...near the gîte. We arrived in very good weather on a Saturday afternoon in October. This is the house we had rented for the week. I took walks on Sunday afternoon and on Monday morning, with my camera.
Like many French départements (counties, more or less), the Vendée is named for the river that runs through it. It looked like this near the gîte. The path was for hikers and cyclists, and closed to cars. It runs for more than a kilometer and was a nice place to go for walks with Tasha.
Because the sun was shining brightly, the colors and contrasts were beautiful. I don't know what these red berries are, but they were pretty against the reflective river. The Vendée is a very slow-moving river here.
Lichens on a very big tree trunk caught my eye. The yellow ones are especially attractive.
At one point, I noticed a patch of mushrooms growing by the path.
At another point, cows and several calves were grazing in a pasture on the opposite bank of the Vendée river. There were just a few other people out walking, and a few on bicycles, and a few fishing along the riverbank. It was all very peaceful and bucolic, even though the gîte was only four miles from the center of the big town of Fontenay-le-Comte (pop. 25,000 or more).
Very bucolic! The red berries might be hawthorn, but they are too far to be sure.
ReplyDeleteThe photo I posted was "enhanced" in Photoshop. I'll replace it with the original...
DeleteLittle rural French houses always seem to look more charming than little rural American houses. Maybe it's the stone.
ReplyDeleteThe cow looks like it's looking at Tasha.
ReplyDeleteI think you chose well and also had good luck for this journey. You had a good rental, good weather, and quite interesting places to visit.
ReplyDeleteThat photo with the path and the river is so lovely it makes me want to be in it, walking along. The exterior of the gite is very attractive with its red shutters!
ReplyDelete