Hello dear Hivers, I hope the weekend has started well for each of you. I'm glad to finally find a bit of a network to reply to you and to share with you a bit about my escapade in the south of the country.
After a visit to my grandparents, a distillery session and the search for wild orchids, I'm off to join my girlfriend who is staying with some family in this village that I rediscovered with her about ten years ago. I named Mirmande, a collection of light-colored stone buildings. All of them might seem to be placed in an anarchic way, but when you look at the whole, as on the first pictures, you easily realize that the whole forms a logical continuity which dates from well before the urban planners of our big modern cities.
Indeed, villages like this one are the result of an evolution over periods of time of several centuries and we can therefore appreciate the weight of the good sense (or not sometimes!) of our ancestors. Speaking of ancestors, archaeological traces - notably coins - attest to a presence since Antiquity.
Going back to a more recent period, Mirmande was home to a number of Cubist painters as well as American writers including Henry Miller. You can go and have a look at the history of the commune, but I'd better tell you right now, it's the article in French that has the most information ^^ !
This is the widest view of the village as we stand at the bottom of the small hill where the medieval houses and streets have been built.
Many of you who take the trouble to read me know my pleasure in climbs and this time will not escape the rule: we will go from the bottom of the village to its highest point: the little church of St Foy which is at the very top and which you can already see by enlarging, to the left of the cypress trees.
Here, one of the first houses in the lower part of this village with a very nice garden, but which in my opinion - and also the fact that I was able to take a picture of it without effort - does not shine on the point of privacy !
On the first picture it is the same house seen from the side and then without transition, we will start to climb !
So to tell you the truth, as a whole, the street plan is far from being slapped on a grid with right angles and crossing at regular intervals... it's quite the opposite ! For this reason, we will not go up the hill in a regular way. We will therefore meander more in this interlacing of alleys, each more flowery and charming than the other...
In these streets, the walls are more important and it is more difficult to see inside... except for this Renault 4L and this short glimpse of the Ardèche mountains on the other side of the Rhône.
Here we are back at the entrance to the village under the archway and in particular at the level of the former town hall, which has now been transformed into a restaurant and which also houses a bakery.
The ascent resumes with still beautiful alleys and other surprises to discover...
Not far from there, there is a square where there are some restaurants and the town hall. We are near the old ramparts of the small town and we will continue on this road.
From this viewpoint, which climbs steadily upwards, we can see the second church of the village, the one below, but which we will unfortunately not have the opportunity to visit this time.
We continue to gain height and the historical and architectural testimonies follow one another, as with this old telephone box, the view of the church, those of the surrounding countryside and then the opening onto the footpath which widens.
In fact, this village is a real maze, a labyrinth where it is better not to try to understand too much and rather to try to live and enjoy without asking yourself (too many) existential questions !
The further you go, the more views you get and the more you can appreciate the countryside, made up of fruit tree orchards, mainly apricot and peach trees.
Some architectural and more specific details as we continue to climb, an ammonite fossil in a wall and valerian growing in every crevice.
In the aptly named "Grande Rue" there are several kinds of towers lining the houses, silent witnesses of the village's fortified past.
A table made entirely from small shards of crockery and which forms the village's coat of arms.
Finally, we reach the goal! We find the trio of cypress trees of disproportionate size and just after them, the church which sits at the top and from which all this part of the Rhone valley flows at our feet !
There is also an orientation table to help you find your way in this landscape, so I invite you to enlarge the image on your screens to see it a little more clearly :)
Voilà, that's all for today !
I hope you enjoyed this visit to the village of Mirmande and I thank you for taking part with me :) I wish you a very nice Sunday, take good care of yourself and your loved ones, see you soon,
<3
No AI around here !
Thank you for taking into account that these images are all mine.
Bonjour chers Hivers, j'espère que le weekend a bien démarré pour chacun d'entre vous. Je suis heureux d'enfin trouver un peu de réseau pour vous répondre ainsi que pour un peu partager avec vous la suite de mon escapade dans le sud du pays.
Après une une visite chez mes grands-parents, une session de distillerie et la recherche des orchidées sauvages, je pars rejoindre ma compagne qui est chez un peu de famille dans ce village que j'ai redécouvert avec elle il y une dizaine d'années. J'ai nommé Mirmande, un assemblage de constructions en pierres claires. Toutes pourraient sembler placées de façon anarchique, mais lors que l'on regarde un peu l'ensemble comme sur les premières images, on se rend aisément compte que le tout forme une continuité logique qui date de bien avant les urbanistes de nos grandes villes modernes.
