Bagnoles-de-L'Orne (pop. 2,000) is a spa town located a little less than an hour's drive west of Alençon in lower Normandy. zit's the largest spa in western France, according to the Michelin Green guidebook for Normandy). People go there to "take the waters" for circulatory disorders and as a preventive treatment against varicose veins. Bagnoles is a good place to take a walk and just admire the beautiful landsapes, the lake, and the grand houses all around the town.
According to a local legend, in the Middle Ages a prominent man named Hugues de Tessé, upon arriving in the forest surrounding the town of Bagnoles, realized that his horse was suffering and didn't have long to live. He decided to abandon the horse in the forest, and continued his journey on foot.
]-pA few hours later, the horse caught up with him and seemed to be in much better health than when he was abandoned. The horse, which he called Rapide, guided Hugues to the natural hotspring where he had found water to drink. The cure was like some kind of miracle. Hugues drank from the spring and was likewise rejuvenated. The reputation of the waters at Bagnoles was born.
Pretty pictures.
ReplyDeleteThat’s all I have the energy to write, today.
Je te comprends.
Deleteour allies are terrified (as are we)
ReplyDeleteYes we are.
DeleteThe sadness (silence) is deafening.
ReplyDeleteDespair?
DeleteIndeed!
DeleteI'd like a drink from that hotspring right now! We've crossed the Rubicon.
ReplyDeleteIf you come to France, we'll have to drive up to Bagnoles-de-l'Orne and take a sip of the miracle waters.
DeleteI was in such bad shape yesterday that I never opened my laptop. I missed this comforting post. Life goes on.
ReplyDeleteYesterday was a disaster for me, too, Evelyn and the rest! Miracle waters could help, maybe???
ReplyDeleteLife may go on, but 4 years we are in for. UGH.
Hi Ken (and Walt!) I haven't commented in a long, long time. I'm not going to comment on the election. It is now a week later. A little over 20 years ago, we decided to drive around Normandy and Brittany for our vacation. We spent a very uncomfortable night near Caen (top of the stairs, small room, heatwave, not even a fan) and I woke up with sciatica affecting both legs. So we went to Bagnoles, where we had heard we could find a chiropractor or osteopath. We ended up spending a week there before hitting the road, again. Lovely town. I would have liked the spa treatment but the chiropractor wanted me to fully rest (and only rest) my back for the week and not undertake any other treatment. Towards the end of the week, though, we took a short drive to Les Haras du Pin on a day they put on a show in the afternoon. That was a memorable visit.
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