, and even
included a mini-refrigerator, unusual in Europe. The bathroom was recently
remodeled and refurbished. The only unfortunate aspect of the room was that we spent
so little time there.
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