Two Lovely Weeks

Wednesday, 30th May
Well friends, thank you for waiting whilst we were away, and for coming back! We had a lovely holiday in France. We went with three other couples. All of the women were at school together--rather a long time ago now. We left in 1961. Some of us lost touch with each other, but about eighteen months ago, we 'rediscovered' each other, and planned this holiday. We took the men along to help with the luggage.....

So this webpage will be a photo album of France. It's been a long time since we were in France, and I had forgotten how pretty it all is. Every village has something to commend it. Good wine can be obtained for 4€, and an excellent home cooked meal for 12€. The people are so pleasant, everyone wants to help and ensure you're enjoying your self. When someone goes in to a little shop, they say 'Bonjour' to everyone, even if they don't know them. We were in a shop in a village and a little girl aged about eight bounced and said 'Bonjour!' so brightly, it cheered me up! The French have charming manners and we were most impressed. There was none of the shop assistants one sometimes experiences in the UK, where it's just too much trouble to stop their conversation with a colleague to serve.

We did a couple of walks along the Chemin de Santiago de Compestella, a long distance footpath following the route pilgrims took hundreds of years ago. Many people walk the various routes across Europe to Santiago, and there is a tremendous feeling of camaraderie amongst the pilgrims. We were walking along in the countryside when we saw a group having coffee in a field. They invited us to join them. They had a man and a van back up and he met them as they travelled and provided food, drink and support. One of the walkers was blind, and she was guided along by a person in front who held a stick in each hand, and she held on to the other end.

Move the cursor over each picture to see the title.