St Jean the Baptiste was responsible for our small ‘by donation cottage’ last night. It was quite austere, clean and warm, however he only provided us with single beds and no tea bags. His apartment was much more lavish. Besides the usual pews, this 1525 grand ‘Gothic flamboyant’ structure contained three large spectacular frescoes which we sadly did not see because the only church we’ve found open was closed.
Across the square however our timing was much better as the boulangerie was packed, but open, and the bar next door for our coffee where we take our croissants was also open. The French army was there, so weaving our way through their substantial armoury was a bit tricky with our packs and weapons (poles) also.
Back on the railway line for most of the morning, such a delightful path and clever use of the no longer useful past to the very useful present. Who would have thought that progress could mean going from rail to walk. It caters for the walkers, bikers and riders beautifully by keeping it well above bog-level.
Walking through glorious sweeps of canola brought us to Jamila. An Algerian French woman, she and her retriever, Stephie, were out for a walk. A few polite words and my request for a photo prompted her to invite us home for coffee. So two kms walk with the two of them had us swapping stories in broken languages. Her ability to express herself both verbally and physically ensured mostly understood conversation.
She loves to cook so her kitchen is like a chef’s; she loves her family so many photos from Algeria. After a long unexpected break it was now the last leg home. Soon a stop for lunch on the step of a tiny memorial protected by trees especially planted for that reason, on a not so busy road, a few photos and we’re on our way home.
We didn’t know it at the time but the two women driving their draft horses along the road that I photographed are our hosts for tonight and cooking us dinner. I was going to end by saying this was a one horse town but as you can see, I would be lying … but it’s close.