Travel Around The Clock

The area of Saint-Emilion extends around the homonymous village, near the city of Libourne, along the Dordogne river.  Here, among gentle hills covered with vineyards, some of the most prestigious French red wines are produced.  And walking in this wonderful landscape is a pure pleasure! Saint Emilion The main grapes are Merlot and Cabernet Franc, followed, in a much lower percentage, by Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. The wines of Saint-Emilion are quite different from those produced in Médoc; this is due both to the different composition of the soil (mainly limestone in Saint Emilion) and to the greater use of Merlot grapes that produce wines much rounder and softer than the Médoc ones. Grapes, Saint Emilion The tourist office in Saint Emilion offers plenty of brochures and maps to explore the surrounding area. During our weekend there, after visiting the beautiful city centre , we chose to walk the 11Km long circular trail called 'Entre Combes et Coteaux' .   T...

The Collio Goriziano is famous for its excellent wines, certainly among the best Italian white wines produced both from indigenous and international vine varieties. Thanks to its unique microclimate and to the specific soil (called ponca or ponka), made of layers of marl and sandstone and rich in mineral salts and micro-elements, this area is particularly suited to the cultivation of the vine.  And walking through the green rolling hills covered in beautiful vineyards is a pure pleasure! Vigne Alte trail The " Sentiero delle Vigne Alte " is a splendid panoramic trail near Cormons winding for 3 km through shady woodlands, olive groves and the vineyards of some of the most interesting wine producers of the Collio Goriziano; a real naturalistic jewel, an easy walk that can be done on foot, by mountain bike or even on horseback. View from the Vigne Alte Trail Vineyards Collio Goriziano The best time to walk the trail is spring or autumn, when the chromatic shades of nature giv...

The Dordogne, a hikers paradise The Dordogne is one of the top destinations for those that want to explore the rural side of France, and, besides the amazing castles , the medieval villages, the astonishing prehistoric art and the colorful farmers markets full of exquisite local products, this region offers lush landscapes made of green rolling hills, quiet valleys and beautiful forests. Walking along the paths in this generous countryside, other than being an excellent exercise, is a joy for the heart and the eyes!  And, if you like hiking, the region proposes approximately 780 kilometers of long hiking trails and 4000 kilometers of short ones that will offer you the chance to explore this beautiful scenarios scattered with golden stone hamlets that seem to be lost in time and space.  3 different variants of Way of Saint James cross the Dordogne Valley leading pilgrims and walkers to the vertiginous city of Rocamadour . But our favourite long walk in the region is...

Among the numerous circular walks that can be found in the Perigord Noir , there is one that stands above the others and that we loved in a particular way. It is the Combe des Loups in Saint Andre d'Allas and we just discovered it a few days ago: 12 Km, 4 hours walk among the amazing blooming lush nature of this fantastic region of France. Fields, Dordogne But, as we are passionate walkers nature is not unusual for us. Indeed what really struck us is that this is a real complete walk: it offers the "usual" beautiful scenarios of the Perigord, colorful flowers, wild strawberries, blackberry bushes but also open views over one of the most beautiful castle of the region (the Chateau de Puymartin ), some typical Perigourdine landmarks such as stone huts and rocky outcrops, ancient wash houses and hamlets dating back to the XIV century. But I think that, in this case, pictures are worth a thousands of my words.... Bloomings, Dordogne Strawberry plant, Dordogne ...