On closer inspection, this appeared to be no ordinary wedding. Lots of hippy style outfits, and men in dresses. Next photo sums up our tentative conclusions- were we witnessing an all-male ceremony?
Disappointment really, because a conventional bride and groom have now appeared, alighting from the red Citroen Diane in the background. Bride kisses everyone in sight; intended spouse looks bored, hands on hips; and official with sash (Registrar?) beams good-naturedly but smile turning into grimace by the minute. Perhaps we were witnessing the norm for weddings in France these days. Qui sait?
We did actually come to see the village- so here it is. One photo of the river and one of the castle. Very pretty.
We drove through some beautiful rolling countryside on the way to Perigueux, and photos couldn’t do it justice, so you haven’t got any. The centre of Perigueux is elegant, with narrow alleys, lovely stone buildings and expensive, designer clothes shops. Par for the course. The town’s most unusual feature is the cathedral, dedicated to St. Front (was there also a St. Back?). It’s large, very white and features many domes, and is quite bare inside. It would have been a 12th century wonder, but has been remodelled so many times that there’s not much left of the original 12th century structure, apart from keeping roughly to the original concept. The final reconstruction, started in 1852, was directed by an architect called Abadie. He was so taken with the general appearance that he used the same format to design the Sacré Coeur church in Paris. My photo is taken from the wrong side to see all the domes, but you can get the definitive image from any guidebook on the region or the internet.
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