The bloke on the corner is out again this morning under his
sun hat whilst tending his vegetable plot. Everyone else on the green has a
front lawn. I wonder if he has glass round the back and can grow tomatoes that
taste of proper tomatoes, like those we enjoyed recently in the south of
France. French markets are just wonderful for food. The cherries were twice the
size and flavour of ours, and then there were the olives……….
Having said that, the natural vegetation up in the hills to
the west of Avignon was largely a carpet of garrigue - stunted trees and bushes
adapted to summer months without rain. Every now and then, someone had cleared
the woodland to grow vines and the local vineyards are the most obvious signs
of a rural economy that has been going on for centuries.
The nearest railway line to our friends’ house - always an
important consideration for me - is the electrified Rhone Valley route between
Montelimar and Avignon at Bagnols-sur Ceze, where the station has unfortunately
been closed. However, it does have a very nice boulangerie and patisserie and I
must say that that helped to soften the blow on this occasion.
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