Today was fun.
I think I may not have really explained that last night at "Chez Moody Blues" I met four other pilgrims. Today the three of them left early. I had a great breakfast once again :0) and then headed out feeling completely refreshed.
And then - hey, other pilgrims! This meant other, other pilgrims. So, it's starting to feel a bit busier along the route now:
Passing through Montesquiou around ninety minutes later I bumped into them - François and Christiane, two Quebecois, and Robert - a walker from northern France. They invited me to walk with them so we spent this shorter stage (just 20km) walking together, which I enjoyed.
It happened that we had both reserved the same gite this evening, so that made the short walk enjoyable. The last village we passed through before the final 4km to the gite, was called Pouylebon. Here we stopped outside the church to explore a little, and while chatting to a couple of locals and picking fresh figs, they took our photograph together:
There was also an ancient presbytery next door which has, sadly, fallen into disrepair but we're told that the owners don't want to sell:
Around an hour later we saw the sign that took us ten minutes off the chemin, towards the gite La Barraque. When I arrived - wow, what an amazing place:
Thirteenth century, and it's being run very ecologically. Solar hot water, sensitive restoration, beautiful peaceful gardens all around - the owner Joanna grows everything. She's just installed a solar oven!
I think that's tonight's supper in there - home grown squash among other things. I'll let you know tomorrow how it all went, but it's fascinating being here. And just recently I reflected on the fact that for the past three days now I've been eating only food grown on the premises. Any wine has been local, and all food on the table has been picked pretty much that afternoon. I never realised when I set out how this chemin might develop, but I'm certainly enjoying it.
Anyway, something's happening with knives and forks now, so better sign off!
I think I may not have really explained that last night at "Chez Moody Blues" I met four other pilgrims. Today the three of them left early. I had a great breakfast once again :0) and then headed out feeling completely refreshed.
And then - hey, other pilgrims! This meant other, other pilgrims. So, it's starting to feel a bit busier along the route now:
Passing through Montesquiou around ninety minutes later I bumped into them - François and Christiane, two Quebecois, and Robert - a walker from northern France. They invited me to walk with them so we spent this shorter stage (just 20km) walking together, which I enjoyed.
It happened that we had both reserved the same gite this evening, so that made the short walk enjoyable. The last village we passed through before the final 4km to the gite, was called Pouylebon. Here we stopped outside the church to explore a little, and while chatting to a couple of locals and picking fresh figs, they took our photograph together:
There was also an ancient presbytery next door which has, sadly, fallen into disrepair but we're told that the owners don't want to sell:
Around an hour later we saw the sign that took us ten minutes off the chemin, towards the gite La Barraque. When I arrived - wow, what an amazing place:
Thirteenth century, and it's being run very ecologically. Solar hot water, sensitive restoration, beautiful peaceful gardens all around - the owner Joanna grows everything. She's just installed a solar oven!
I think that's tonight's supper in there - home grown squash among other things. I'll let you know tomorrow how it all went, but it's fascinating being here. And just recently I reflected on the fact that for the past three days now I've been eating only food grown on the premises. Any wine has been local, and all food on the table has been picked pretty much that afternoon. I never realised when I set out how this chemin might develop, but I'm certainly enjoying it.
Anyway, something's happening with knives and forks now, so better sign off!
Solar powered oven eh? Think that might last long enough for cheese on toast in Wales! Do you pick up comments that are added to older posts or just the latest?
ReplyDeleteAll sounds excellent. I am focussing today on my own pilgrimage to Kingston upon Thames, much enlivened by the new big biography to Frank JUST published!
ReplyDeleteKeep eating the fresh food.
@Gigi: I get notified of comments, so I get to read them all. I'm tending to agree with your Thunderbirds assessment! ;0)
ReplyDelete@Chris: best of luck with the talk - hope it all goes/went very well. Glad you got the Frank bio in time!