The story of a tragedy

Good morning or evening. 
I will continue the story of our journey. Left off in Moncontour (photo below) where we met a wonderful English couple and stayed at their B and B. Next morning we traveled (Leslie and our Renault Clio---- great little car that gets 50 miles per gallon/diesel) through the French countryside (photos below) and saw miles and miles of farmers' fields.  Stopped by a river for lunch and got a photo of some beautiful flowers. 

St. John Maigny Church near Moncontour

Farmer's field

Lunch by the river

Les and our Clio (black with red plates)

A sad afternoon of remembrance

The afternoon turned somber when we visited Oradaur sur Glane just north of Limonges, France. This is the village where the German army (Das Reich SS Division) massacred all the townspeople (624 men, women and children) in retribution for the D-Day landings and actions of the Marquis (French resistance in the Limonges area. I have attached some photos of the village which has been left as it was (as memorial of remembrance) on July 10, 1944, the day the Germans murdered all inhabitants and burned the homes/stores/schools/church.  The townspeople were all herded to the town square; then the men taken to various locations (workshops and garages) and shot.  The women and children were taken to the church and were locked in. It was set afire and they were burned to death or shot trying to escape. While we were deeply impacted by this tragedy (seeing the museum and walking through the village), we realized that keeping the village as it was that day (June 10, 1944) has been critical.  It helps us remember what happened here was real and "can happen again" if we are not vigilant with our liberties, freedom and care for one another. If you have an opportunity I would suggest you Google "Oradaur sur Glane and read the story of this tragedy. 

Town from a distance

Town streets-- overhead wires were for the electric trolley

Town streets

A garage where men were shot.

Remembering the Binet family

Remembering the Descubes family

Church where women and children were murdered.

And our journey continued on to the Valley of the Dordogne. We arrived there on Monday, September 26th and just left this morning, Friday, September 30th. What a wonderful four days. Saw chateaus and castles from the 10th - 15th century. Below is Beynac and views (north and west) from Chateau Castelnaud. The latter was the home of Richard the Lion Hearted after the 2nd Crusade. We also had a change to see the beginning of fall colors in the Dordogne.  And yes, here is Les outside our little abode at Les Trios Collines. The pool is directly behind me and it has been 85-90 for the past week.

Beynac, one of tens of castles and chateaus

Fall colors

From Castelnaud to the north

From Castelnaud to the west

Miss Leslie @ our casita's patio door

The four wonderful days are memories and now we are in Pau (20 miles from Lourdes) on our way to St. Jean de Pied Port which is the beginning of the pilgrims trail (St. Juan Compostela) to Santiago de Compostela, Spain (500 mile  hike across northern Spain done by thousands+ each year). Stay tuned. We will update you as we venture into Northern Spain and points east across the Pyrennes.