Véronique sat on a low wall facing the Vézère, in full sun, to eat her cream dessert. This Poitevine woman parked her bike right next to it. She cycled from her campsite in Salignac-Eyvigues to Les Eyzies this Thursday, May 9 in the morning. And the teacher plans to do this every day until Sunday: “Cycling this morning was very good. It’s the ideal weather, both beautiful, but not too hot”.
A relief for traders
“Honestly, we waited until the weather was favorable. If it wasn’t like that, we wouldn’t have come. We only decided on Sunday”, says Véronique. She is far from the only one to have had this idea. In Sarlat, in Saint-Cyprien, in Le Bugue, all the terraces of Dordogne are crowded with people this Thursday. Many tourists, coming from all over France, came to enjoy the sun and the heat during a few days in Périgord.
In Les Eyzies, the thermometer displays 25°C. In all bars and restaurants, the waiters are sweating. Behind the bar of his brasserie, The SyanaDominique wipes glasses in a chain. “It’s a rush there. We’re full. We reach 120 seats per meal. It’s good, it’s nice to see people. Rain, cold, bad weather, power cuts, we has had everything since the start of the year. Things are much better now.describes the boss.
“We were waiting for this, for the weather to finally be nice”
Despite the crowds, Armelle and Pierre found a small table in the shade. This is their first terrace of the year : “We were waiting for this, for the weather to finally be nice. We feel good, very relaxed”. After coffee, they will visit the prehistory museum.
Marie-Astrid Guégan
Like Élodie, who waits in line, under the scorching sun, with her partner and her two daughters. “It feels like July or August, that’s great. It’s going to be hard to get back to work. It’s not right away, but we want to stay here, make the most of it.”says this Vendée woman, who has already planned to return to the Dordogne as quickly as possible, probably this summer.
