Yesterday we decided to take a stroll over to Lusson, a ten or twelve kilometre return trek. There are marked walking trails seemingly everywhere, so we just walked up behind the village and were immediately able to begin following a marked trail. The garrigue is the term for the undergrowth which covers the limestone hills here, it is dense and low, almost impenetrable. Wildflowers are ubiquitous much to Boronia's glee; she must have stopped fifteen or twenty times to take photos, the most interesting being a particularly beautiful orchid in bloom.
Lusson is a walled village high on a hill overlooking the valley. It is surrounded by farm land, and a few solitary farm houses. We climbed up, obtained a map of the village in a very quiet tourism office, and explored, for my part looking for a cafe or bar to buy coffee. Unfortunately for me,and fortunately for Lusson's tranquility, it has managed to resist the temptation for any retail activities within the village, at least on Wednesdays....there were indications of former cafes and tea rooms, but nothing open. The walk back was hot and footsore, but satisfying nonetheless.
Afterwards we drove to Fons sur Lusson,a village about eight kms from here in Audabiac, to buy some supplies, and drove home via a circuitous route through a number of the surrounding hamlets and villages.
This morning, we decided to have a look at the Uzes weekly market and then drive to Nimes to see what is on offer. Apart from narrow roads and a horrendous traffic issue, exacerbated by the road works underway around he old city, the city was quite splendid. A roman temple from the first century AD, a ruined roman tower atop some extensive gardens, a temple dedicated (at least in name) to the Goddess Diana, plus lots of boutiques and shops. The whole centre of town is dominated by pedestrian malls/walkways, making it a very pleasant place to explore.
After a home cooked dinner of grilled salmon, and some research on our next accommodation and our plans for the coming days, we reverted to some quiet reading time.
Boronia is reading the Catherine Jinks novel on the inquisition which i read a week or so back; I am wading my way through a feminist analysis of Shakespeare's Roman plays. Feminist social analysis is not my usual reading, so it is a revelation of sorts to see what can be wrung from Shakespeare's texts when you combine deep knowledge classical sources, an intelligent eye, and a close reading of the texts themselves and the contexts within which they were written and presented.
Tomorrow's plans will be finalised over breakfast; serendipity reigns still!
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