Today we walked 15km starting in Lagrasse on GR36. We started with an uphill stretch and then rolly hills, lined with grapevines in parts. Lunch is alongside a river and most of us dipped our weary feet in the cool water. Tom jumped in and swam around, and I was so much wanting to as well but also didn’t want to walk in wet clothing. I saved my swim to the evening.
After lunch we walked for another hour to visit an Abbey. After touring the Abbey, we weaved through the small lanes in the village of Lagrasse. Some of the group shopped in what stores were open, others sat outside at a cafe for enough time to have a cold beverage.
Next up was a tour of the village given by Carlos, a transplanted Spaniard who has been living in Lagrasse for 9 years. He took us into the historic building, the church, up onto the city walls, into the main square (where we were joined by local children who playfully darted on little bikes amongst our group), we ended the tour in the cemetery. It was interesting to learn that when the Cathars took over the region, they changed the calendar completely – they added days in some months and took days out of other months and renamed the months. Some of the headstones depict that changed calendar.
Next we were treated to vinegar tasting. The flavors were exquisite. Learned a lot about the process!
Finished the night with a pizza feast under the stars. The town is recovering from a festival so a lot of the stores and restaurants have not yet reopened.
