We're exhausted but thrilled with this season so far at La Tour de Cause bed and breakfast, after a busy summer. New friends have been made, old friends have come back for visits, and we hope our all our guests so far have taken home good memories!
It's the weekend of the "rentrée," the semi-official end of summer and the reentry to school, to work, to real life, for the thousands of tourists who swamped the Dordogne River Valley during the last few weeks.
A steady stream of amazing and lovely guests passed through our
gates this 
year -- Dutch, English, Scottish, Irish, Canadian, French, Italian, Indonesian, American...who am I missing?We had families, singles, couples, multi-generational groups, young, "older," honeymooners, birthday
and anniversary celebrants, lovers, friends.We had several delightful young women (yes, Jody & Lorrie -- you are YOUNG!) stay with us as live-in "laundry girls," helping with room changeovers and laundry in
exchange for room and board and good times. Bless their hearts!What do our guests have in common?
It seems the "typical" guest at our B&B is open-minded and inquisitive, progressive or liberal, interested in history and/or
prehistory, an Anglophone, college-educated, middle-income or comfortably well-off.Most arrive with an established respect and admiration for French culture and French people- although I'll admit we've had a few pass through who still cling to the myth of "rude France,"
or who still 
somehow believe that French people dislike Americans.Hopefully, their brief visit to this heartland of France has changed their minds.
Breakfast table conversations have been lively, with spirited round table discussions of health care systems around the world, current politics, the economy,
global warming and vigorous debates about the best local restaurant. Somehow, we haven't been able to figure out a simple answer to any of these pressing issues, but I've got lots of notes to share when the Obamas come stay with us. Ha!Still six weeks to go, and a few vacancies yet to fill. We take a deep breath and look forward to new arrivals!
