Bonjour! Today was a much shorter day than I expected. That is always a good thing.
I started in almost knee-high grass. Well, knee-high for me. My shoes and socks were so wet they may never dry out. I currently have them sitting on the window sill. When I got to a firmer surface, I would step and water would spray out. EEEEuw.
I was back to hiking in the mountains with more than enough up and down.
I never knew what these flowers (weeds?) were until yesterday. I have seen them in both Spain and Italy. They are called pastel des teinturiers, also known as woad for dying. The flowers have been used for dyeing as far back as the ancient Egyptians. After the 16th century, woad fell out of favor but is now being revived. Evidently, there is a long and ancient chemical process in which the dyed fabric comes out of the bath a yellow-green, and magically, as soon as the air touches it, it turns blue. And the blue never fades. Celts and Gauls died their faces, their hair, and their bodies as a deterrent to their enemies. (All I can think about are those blue-painted drunk men at UK games). This is the reason that peur bleue (blue fear) stands for being panic-stricken. A long way around to say that I bought some hand cream and body balm made with the oil of these flowers. It was not blue but it smells terrific.
A cute little treehouse.
Look in the distance and you can see the snow-covered mountains.
I am suddenly seeing all kinds of flowering trees.
I got into Villafranche-de-Lauragais close to noon. Lauragais is along the Canal du Midi which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. I did not know it was that long until today. No wonder I have spent so many days walking along the canal. And just for Dennis, the population of Lauragais is a whopping 4200 people. My first stop was the church of Notre-Dame de l'Assumption, dating from 1271. The Eglise was built in Gothic style and features a turreted bell tower, typical of the region.
The main altar of the church was rather plain but it was framed by beautiful stained glass windows.
Although it is very hard to see, in between these two windows is a statue of Saint Jacques (the French name for Saint James).
A close-up of Saint Jacques - still hard to see.
My next stop was for a Coke zero - ahhhh.
Around 3:00, I was hungry. And I wanted something luscious, something sweet, something decadent, I stopped at a little pâtisserie and chose this strawberry tarte. It was a difficult choice because everything looked so good. It turned out to be a blue-ribbon choice. In the center of the tarte was a silky vanilla custard - the perfect foil for the fresh glazed strawberries. The berries and custard were sitting upon a crunchy shortbread-like fluted tarte crust. How do the French do that? It is hard to use a wet filling and have the pastry crust stay crisp. The tarte was a home run and there wasn't so much a crumb left.
One of the most impressive things about French bakeries is their packaging. You can go in and get one cookie and they will put it in a cute little box. Sometimes you leave with something that looks like the most elaborate birthday present, fancy ribbons and all.
Can I vent for just a half minute? I am not picking on any particular hotel nor am I picking on any specific country, including the U. S. I have noticed lately that every hotel has a sign about saving the planet, hanging up your towels, blah, blah. Don't get me wrong - I hang up my towels and am willing to save the planet. My gripe is these same hotel chains, give you two cheap plastic glasses. Recently, the save the towel planet sign was propped up by two plastic glasses wrapped in plastic. I have been irritated ever since. Are we saving the planet or are we saving hotel owners money? Just a little bit hypocritical, don't you think? Give me a real damn glass and we will both save the planet. Just saying. Public service -- save-the-planet announcement finished.
I only printed the menu because I think I am always safe to order any salad but the first choice is a gizzard salad. Uhh, no!
The salad I ordered, the salade de chevre chaud, was my favorite French salad topped with goat cheese toast.
I couldn't resist ordering the cassoulet. It was excellent and I would have raved about it if I had not had last night's cassoulet. I don't think I will ever find another one as magnifique. Tonight's cassoulet was as s close second, and I would not hesitate to recommend it. Again, I passed on dessert.
I have tomorrow off! So if you don't hear from me don't worry.
Bon soir!
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