Josephine Baker & Beynac

 a view of the Dordonge

 Josephene Baker home

We spent today dodging rain drops. Not too bad as we had just as much sun. Too unpredictable to take out a canoe as planned but we saw all of the same sites. By late morning we were at the chateau Des Milades, most recently the home of Josephine Baker. The house is now a dedication to her life. The chateau is quite beautiful surrounded by gardens with a lovely view. Originally built in 1489. You should look her up. In a nutshell she was a famous dancer and singer mostly in France but an American born black woman who broker the barrier of segregation and played in many famous halls form vaudeville to Paris. She got a metal of honor from DeGaulle for her supporting the french army in WWII. She used her fame to discover secrets as a spy. She also was a big contributor to the us civil rights movement. She adopted 13 children from all over the world... I will leave the rest to your curiosity. We wandered the medieval village of Beynac climbing high up to they hill top of town to look at the outside of the castle. Again we came too late for lunch at the restaurant we had chosen but enjoyed eating at another place. With the late afternoon ahead of us we chose to see the town of Dome. Famous for another cave that we didn't go into but since it was a really high elevation the view was spectacular. Even in the rain. A much earlier time back for once to just sit and relax. Off to Saint Emilion in the morning. By the way happy 4th of July that is not celebrated here.