Hanging Jardins - Day 15

Song - The Garden by Carly Simon

On cliffs high over the Dordogne Valley sits a majestic garden which was built about 150 years ago.

The Hanging Gardens of Marqueyssac.....

Above is part of the lemon colored chateau and part of the boxwood garden.

There are over 150,000 boxwood plants and it's a topiary heaven!!!

Above is a little garden map of the areas around Marqueyssac and several trails to enjoy.

There are amazing views of the rich farm land surrounding it as well as the river below.

And there is a little chapel that was built near the beginning of your stroll.

There are several places to sit along the walkway.  

This one has a view of the little village of La Roque-Gageac tucked into the faraway hillside below.

There are two Bories within the park to find shade and take a rest.

For the kids there are two play areas and one is this mesh labyrinth up in the trees.

......and several calming waterfalls.

This building is the restaurant in the garden.  There is a family of peacocks that likes to hang out here. It was nice to sit outside and have a cold drink in the shade after the walk.

We decided to drive over to the village of Domme to eat lunch on the esplanade overlooking the valley.

Domme is classified as one of the most beautiful villages of France. It also sits on a hilltop with tremendous views below. 

And it overlooks the Dordogne River where we watched kayakers enjoying the slow moving river.

One of those hilltops near the middle is where we strolled through the gardens earlier in the day.

The lovely little village of La Roque-Gageac from Domme with their red rooftops!

We both enjoyed salads for lunch.....

After lunch we strolled around the village of Domme and discovered this little stone angel above the entrance to a church. 

The flags in front of the town hall window.

We spent the rest of the day poolside at our hotel in Sarlat.  As we strolled into town for dinner we noticed that it was very quiet.  Not many places were open as it was a Sunday.

But we found this little gem of a restaurant - Les Jardins d'Harmonie - on a little back alley.  It was filled with diners when we arrived about 8:30 but they found us a cozy spot in the courtyard for a delicious dinner!  The above photo was taken about 11:30 when most of the diners had strolled home!

"Remember that children, marriages, 

and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get."  

-- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.