The Walk to Lalandusse
It was such a lovely day last Sunday that when Richard suggested a walk to the next village along - Lalandusse - he was already leaning against an open door.
The sun was bright so I immediately thought it would be cold and crisp and to a certain extent, it was. But actually when we started walking the sun was warm and I was soon shedding layers - I was wearing four and had a scarf too!
Douzains, where we live is a small village with its own Mairie, Church and Salle de Fetes (effectively a community centre). The one extra thing needed is a cafe... but not to worry. Lalandusse, which is not much bigger than Douzains, has a cafe which also dioubles up as a bar and restaurant and an epicerie.
It's true that the hours it's open can be a little hit and miss but apart from that, all is good.
The walk from Douzains to Lalandusse is just lovely.
Up the hill to the Mairie, take the first left and you are on the Lalandusse road. In the morning the sun will be on your back and to your left you can see for miles over the rolling Lot et Garonne countryside. Actually you are looking across the valley of the River Dropt toweards Lauzun and Miramont.
Today, it's particularly nice. The air is clear but with just a shimmer of mist in the distance which makes the light seem silvery. The trees are showing the first hint of green and the land feels... well... expectant somehow. It really feels as though spring is almost on us.
To your right the land rises slightly but between the hills you can see the medieval houses of Castillonnes with the church tower on the square standing tall and proud. Castillonnes is nearly six kilometres away but sometimes it looks close enough to touch and because of the way the road bends it's sometimes off to your right and sometimes almost directly in front of you.
Lalandusse is an easy 3km stroll on a road which is almost clear of traffic.
We arrive at the village and the small but perfectly formed Sunday market is on. It's really a produce market, so ideal for buying your veg to go straight into the pot for Sunday lunch.
There's a table outside the cafe in the sunshine so we take it. Richard orders us two cappuccinos (with Chantilly on top, of course!) and we take our time drinking them. A guy sits at the table next to us and his old dog comes over to say 'hello' and get a butt scratch, there's some very typically french cafe music playing in the background and the murmur of voices at the market makes me feel very much 'part of' France.
Richard and I look at each other and a silent communication passes between us... thirty seconds later two more cappuccinos arrive!
The walk back is equally pleasant and after our walk we're ready for some work in the garden - see the previous blog for how that's going!
I know I've perhaps waxed lyrical a bit too much but there are walks like today's walk all over the place. So Lalandusse and back is 6km, to Castillones with its restaurant and cafes is 10km and Lauzun, another pretty medieval village with lots going on is 14km.
Those are all 'there and back' walks. But there are loops, too - Douzains - serignac and around - about 6km. Richard's running route - 7km... and all on safe, virtually empty roads.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to map all these walks out so they're ready for use when our guests arrive.