Celia Walks

 Today’s walk was supposed to be 32 km with some up and down. Neither my feet nor I myself felt inclined to tackle this, so instead I took the one-bus-a-day on this route, and for 2 euros ($3.50) covered the distance very happily. As there is nothing much to do in the small village of Corbeny, I walked backwards on the Via to the Abbaye de Vaucluse. This is one of the many abbeys dissolved in the French Revolution as the people freed themselves from the church’s control of land, rents and taxation.   What was left of the extensive buildings and grounds was then almost totally destroyed in WWI. Here are some archaeologists and engineers debating on next preservation steps. Volunteers were gathering to review photo exhibits and to plan the next gardening tasks, as the site has an impressively large medieval style medicinal garden. The plants are separated by large paving stones, similar to a medieval layout. The crater-holes made by WWI projectiles have been left in the grounds ...

 Like many towns around here, Saint-Quentin has examples of ‘art nouveau’ mid-twentieth architectural style. Here is a somewhat eye-catching building, the music and drama conservatory. In Saint Quentin’s museum there is a nice collection of pastels by an 18th century portrait artist originally from here, Maurice Quentin de la Tour. Pastels were widely used for 18th century portraits of the aristocracy; they produce soft, gentle portraits.  I particularly liked this one, a preparatory drawing for a portrait of a dancer at the Opera Comique. I’m no longer a ‘purist’ pilgrim walking every inch of the way - in the interest of time and my sore toes, I now skipped  three days walking and took a train to Laon.   Laon is an ancient hill-top city, conquered and settled by the Romans, then conquered a large number of subsequent times as well.  265 steps take you from the train station up to the old part of town and the Cathedral. It is chilly and wet, so I was glad to hav...

 So, yesterday’s walk. The soil covers a thick layer of chalk -  the same chalk found in the south of England that gives the cliffs of Dover their shining white colour.  And the ground is still muddy. Many times have I thought with gratitude of all the balance and strength exercises my wonderful kinesiologist Nicole has made me do over the last couple of years - they keep me upright through the goo! This area is full of water - streams, rivers, ponds… in the first village I passed, there was a sign saying there used to be five water-powered mills.  Obviously a good place to settle way back when as well, as this menhir attests. Houses are still of brick, and nothing looks older than 1920.  Here is a farm complex built in the old style, farm buildings clustered around the house, harkening back to a time when prosperous farms would be walled and fortified against brigands and soldiers. Yesterday’s walk ended at a farm in the tiny village of Trefcon.  Another w...