En effet, les villages comme celui-ci résultent d'une évolution sur des périodes de temps de plusieurs siècles et on peut donc apprécier le poids du bon sens (ou non parfois !) de nos ancêtres. En parlant d'ancêtres, des traces archéologiques - notamment des monnaies - attestent d'une présence depuis l'Antiquité.
Pour remonter à une période plus récente, Mirmande abrita un foyer de peintres cubistes ainsi que des écrivains américains parmi lesquels Henry Miller. Vous pouvez aller voir un peu plus de l'histoire de la commune, mais autant vous le dire tout de suite, c'est l'article en français qui a le plus d'informations ^^ !
Voilà la vue la plus large du village tandis que l'on se trouve en bas de la petite colline où se sont accrochées les maisons et les rues médiévales.
Beaucoup d'entre vous qui prenez la peine de me lire connaissent mon plaisir des ascensions et cette fois-ci n'échappera pas à la règle : nous irons du bas du village jusqu'à sont point culminant : la petite église St Foy que l'on trouve tout en haut et que vous pouvez déjà voir en agrandissant, à la gauche des cyprès.
Ici, une des premières maisons du bas de ce village avec un très beau jardin, mais qui selon moi - et aussi le fait que j'ai pu le prendre en photo sans effort - ne brille pas sur le point du respect de la vie privée !
Sur la première image c'est la même maison vue de côté et puis sans transition, nous commencerons à monter !
Alors pour tout vous dire, comme l'ensemble, le plan des rues est loin d'être claqué sur une grille aux angles droits et qui se croisent à intervalles réguliers... c'est même plutôt tout le contraire ! Pour cette raison, nous ne monterons pas de façon régulière jusqu'à la colline. Nous serpenterons donc davantage dans cet entrelac de ruelles toutes plus fleuries et charmantes les unes que les autres...
Dans ces rues-là, les murs se font plus importants et il plus difficile de voir à l'intérieur... sauf pour cette Renault 4L ainsi que cet court aperçu des mont de l'Ardèche de l'autre côté du Rhône.
Ici, nous revoilà de retour vers l'entrée sous la voûte du village et notamment au niveau de l'ancien hôtel de ville désormais transformé en restaurant et qui abrite aussi une boulangerie.
L'ascension reprend avec toujours de belles ruelles et d'autres surprises à découvrir...
Non loin de là, on retrouve une place où se trouvent quelques restaurants ainsi que la mairie. Nous sommes près des anciens remparts de la petite cité et nous allons continuer sur cette route-là.
Depuis ce point de vue qui monte sans cesse, on peut voir la seconde église du village, celle qui se situe en bas, mais que nous n'aurons malheureusement pas l'occasion d'aller voir cette fois-ci.
Nous ne cessons de prendre de l'altitude et les témoignages historiques et architecturaux se succèdent comme avec cette ancienne cabine téléphonique, la vue sur l'église, celles sur la campagne environnante et puis l'ouverture sur le chemin de ronde qui s'élargit.
En fait, ce village est un véritable dédale, un labyrinthe où il vaut mieux ne pas trop chercher à comprendre et plutôt chercher à vivre et à apprécier sans se poser de questions existentielles !
À mesure que l'on avance, les point de vue se multiplient et on peu apprécier justement de plus en plus les environs de la campagne, composés de vergers d'arbres fruitiers, principalement des abricotiers et des pêchers.
Quelques détails architecturaux et plus spécifiques tandis que nous continuons à monter, un fossile d'ammonite dans un mur et des valérianes qui poussent dans chaque anfractuosités.
Dans la bien nommée "Grande Rue" on trouve plusieurs sortes de tours qui bordent les habitations, témoins silencieux du passé fortifié du village.
Une table entièrement réalisée à partir de petits tessons de vaisselle et qui compose les armoiries du village.
Enfin, nous touchons au but ! On retrouve le trio de cyprès à la taille démesurées et juste après ceux-ci, l'église qui trône tout en haut et depuis laquelle toute cette portion de la vallée du Rhône s'écoule à nos pieds !
On trouve aussi un table d'orientation pour un peu se repérer dans ce paysage, aussi je vous invite à agrandir nettement l'image sur vos écrans afin d'y voir un peu plus clair :)
Voilà, c'est tout pour aujourd'hui !
J'espère que cette visite du village de Mirmande vous aura plût et je vous remercie d'y avoir pris part à mes côtés :) Je vous souhaite un très beau dimanche, prenez bien soin de vous et de vos proches, à très bientôt,
<3
Pas d'AI par ici !
