Kittling's Literary Tours: Bruno's Périgord

I don't know about you, but when it comes to armchair travel and the mystery series that I read, Martin Walker's Bruno Chief of Police has been one of the ultimates in transporting me to another country. By the time I finish one of Walker's mysteries, I'm thinking with a French accent and salivating for one of the splendid meals Walker so lovingly describes. 

I've often thought of traveling to the Périgord, a region in southwestern France.

On the map above, it's the green area with the red arrow pointing to it.  It is an area rich in history, rich in food and wine, and rich in natural beauty.

The photo to the right shows you just a tiny bit of the chateaux and villages that can be seen on a trip through the area. Of course you can only travel the roads in a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic in the pages of Walker's Fatal Pursuit, but one can dream.

Fatal Pursuit's Bugatti

If you want to plan your own trip to the Périgord, an excellent start would be Walker's own website.  In a section labeled Bruno's Périgord, the area's restaurants, hotels, and attractions are listed, and you can also read sections on Bruno's cellar and kitchen if you want more information about food and drink.

A business called the Duck & Truffle has been offering three-night excursions for those who want to "follow Bruno on a gourmet adventure."  There's wine tasting, a visit to the food market in Le Bugue (the real St. Denis), an afternoon cookery lesson, and plenty of restaurant hopping. But that's not all this business offers! Visitors can go into the Devil's Cave and hunt for truffles, too.  The Duck & Truffle also has its own related Pinterest board.

Just writing about this has me wanting to start at the beginning and read the entire series all over again, but unfortunately I don't have any of the books here in the house.

Instead, I think I'll plan a trip to Bruno's France. I'd want to do just about everything that it's possible to do-- even cook-- but since I don't do underground, I'll just have to put Denis in that basket to be lowered into the Devil's Cave. (He's been down a mine in Bisbee, so I don't think he'd turn a hair at this.)

With all the history, natural beauty, food and drink that are to be had in the Périgord, I think it would be the trip of a lifetime. How about you-- how many of you have read Walker's mysteries and envisioned yourself in France?

Okay then! Who's coming with me? Inquiring minds would love to know!