Bonjour!
I saw this house as I was leaving Villefranche-du-Lauragais. It appears to be fairly new, which caught my attention. I have not seen that many new homes in France. The French seen to leave the outer structure and then redo the interior. A few days back, I talked about the difference between hiking in Spain, Italy, and France. There seems to be a bar on every corner in Spain and Italy and at least one bar in the smallest villages. I have noticed that they have very few bars in France. My hostess had lived in all three countries. She explained that in both Spain and Italy, the culture is all about getting together so, there are many places to meet family and friends. In France, people mostly don't meet in public places. The French are all about having the nicest/fanciest houses, and they entertain at home.
I loved this fancy birdhouse. It was nicer than the house behind it.
When I got to the trail, the first section was very muddy. It was that sticky kind of mud, that clumps on the bottom of your shoes and makes you walk like Frankenstein.
I stopped at a park in a mountain-top village for a bite of lunch. I immediately had a beautiful dining companion. I quickly realized that she was about to drop a big litter of kittens any minute, I shared my cheese with her, but she had no interest in a potato chip.
I saw so many flowers.
I passed by a fenced enclosure containing, at minimum, twenty of these marsupials. Wallabees? They were only about knee-high. I never figured out if it was the back of a public zoo or a private one. They did not seem to be particularly afraid of me. I couldn't get a better photo because the fence was electrified, and I didn't want to get shocked. There were also several peacocks and a couple of antelope-type animals.
As I arrived in Montigisgard, I spotted this electrical building painted with beautiful flowers. Much prettier than just an old utility building.
One of the prettier war memorials that I have seen on my journey.
After much up and a little down, I was again hiking along the canal. It looked so peaceful to be gliding down the river. By this time, I was hot and sweaty and tired. Oh, I am just a little green with envy.
The canal.
La Casanat - my lodging for the night. See the big trees behind.
These are 300-year-old Linden trees that flank the back of La Casanat. Linden trees are known as basswood in the U. S. I have a suite in the back of the house that is just beautiful.
The saucy redhead in purple is my hostess for the night. She is leading a couple of French guests to their room.
Dinner tonight!
My dinner started with a sparkling glass of rosé. I researched every word on the "menu of the day" when the server told me I had picked from the menu de midi (cheaper choice), and I was entitled to the Menu Lauragais. I quickly picked a starter because I recognized the words asparagus and chorizo. I ordered "Fricasse d'asperges vertes, encornets, chorizo, zestes de citron." Oh, Mon Dieu - I had ordered the dreaded pulpo under a different name. It was actually pretty good. I forgot to take a photo. It had to be prepared exceptionally well for me to like octopus. I had a bad experience with boiled pulpo in Portugal. I put some of it in a baggie because they keep giving me too much food.
My main course was "Joue de porc braisée pommes grenailles." This mouth-watering pork was phenomenal - fork-tender and succulent, covered in real gravy like my grandmother and my mother used to make. I usually eat all my vegetables and pick at the meat, but I ate the pork and left the potatoes, AND I love potatoes. Some of the beef went into the purse baggie for tomorrow.
I ordered "sabayon de framboises," a warm vanilla pudding with fresh raspberries. It was topped with vanilla ice cream. I had to walk about a third of a mile back to my en suite, and I waddled home. What a meal!
Today was a long, frustrating day because although my technology was working fine, I kept getting off the trail. I still loved it, and the scenery was awe-inspiring. My total mileage was 20.5, counting walking to dinner and back.
So good night and sleep tight.
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