Je vous remercie de prendre en compte que ces images sont toutes les miennes.
What a picturesque village! That first picture reminds me of Valdemossa in Mallorca. When you come from Palma and you approach the town you will get almost identical view. I can imagine that they date back to the same time..
Oh, and I love that car. It looks so cute 🙂
I have always envied people living in such places. The history is present in every single corner and you must have the holidays feeling every day 🙂
Thank you for sharing! It was a great tour!
Ah, I'm going to do some research on this village which I don't know yet, but it's really the global type of Mediterranean architecture :)
I don't know what it's like to live there all year round, as we always come for a holiday, but it sure doesn't have the frenetic atmosphere of a big city centre, to say the least ^^ !
Thank you for taking the tour dear @delishtreats, I seize also the occasion to tell you that I really enjoyed this great ethnological museum you visited in Riga, didn't took the time to leave a word, but it would have needed more than just one haha !
Have a good day, I hope you're doing well 😇
When you're in Mallorca you should definitely visit it 🙂 There is a royal palace, monastery, gardens and the town itself is simply beautiful.
Thanks a lot! I'm glad that you liked it 🙂
I'm doing good, thank you. The garden is starting to get the shape that I want, so I'm happy 😂
Thank you, I will keep that in mind for the future occasion I may have :)
That's great news, it's making me super curious !!
You're talking about Australian city design right there haha! This place looks incredible. In fact everything about France you post looks amazing. I can't even imagine living in a village like that. Everything aboutit is beautiful.
And I've never been there yet ^^ !
Thank you very much, I hope we can meet there 😊
À propos, comment se passe ton apprentissage du français ?
Oh my, France is tempting me to pack our suitcases earlier than planned, leave behind everything and go and relax ahahah. I just have to leave at home my phone or switch it off completely so the students, manager and school director can't locate me lol. We should take the A7 highway from Avignon towards Valence, yes, yes, I think I might have some clearer ideas about our route for this summer, though nothing is decided yet. Maybe we just take a plane for our trip but then it is not interesting.
This is an idea ! We could have meetings like that with a few Hive people, where we desert everything for a week and then come back as if nothing had happened 😂 At the same time, it's a good start of novel, but it might be more complicated to manage on the way back... But let's not worry too much about that... you tell me when you arrive in Avignon ^^ ?
Are you always so busy these days? I hope the weekend was able to be a bit restful 😘
These are some excellent ideas @anttn 🥂
Mini Hive meetups, with adventures for a novel, or a movie, a music album, great artworks and all hahaha better not to go back, a week is too short time hahaha 😂
😅 😂 Let's organize that for the summer hehe !
☀️☀️☀️
with a lot of probability, I will not like the fact of going back to work in September hahaha
I already know - and the summer holiday didn't even start 😂
Haha 😂 ! For sure... we wait for the start, not for the end !
Have a good Friday dear @mipiano 😘
The place is so pretty with those brick houses... They look truly old yet sturdy . But it seems that people like spending their time at home since I'm not seeing one on the streets hehe..
!LUV this place..
Hey @jane1289 :)
Haha, that's one solution indeed, the second is that it's nap time and maybe the last and the most, is that I've been waiting patiently for the field to be free 😂
Thank you for taking the time to visit :)
I hope you're doing well 🤞
Haha. Then it was beneficial to you.. No photobombers..
Haha, indeed 😂 !
Un joli petit village comme la France en compte beaucoup. C'est l'une de ses richesses.
En tout cas merci pour cette visite dominicale.
A+
Avec plaisir !
Tous ces territoires et ces terroirs avec leurs variations, parfois juste lorsqu'on dépasse une rivière ou la crête d'une colline... Je te rejoins complètement ! C'est un plaisir de découvrir son propre pays, un quête sans fin :)
Bonne début de semaine ✌️
beautiful overlooking view. the architectural structures in the area are interesting. thank you for sharing @anttn
Hey @intoy.bugoy ! Very welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed this place :)
Hope you had a good weekend, take care 🤞
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Thank you @ybanezkim26 !
Hope you had a good weekend 🤞🌻
The place looks really nice because this picture shows an old building that is always maintained and also inhabited.
Indeed ! this is clearly the weight of tradition and history !
Beautiful place! Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed that visit 😊
Wow! It was a great time going up to the uppermost part. The houses looks so strong that they are built with bricks. The architectural designs were good.
Thank you @jenthoughts 😊✌️
I'm glad you enjoyed, have a good starting week !
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Bon début de semaine à toi !
Merci à toi !
Bonne journée 😉