It’s nice to be reconnected. After almost two weeks in the southwest of France with no internet service, I can get the weather forecast, updates on the depressing world news, and notices of the latest sales and discounts.
But on second thought, is all that information so important or necessary after all ?
It’s been eleven years since we were in the southwest of France where Rebecca’s in-laws have a vacation home in the village of Septfonds. There’s no air-conditioning and few fans despite the close to 100 degree temperatures. However, despite the lack of those creature comforts , it was wonderful to be removed from hectic, over scheduled suburban life.
Despite the location, the house is anything but primitive but it is uncomplicated. There’s no internet, no television, no buses , few cars on the country road. But there is a field of cows just over the fence and not too far away a machine that dispenses fresh milk.
We were not totally disconnected from the greater world. There’s the village just a short drive or run away where newspapers are available, but who really wants to read about the latest escapades of Mr. This or Ms. That when there are beautiful sunsets to look at and a sky full of stars that are invisible in Montclair.
But it got better. We spent a week in a gite on a farm along the Veziere River. The gite was simple with chipped dishes, unmatched silverware and bare floors. But who cared as we explored the Dordogne region which has some of the most interesting traces of early and medieval civilization : the Caves at Lescaux, the troglodyte cave dwellings, the city of Bergerac, wonderful wineries, and ruined castles. 
And duck-lots of duck : potatoes cooked in duck fat, duck salad, roasted duck, stewed duck, foie gras, and every other part of the duck you can imagine. However, French restaurants ave come around to realize that not everyone is a meat eater. We even found a vegan restaurant in one very small town and every menu seems to have goat cheese salad or smoked salmon.
Interestingly, the great Rashi has commented on foie gras by warning against the force feeding necessary to produce the rich liver as it makes the duck or goose suffer.
A highlight of our visit to the area was African American Josephine Baker’s château. Baker fled the U.S. for France because of racism. France was much more hospitable. But the most interesting part of her story was her part in the French resistance for which she was named to the French Legion of Honor.
I didn’t find obvious signs of Jewish life in the area. However, there was a Jewish presence prior to 1302 when the Jews were expelled. In 1939, many Jews from Strasbourg evacuated to Perigeux and after the war, some remained. The Jewish community built a synagogue and community center in the 1960s embracing both Sephardic and Ashkenazic customs.
According to Lacheze, The area has a long history of mistrusting central authority and welcoming outsiders. Consequently there was much anti Nazi resistance and many Jews, especially children, were hidden during the war. Not that there were no casualties as the photograph shows.
Ironically, Septfonds where we began this summer’s French adventure was the site of a multi-purpose World War II internment camp. No one speaks about it and I discovered its existence just by chance. There is a memorial in the town square.
We continued on to Bordeaux before going home to northern France and Lille where the southern sunshine gave way to the clouds of the north
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I love these travelogues you send when you are visiting your family in France. I feel I am right there with you enjoying each special moment. Thanks for enhancing story with photographs.
So glad to hear from you. What an adventure; off the beaten path. I will share with my Granddaughter Lisa.
We miss you!
Carol Cathey