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Post trip aug 7-12 - Pavie, Clermont L'herault, Orleans

After leaving blois, headed south in our little red convertible,  successfuly negotiated tolls, gas stations, 2 lane highways through towns to the autoroute, no billboards, no trucks, packed rest areas (with parking lots overfilled with vacationing french, and real meals served on non-disposable plates with wine!) then south to Jens friends communal house in pavie, near toulouse. An incredible group house (Domaine de Peyloubere, a 17th century former estate/hotel) these friendly people bought together. Amazing multilingual meal with 14 people, interesting conversations with folks from Beirut, Moscow and new zealand.  Then had our own gite. Spending 2 days with pool, river swimming, walking in beautiful remote area, with spanish influenced architecture. Funny story while getting gas - 1 pump was not working according to people in front of me. So I waited till they drove off, then the car behind me pulls around to the broken pump and gets it working. I asked 'ca marche'? And they said 'oui. Les belgies' and laughed. Apparently Belgium is the newfoundland of Europe. 0 miles.



After another beautiful early morning walk in 60 degree temps around Peyloubere, the temps climbed quickly again to up near 100. After a visit to auch (cathedral, good cheap sandwich for lunch), drove east through mountains to Clermont l'herault (near montpelier) to visit Jens friend Wendy, her house - a former mill - is lovely too and only 200 years old. Swam in clothing optional lake and the Mediterranean at marselllan.  Picked figs, walked among olive trees, napped/read/super relaxing. 


Drove north over a few mountain ranges, rocky/scrubby terrain kind of like Israel/California, about 350 miles to Orleans. Now I get why rivers run east-west in France (as do bike trips). Expensive tolls on well maintained 130kph highways. Arrived by 5pm, and walked around. Architecture here is very different - mostly brick. Saw another cathedral (largest yet) where a service was going on, old city hall and had lebanese dinner at tawouk. City has some old buildings, but more modern than other loire Valley towns we've seen. Sat by river with a drink for our last 9.30pm sunset for a while, then watched the light show on the cathedral.  In the morning, a last coffee and croissant, walk through parc Pasteur then a children's holocaust memorial museum (cercil), ironically located right next to the cathedral.  The french rounded up the men (d'abord les hommes in the 'green ticket round up'), then the women, then the children, into camps near Orleans before deporting them in convoys to auschwitz to be executed (picture of letters they found) .  Our last stop in France seemingly fitting. 

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