Day 20: Stage 16: Flavignac

30 km, sun & cloud, 16°

Château!

Yesterday I received some news from a good friend that upset me a bit, so I went out for a walk last evening to think it through. By chance the cathedral was lit up by the setting sun and I took this photo for that person. Perhaps it will help to inspire positive thoughts? I hope so.

The cathedral was a completely different beast during golden hour, and I was really pleased to see it this way.

The gargoyles are always fascinating.

Last night before bed, I rounded up all my gear. It has a funny way of spreading out on a day off.🙂 I managed to get my bag sorted and ready for today. I was up early and after a good breakfast, I set off to walk out of the city. You might be able to tell that I was staying a stone throw away from the cathedral. Your sunrise photo.

It took me well over an hour to walk out of Limoges. The morning hustle and bustle of cars, students and other folks racing off to work and school inspired me a little.

The cars all too fast 
Racing to work or school 
Mindlessly they pass 

Clearly I’ve been in rural areas overly much these past weeks!😉 Watching all the traffic fly past reminded me that I used to be one of those mindless driving types. Thankfully my life has evolved the past 10 years. I just tried to not get run over and to stay out of their way!

Eventually I was out of town and things began to look up. The sun was out, something I haven’t seen a lot of on this journey. I also checked my phone and found out that the Canucks beat the Oilers last night! They seem to be surprising everybody, because I heard the experts predict that they would go out in four straight games.

Though I must admit that while I missed the lively and often funny chatter with Hil, it was a very beautiful day of walking. There were loads of beautiful flowers, all responding to the pleasant sunshine. I’ve had some requests for various flowers, and I am trying to fill those requests. This one is for Louise’s sister.

There wasn’t very much trail walking today. Mostly roads, but generally, the roads were those quiet narrow country roads one so often finds in rural France.

I’m including this photo so that Annemarie can be comforted that there are indeed places to have a coffee break from time to time. The McDonald’s arches on the side of the railway building to the left says five minutes away. What I wasn’t clear about was if they meant by train, by car or by foot? For the record, I never did see this McDonald’s. The good news, however, was that I did see two cafés today that were actually open!

I soon passed through the little village of Aixe-sur-Vienne and crossed the Vienne River.

The bridge led me right into another old village.

There seem to be lots going on.

And when I stopped to take my rain pants off (I had them on to keep me warm early on) I found something special for my granddaughter Ciara!

For almost an hour I walked along the side a fast flowing stream.

I was walking on a very narrow road where there was little traffic, and it was very beautiful.

The door is for my daughter Caitlin who shares a similar passion. It’s a thing!😅

And then quite suddenly, there it was. My first encounter on this walk with an honest to god château. It was a rather good one too, I thought.

I made the assumption that this was the entranceway for the downstairs staff and deliveries. I guess they climb over the fence, right?

It was a pretty impressive building, and it seemed in very good repair. There were no flags flying from the rooftop, so I made the assumption that there was no royalty at home today.

I know there are several château in the area, but this was the only one that I actually saw today. There are apparently many more ahead of us.

I entered a nice little village and noted just how well kept it was. It’s not always this way, so it’s nice to see.

And they even had a nice fitness area! I didn’t feel the need to stop…

I eventually arrived at my home for tonight.

By chance, the small church was open, and I was surprised that the stained glass windows were as nice as they were. This isn’t always the case in small villages.

I found a little restaurant that was filled to capacity with the locals. This implied to the food here must be very good. I wasn’t hungry because I had been snacking as I walked, but I did stop for a cold drink. I was joined by Peiter and Wyn from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, both experienced distance walkers. We talked for about 45 minutes before they continued along. They still had 10 km to go, but had only started 15 km before Flavignac. I had passed them sitting with a German woman on the side of the road some way back, and I got the impression they had been sitting there for quite a while. I thought they were waiting to get into the refuge here, but that was obviously not the case.

I stopped in at the local village town hall, all the villages have one, to get a stamp in my credential. Then finding the small village store closed today, I walked back to the restaurant and purchased a drink to take with me to my accommodation. Along the way I bumped into a French couple who had just arrived in town. The woman looked at my shoes and asked why they weren’t muddy like their shoes. I explained that I had made a deliberate decision to stay off the muddy trails because they were terrible. She got a little huffy about that and said that they had come along the other variant via Nevers. Sometimes the French can get a little uppity about simple stuff, but I didn’t really care. Their boots were filthy, my boots were nice and clean.😊 I won’t be surprised if I see them again tomorrow night in the refuge that I will be staying in. Hil is staying there tonight and I’m getting some intel about the meal and the accommodation.

My accommodation tonight is one that I found on Airbnb. I’m staying in someone’s rural home, and they are very nice. Neither speak English and they are now sitting watching TV. I’ve not often had this type of stay before and I am a little uncomfortable because I don’t want to interrupt their evening. I’ve eaten my simple meal in my room and I will walk back into town tomorrow morning for 7 o’clock when the bakery opens. I’m hoping for a couple of pane aux raisin buns!😋 Perhaps they will even have tea available.

My host Paule was very helpful booking an accommodation for Annemarie and I later next week. It was a little more complicated, and aside from being able to book us two beds, I didn’t feel confident that I could get all the required information. So that night is set up, and I also made contact with an Abby via email. I’ll wait to see what comes of that, if anything. I tried phoning, but only received a message asking me to leave a voicemail. That usually doesn’t work out very well, hence the email.

That’s about it from here today. I just looked at the weather app and we are going to have something of a similar day tomorrow. C’est possible?

Bon chemin!

Geoff😎☀️🥳