A Walk in the Woods

Dear Family and Friends,

Finally, a beautiful day! Sunday was truly lovely, perhaps one of the nicest days we have had in the south of France in our 10 years of visiting. So, it was pool day. We sat back with our Kindles and soaked in the sun. divine!

Monday was nearly as lovely, but our hostess, Ann, had friends visiting from Berlin and they had the audacity to commandeer our pool. Another German invasion! Outrageous! Actually the day had stayed cool for the major part, but when the sun did finally reveal itself, little German children were flopping about. So, Polley and I retreated to the shade of a plum try and drowned our sorrows in glasses of rosé.

Everyone here comments on the fact the weather has been up and down, though to us it appears more down than up. The vintners are still unsure of the fall harvest. Lots of fruit, but not much sun. The pattern seems to be cool temperatures in the morning and then around noon it begins to break up and is often full sunshine by about 3:30 in the afternoon. Then the problem is that by around 5:30 the sun is going behind a lovely, large old tree and the pool is incomplete shade. Consequently, we are now setting the alarm for 3:30 (a disappointing interruption in our daily siesta, but sacrifices need to be made!) so we can fall into the pool and soak up some sun.

I have been getting some good morning walks in this week. Since in the last blog I showed you our accommodations in Poujoulou, I thought it might be fun to take you on my regular morning walk, down the hill and into the village of Puy L'Eveque.

As I leave Ann's farm I hit a small paved road and head up the hill for about a quarter of a mile where it intersects wi the main road (notice the "poubelles" - dumpsters - love that word)

From there it is about another quarter of a mile, walking past a popular campsite, L'Évasion, and turn and head down the hill

It's a series of twists and turns, but every so often there is a spectacular view of the valley below

At about the 1 mile mark, I turn south from the intersection with a road that leads to a very small village, Martignac, which I will feature in another blog, as it has an interesting church. As I continue down the road, I begin to pass some homes. These are more modern than Ann's farmhouse, mostly built in the last 10 years that Polley and I have been coming here. But, they too, have fantastic views that look down on the town.

Then, finally, I come into the village. This is a view from just west of the village, looking into the valley and the vineyards beyond

The walk is about 2 1/4 miles down into the village, and, not surprisingly, about the same going back, but steeply up hill. And for the most part, if I go early enough (anytime before 8:45), the road is quiet. Most of the French, except for bakers, tobacconists and farmers, go to work around 9. I love that I can walk for nearly 5 miles in the middle of the road because it is so quiet that you can hear a car approaching half a mile away. Mornings are so silent. Just the roosters, a few owls and other birds; as they say in Hamlet, "the rest is silence." Next blog we will actually go into the village of Puy L'Eveque.

 

 

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