After breakfast we wandered around the little town of Le Grand Lemps and joined the family at Mass which was a very nice service.
We then left for La Côte St. André. We stopped at a church, which was shut and picnicked there.
Shortly after, someone opened it up and we were able to visit.
It was la journee du patrimoine and the gentleman kindly explained something of the church’s history
(there were to be guided visits later but we needed to leave). The church was dedicated to St. Ours in 1864,
he was martyred in Agaune which is modern day Magtingy in Switzerland.
Its cupola holds a wall painting of the birth of Christ and the shepherds in which the local people were used as models.
It was very easy walking to La Côte St.André but with 27° and high humidity, but was rather wearing.
A point of interest was the crossroads where the via Rhodana to Valence and via Adresca separated fromn the Via Gebennensis,
offering an alternative route to Le Puy. We were tempted by St. Antoine-l'Abbeye, but decided the lack of accommodation
on the route back to Le Puy was against it.
We spent the night with Natalie and Georges in a very comfortable gîte where Sue was able to wash a few items and
dry them in an obliging wind. We visited the town and the museum of Berlioz which was interesting
(and enjoyable due to having left our bags behind!) We met two Swiss Germans, Theo and Ernst who had an interesting
idea of taking time off for cultural visits. We were also joined by Latitia, Christiane and Marie-Pierre.
Conversation was interesting and we learnt a lot about the area. As well as Hector Berlioz,
the area is famous for the painter, Johan Barthold Jongkind.
