Dordogne

Dordogne is really casual. Lots of people from Paris and England vacation there and they don't make a lot of effort. We always dress up a bit for dinner in France and one night we sat next to a French guy in a track suit in a fairly nice restaurant in La Roque-Gageac. We laughed about this to our b and b owner and they said, "well, yeah, it's Dordogne! Isn't it great that you don't have to dress up like you do in Paris." (Well, no, in my opinion). Also April is a very slow time there so there won't be many others to see/judge you. I'd make sure and bring practical outdoor wear for cool, rainy weather (not that you'll necessarily get that, but you could). Have a great time, it's a lovely place.

folks in this area are very down to earth, don't worry about what you wear as far as it's warm and comfy it's fine. you'll want to hit a few market days jean and old shirt will do.

Don't wear a "Sarah for President" tee shirt or you might end up with an uncooked sausage on your plate.

or frogs legs au naturelle

Comy - casual! The people are fabulous and you probably will be identified as a tourist asap so you might as well be comfy. We LOVE this area and found it to be one of the friendliest places we've traveled. My husband and I dined "swanky" one night and he wore khaki's and a polo. ENJOY!

We will be staying with relatives in Arles that are doing a home exchange from the States. We will be there for just one week. I have heard wonderful things of the Dordogne area with Sariat and Perigueux...would it be possible to go there for a day from Arles?..what would be the best way? and if not can someone recommend a moderate place to stay for one nite? Any info and recommendations would be welcome. thank you very much!!

Nancy from Encinitas: No, it is not feasible. Think a day trip from Encinitas to Las Vegas.

With 5 to 6 hours drive each way, that's 12 hours of driving, not including pee breaks or any eating. With about 13 and a half hours of light at that time of year in the Dordogne you'd have 90 minutes there before heading back if you don't want to drive at night. Of course, since the recent poster didn't say when they are going, I used the dates from the OP. By the way, note that the thread is from January 2011 so it is likely that the Original Poster is likely to have completed their journey. By activating a sleeping thread the OP gets an email every time somebody replies, instead of the current questioner. It may be better to start your own thread so you can get those emails, and our poor OP can continue without disturbance.

As usual, Nigel catches that. I was going to respond until I spotted his comment. Maybe RS should hire him to screen posts. As usual, I missed it.