Friday, 26 June 2009, 11:00 PM

This morning Daddy & Grandad went into Sarlat to get more day cards for Internet access. The Internet access is very slow in the cottage since it is using a cellular network data connection. The connection can operate at 3G+ (3 Mbps) but out here, it uses GPRS at up to 80 Kbps, but we only get half that at best. Aren't I clever that I know this!

Anyway, once they came back from Sarlat, we all jumped in the car and drove to Lascaux.

Lascaux is the site of palaeolithic cave paintings that were discovered in the 1940s by a teenage boy and his dog, so we were told by the tour guide. The guide also said the boy and his two friends decided that they would keep it a secret for the rest of their lives, but their secret only lasted 3 days when they told their teacher. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the caves, but there was a display at the exit of the cave showing some of the drawings.

What we were in was actually an exact replica of the real caves, called Lascaux II. The replica was opened in the 1980s, having taken 11 years to create. The real one was closed in the 1960s after the decided that the visitors were destroying the painting just by being there - moisture and carbon dioxide. The replica is identical to 5mm so the guide said.

At one point during the tour, the guide demonstrated what it would have been like painting back then by turning off the lights and simulating candle light with his flashlight. I was a little bit scared by that, but Daddy was holding me so it was ok.

We stopped at the gift shop and bought a book about the paintings for my class, plus one for me. Daddy also bought a t-shirt. I thought I had lost the pink love-heart bracelet that Aunty Karin gave me, but after searching the card, Daddy found it in his pocket. I cried a little because I thought I had lost it.

Off we drove to our next stop Rocamadour. The drive there was very pretty and we stopped a few times for photos. At one point we came across a flock of geese that are going to be used to produce Foie gras.

Here's one of the pretty villages we saw on our drive. This one was perched high on a cliff.

We drove on to Rocamadour which is a very pretty village built into the rock cliffs. The church and chateau were at the very top of the cliffs and were actually overhanging the cliffs a bit. First we stopped at the top, and had a coffee, Oringina, plus some yummy pastries.Then we walked to a lookout area and took some photos. At the lookout we smelled pizza and decided that would be a great place to have dinner - complete with a great view of the city and the cliffs. So Grandad make a booking for the evening.

We drove down through the narrow streets of the city to the very bottom where we got on the little tourist train that took us back into the village. We walked around a bit, took some photos, and bought a few nice things for a certain Mummy. We then got back on the little train back to the bottom of the cliffs, and drove back up to the top to the restaurant. Daddy and I had pizza for dinner - my Quartre Fromage pizza was really yummy (Daddy agreed it was better than his).

It was a great day visiting Lascaux and Rocamadour and we were tired by the time we got home. I went to bed, but Daddy and Grandma and Grandad had to pack our bags since we are leaving the cottage tomorrow morning to move into an apartment in the centre of Sarlat for the next few days.