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Weekend in the Cevennes
We welcomed Miguel to Toulouse last week. He saw some sights around Toulouse and then we were lucky to be able to take a little trip out of the city to a beautiful area of France, about an hour northeast of Nimes. Our friends Claire and Walter invited us to their house in the country. We loaded up their van and car and drove for about 3 hours until we reached Ales. Then we took a road which led to their house. It kept getting narrower and narrower, windier and windier, higher and higher. Finally, we glimpsed the house on the hillside.
Miguel -- Well I didn't because I was in the back of the van with my head in between my legs trying to keep from throwing up (I was a little car sick) anyways apparently the sight was incredible and from the few glimpses i got when we hit a bump that knocked my head up high enough to see out the windows i would have to agree. When we finally got to the house it was even cooler than we had excpected it looked (and probobly was) as if it was just made of rocks stacked on top of each other it looked almost ancient! Margaret -- Actually, it would be over 200 years old.
The area is fairly sparsely populated, very green, peaceful, but traces of man are everywhere when you look carefully...stone walls, terraced land, stone bridges etc. Up until the late 1950's with the advent of nylon, the area was the main producer of silk in France. The silkworms eat the myrtle leaves which grow in this region. Actually, the house we stayed in had a room where the silkworm cocoons were kept. Also, there is a small stone hut on the property which was the chestnut house, where they would dry the chestnuts (another industy in the area). After we spent a great three days here we took the long way home through the gorges de la jonte. Carsick kids but spectacular scenery! This was my favourite area of France so far.
Miguel -- Well I didn't because I was in the back of the van with my head in between my legs trying to keep from throwing up (I was a little car sick) anyways apparently the sight was incredible and from the few glimpses i got when we hit a bump that knocked my head up high enough to see out the windows i would have to agree. When we finally got to the house it was even cooler than we had excpected it looked (and probobly was) as if it was just made of rocks stacked on top of each other it looked almost ancient! Margaret -- Actually, it would be over 200 years old.
The area is fairly sparsely populated, very green, peaceful, but traces of man are everywhere when you look carefully...stone walls, terraced land, stone bridges etc. Up until the late 1950's with the advent of nylon, the area was the main producer of silk in France. The silkworms eat the myrtle leaves which grow in this region. Actually, the house we stayed in had a room where the silkworm cocoons were kept. Also, there is a small stone hut on the property which was the chestnut house, where they would dry the chestnuts (another industy in the area). After we spent a great three days here we took the long way home through the gorges de la jonte. Carsick kids but spectacular scenery! This was my favourite area of France so far.
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