Yesterday was our last full day in Beynac and we got up early to “queue up” at Grotte de Font-de-Gaume. You’ve probably heard of Lascaux, site of the world’s most famous cave paintings? Well, the original Lascaux was closed in 1963 because the art work was deteriorating. A replica (Lascaux II) is now available for viewing. But we decided to try to see the last of these 15,000 year old multi-colored cave paintings sites open to the public, Grotte Font-de-Gaume. They only allow 54 visitors per day in small guided tour groups. We arrived at 8:30 and, after standing for an hour in heavy rain, snagged an 11:15 English tour. It wasn’t as miserable as it sounds – the couple in line behind us was extremely entertaining (thank you Sue and George from Sydney!).

And the tour was fantastic! No photos were allowed (there were sooo many rules; we were surprised we didn’t have to take turns breathing). Here’s a shot from a postcard:

Sorry that it’s sideways – it’s a bison…

We traveled the backroads again that afternoon, saw more beautiful villages including Rocamadour, sorta (very?!) touristy but still interesting. It has been a pilgrimage site for over a millennium. Bunny really liked the Chemin de la Croix, the Stations of the Cross (brought back pleasant memories of Catholic grade school ☺😇☺).

Stations of the cross area