Un pied devant l'autre

One foot in front of the other...

  ...  that is what it will take to complete our walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

We (Madame M and I) each have a personal goal for our own reasons to walk parts of the Pilgramage route.

We are in the researching stages of when, where and what part of the trail we will complete...and there is the training.

Madame M loves to walk or you could say she maybe even be a bit obsessed with walking and has encouraged me to join her during our stay in France.

Our walks (which are usually daily, unless Monsieur Honey and I have something planned)) vary in length from 8 to 12 kilometers over some undulating terrain.

We usually know where we are and only on a couple of occasions have we felt "Lost"... but we know all roads lead to Dégagnac.

This post is a compilation of "Postcards" from various walks over the past week...

 

    Le Frau ... The forest

We usually don't follow the many guide books available at the local Tourist offices suggesting various walks in the area. 

This past week, we decided to follow one called "Circuit des Églises" which started in Dégagnac and directed us to Rampoux and ended in Lavercantiere.

   

    The route directed us through some rugged terrain ...

And walking allows us to see and observe much more than if we were using other modes of transportation.

    Church in Dégagnac 

    Church doors in Rampoux

    Church in Lavercantiere  

   

    Walking brings you closer to nature ... 

    here we found Kermit the Frog croaking!

   Lavender...

    Wild orchids...

    My friend "Madame M" may we catch a train back home?

Beaumont du Perigord

A different route gave us a wonderful surprise!

Look up, way up!

The Bastide of Beaumont du Perigord  in the southern part of the Dordogne was founded in 1272 by Edward I of England.

What a surprise ... the Bastide was all dressed up ready for it's summer festivals.

The village square contains a Maypole which is decorated with garlands of colourful paper flowers that provides a canopy over the whole of the square.

Blogging ... Why?

This blog is my personal scrapbook and photo album of our adventures, life and time in France.

Lots of people probably think that we are on vacation but for me it is more like we are living abroad in a foreign country for an extended period of time.

I imagine this is probably what it was like when my parents in their early twenties each immigrated from Belgium to Canada on their own in the early 1950s leaving behind their families and friends. 

They most certainly weren't on vacation and didn't have the advantages of modern technology to keep in touch with and/ or the means to visit their families, such as computers and airplanes vs. mail and ships.

I'm grateful that I can stay in touch by various means of communication with my family and friends in Canada.

I have especially been grateful to be able to see and speak with our grandchildren via FaceTime. 

It is wonderful to have a chat with our grand-daughters and grandsons especially when we can see each other over the iPad or iPhone.

They are all growing up so quickly, most noticeably our sweet "Baby Aubree" who was just two months old when we departed. 

Staying in a small village or town for three months has allowed us to meet our neighbours and become involved in the local community activities. 

If lucky, the people that you meet in the neighbourhood, at local activities, soirées or themed dinners may become your new friends.

Blogging lets me capture these experiences and keep them as memories.

Through my blogging, I have discovered that I have a passion for photography which previously never much appealed to me.

I view everything with a new eye and my eyes are "wide open"!

You may have noticed that in my blog there are not many photos of people. I am very careful of what photos I post and cognizant of others' privacy.

I have taken photos of some amazing children playing and interacting that I will cherish for their special memories.

Monsieur Honey says perhaps a "Hasselblad" camera is in my future. 

When I write a commentary about a favourite place, restaurant, a view, site or an experience it resonates with me and I hope it does with anyone who follows my blog.

The opinions and comments in my blog are my own and sometimes those of Monsieur Honey.

We each have our own mind, tastes and on some occasions we have those "He says, She says" moments when we see, hear, taste, smell and / or experience things differently. 

How boring life would be if everything we did mirrored each other's preferences and tastes?