France
Olmet-et-Villecun

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    • Day 14

      French pilgrimage finished - in Lodeve

      April 23, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

      We have arrived in Lodève, French walk finished! We feel quite proud, as it wasn’t easy walking, but certainly spectacular. We have checked into our very nice Hotel De La Paix, and booked to have dinner here at 8. Amr is, surprise surprise, off to the laundromat to wash everything, and I’m happily sitting in the room in shorts (all that’s left not being washed) and with 2 tops and my jacket still feel cold…I look back at photos of walking a couple of days ago and I was just in a t-shirt and can’t imagine it….today we did 16 kms of strenuous walking with fleece and jacket on all day and not even sweaty!! …and yesterday the same, but didn’t have my fleece and wished I did!

      Anyway, first last night’s dinner…it was rather like a couple of years ago in France when we stayed at a guest house, we had dinner with the hosts, Martine and Guy, such lovely people. The season is just starting and we were the only people. They can take 14 people, but only do dinner for 4….so we had a delicious home cooked meal in their dining room overlooking the valley! Just beautiful. Started with endive, egg and crumbled cheese salad, then pork fillets and potatoes with very tasty onion sauce and a raspberry tapioca dessert. Comfort food! And we had fun and lively conversation…half French and half English…and this morning we had breakfast there before we set off.

      They had told us a shortcut to get to the GR without going the km back to the village, a path at the end of the vineyard and across the creek, but Amr this time wanted to be authentic and we walked back and started from the square, following the true path! After quite a while we thought we must have passed where we would have joined in from the guest house, as we were out in the wilderness and had been walking several kms, but then suddenly we saw their Domaine through the trees on the other side of the valley… it would have been a true shortcut.

      We knew from the graph that today’s walk was basically a big climb, then going along for quite a way along the top plateau, then a descent into Lodeve. But the Book said it was a short (15km) stage and somehow implied easy…but it wasn’t really easy, the big ascent was most of the time very rough loose stones and roots that needed concentration, and also the descent at the end was also potentially treacherous! But of course the views were spectacular and it was very exhilarating! But we didn’t saunter into Lodeve in time for lunch!! And it continued to be so cold, with the icy wind blowing a gale, specially when we were at the exposed spots at the top…Amr said his app said it was 42 km/hr at one stage, but not sure if that was the max…sometimes you could hardly walk against it. But we are lucky, despite the cold wind, it remained sunny and blue sky. So many wildflowers out now - we saw lots of lavender and irises, which you associate with this part of the world, and the new oak leaves are so bright and beautiful.

      After about 12 kms we realised we needed a break, and tried to find a semi sheltered stone to sit and eat…very pleasant, but about 50 metres further we found the perfect spot, tables, sheltered and a superb view ….too late - if only we’d ventured just a bit further!

      This hotel is part of a chain we loved when we were on the walk from Vézelay, and where we always seemed to have the surprisingly superb meals…so here’s hoping for tonight. Tomorrow we take a bus to Montpellier where we stay for 2 nights before getting a train to Barcelona on Friday. Just a little break between walks! But we are familiar with the Camino walking, and there is no tough bush walking there like we have had for the last 3 days, so we feel very relaxed!
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    • Day 14

      Addendum to Lodeve

      April 23, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      I have to add a bit more to finish the day…once Amr returned with the clean clothes, still warm from the dryer, I felt so much better in warm pants and fleece, and we set off to explore a bit. First found out about buses to Montpellier…they seem to go about hourly, so all good there. And we went to the beautiful and of course huge cathedral, St Fulcran, lovely stained glass windows, and we lit a candle for Ira so that she will be skipping by the time we return.

      Then we found a bar and had a glass of wine - Languedoc wine, just what we needed, in a nice inside warm space! The music playing there was Killing me Softly…bygone times…Some people sitting outside, but they hadn’t walked for hours on the heights above town today. For Paul’s information, who I think at the moment is swanning with Charlie and Jaimee in Santa Monica, and anyone interested, the vines we have been walking amongst are muscat and sauvignon, and those were the wines, white and red, that we had last night with Martine and Guy.

      We are feeling cold, but it is sunny, but we are worried about Rowan and Anne who have just started on the camino from Le Puy which we enjoyed so much in 2015, and not only have they been cold, but with snow and drizzle, but their checked bag did not arrive at CDG and has still not been delivered to them….how ghastly, and neither Qantas/Air France seems to be able to care or solve it…we wait and hope…

      Just back from a superb dinner…with a whole bottle of Languedoc wine, 2014, rather than a half litre of the house vin. I had a soup (velouté) of broccoli and minted peas, and Amr had a complicated dish of beans, avocado, humous on bread and a soft boiled egg, both delicious, and for mains Amr had Guinea fowl and I had a scallop, prawn dish with orange…just right.

      And I have to add that Amr has given me the stats of the day…we have climbed an altitude gain of 518 metres during the walk and the average temperature was 5°, which is pretty amazing..no wonder we needed our great dinner…
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    • Day 13

      La Vierge

      August 11, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Wer in Lodeve verweilt und sich aufmerksam umschaut, entdeckt hier und da immer wieder Kurioses und Überraschendes. Das können nette kleine Gassen mit gut besuchten kleinen Cafés, Kneipen oder Bistros sein, Künsterateliers und Galerien die mit Extravaganzen protzen oder mit scheinbar Profanem einladen einzutreten, oder einfach nur die Menschen, die im vorbeigehen immer ein mit einem Lächeln versehenen 'bon jour' übrig haben.
      Meine Aufmerksamkeit lenkte sich die letzten Tage nebenbei immer mal wieder auf einem der stadtnah liegenden und sehr dicht bewaldeten Hausberge. Genauer auf dessen Spitze und noch genauer auf ein offenbar sakrales Bauwerk. Es ist dort ganz repräsentativ thronend, aus einigen Winkeln der Stadt immer mal wieder zu erspähen. Mystisch angestrahlt nach Sonnenuntergang.
      Karte der Touristeninfo brachte keine Informationen darüber, worum es sich denn hier ganz genau handelt, auch die einschlägigen internetportale hatten dieses vermeintliche Highlight nicht berücksichtigt. Fand ich schon etwas stiefmütterlich.
      Nach einer gründlichen Suche im Satellitenbild des Ortes, wurde ich dann doch fündig, Ein Mariendenkmal mit Statur. Na klar, was auch sonst. Nehme mir, denn meine beiden liebsten Mitreisenden waren für den Gedanken nicht zu begeistern, also vor, Maria wandernd zu erobern. Nehme mir also die dicke Kamera mit und lasse mir von unser aller liebsten Helferin aus Palo Alto, California, den Weg leiten. Munter und fast schweissfrei erklimme ich das Ziel. Und finde die Mutter unserer Zivisation gnädig thronend zwischen mächtigen Felsen auf dem Berge. Habe nebenbei das Glück, dass die Sonne gerade noch im Rücken des Berges steht.
      Alle Anstrengungen sind verflogen beim Blick auf das Panorama. Und ich nehme mir, vor diesen Blick auf das abendliche Lodeve zu wiederholen.
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