Sarlat is quiet in the wee hours when I wake & head out for a walk. I find a bakery open for a fresh, warm baguette. The town is small so it doesn’t take long to walk the length of the main road that bisects little oval-shaped old town Sarlat. I wander through the little lanes and even find a dead end behind a big, beautiful church. Along the little streets, people are setting up stands for the market. There are umbrellas and tables going up. Vans are all over unloading goods. I only see people getting ready for the day out & about at this hour. 

A little later in the morning after breakfast, we all three head out into Sarlat to check out the market. There are now crowds of people. While it’s fun to look and shop around at the market, after a little while it is just too many people to jostle around to get through. So it’s time to head back to the apartment for some lunch before we head out for our afternoon day trip. 

We are heading for a family-owned walnut farm that isn’t too far away from Sarlat. We changed our plans to fit in this visit to the farm instead of a morning visit to a chateau and gardens. We really enjoyed the walnut farm where we walked through the trees, learned about the process of making walnut oil through video, displays and demonstrations. We sampled some delicious walnut products including oils, ice cream and beer for Holly. 

Nearby, we drive to the canoe rental location. It’s later in the afternoon so we are hoping that the heat won’t be too challenging. We rent a canoe for Cindy and me to share. Holly opts for a kayak. Once we are suited up in a life-jacket and outfitted with our canoe and kayak paddles, we head down to the river to head off downstream. The trip down the river to the meeting spot for the drive back is supposed to be about 3 hours. We paddle past villages tucked into a cliff along the river, chateaus and palaces along the river and little beaches where many people are taking a swim. This canoe trip was so much fun. We paddled, we drifted, we dipped our feet and hands in the water, we saw some beautiful scenery, and we just had a blast. We had a very fast and kinda crazy, white-knuckle ride back to the canoe rental spot. We liked the Canoe Vacances location we chose for the rentals. The people were very friendly and it was easy to rent the canoe and kayak. 

After our trip down the river, we make the short drive back to Sarlat. We find a parking place and head back to our apartment to change for dinner. The market in Sarlat has closed and the town is a bit quieter. However, there are street performers and activity. The town is still lively with many people out for the evening. For dinner, we head to a creperie where earlier in the day we discovered exists here with 100% buckwheat galettes. We have some very good crepes with walnut wine and cider. A very nice dinner in Sarlat before we head back for a bit of packing up before heading to sleep. 

Canoe trip pictures will upload later ....