Some Views are Unforgettable.

And so, here I am again in the medieval town of Domme—specifically, at the Hotel L’Esplanade, which is set right a the edge of a promontory, and offers one of the great views anywhere.

This view is different. I’ve taken dozens of photos of this valley over the course of my three visits here. You can’t not take shot after shot from the promontory on which this small hotel was built. That’s the Dordogne River running through the valley below, passing through a checker board of irregularly shaped and colored fields and farms, all lined with trees and hedges.

The valley extends for probably 220 degrees around the promontory on which the original town was built a thousand years ago. Consequently, it’s simply not possible to do justice to this lovely valley with one photograph.

Everyone tries. Three years ago, I got a choice seat for lunch on the terrace at the restaurant next door. With the panoramic view behind me, I asked the couple having lunch at the adjacent table if they would take picture of me in this wonderful setting. The woman agreed . . . took the camera, fiddled with the framing a bit, then snapped the shot and handed the camera back to me.  

An hour later, back in my room, I took a look at the photo she had taken. It was a tight portrait shot . . . head and shoulders only.

One additional note: The couple at the table next to me in the dining room last night lives on Maui. Our homes are less than 20 miles apart. And the odds of that happening are . . .