Sunday 13 November 2011

Florac

I visited Florac last year. It was our first outing in our van after I picked her up last year.  We arrived by the memorial and as it's Remembrance Sunday I thought I would begin here. I was reminded of Florac by Owen and his Magic lantern show blogspot. 

We approached Florac via some mountain roads through limestone  mountains. 


It was half past when we arrived.

I have been looking at these old presses on the french equivalent of ebay here, they can be uses to press apples for cider or juice  or grapes for wine. This one is a good one not too huge.


Along the middle of the village we sat outside Le  21  for coffee.  The barman said it gets very cold in winter with a lot of snow. I liked Florac, it seems like there is an interesting sub culture. We spotted lots of crafts, wholefood and small galleries here. 



I don't see many Renault 12s around. I once had one that could be seen travelling west or east from Bromyard, HRFDs to Aberystwyth, Wales or vice versa . I did a Fine Arts degree at Aber. 

I included this because one day I would like some of those dungarees worn by Guy Barbier I took this image in Florac as I often to to research later names, crafts etc. Back to the dungarees, these are  a lovely blue and I remember arty friends, particularly potters,  wearing them in the 80s.  The dungarees here in France, are referred to as 'Bleus', like many other 'laboureurs' clothes. I often see men wearing the blue jackets, Blue Serge working their gardens, it is prooving harder though to spot these men. Agricultural cooperative shops sell the closest thing but the quqlity isn't quite what I'm after. Anyway this man on the poster has the ones I want on.

There is something about places that are still undergoing some sort of change but very slowly and comfortably.

Hopeful


I have more images to follow but do take a walk along this interesting little road.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Jane,
    Many thanks for your kind word over at my place, and even more for the nod here, I really appreciate... and if the photos from near Florac inspired you to go back through your own to find these, so much the better, it is always a pleasure to re-live good experiences. I love your clock which is half past, I think Florac may be a little permanently half past something or other. A town that time forgot. The trip this summer was the third time I've stayed there, we had nearly two weeks this time, it was wonderful, every day was an adventure out exploring the area around Florac, up on the Causse Méjean, where the photos hanging now in Paris were taken, or across in the Cevennes, the Pont de Montvert region, all fabulous. I could spend months and months if not years I think, something about the whole area hits me on a visceral level, the Gorges du Tarn, or de la Jonte, the deserted spaces of the Causses. We got up onto the Causse de Sauveterre also, it seems even a bit wilder than the Causse Méjean.

    How long did you stay when you went last year ? Did you have time to explore around Florac ? Have you perhaps read R.L.Stevenson's story about his travels there in 1878 ? Stevenson didn't say too much about Florac itself, other than that he was impressed by the "handsome" women that could be seen there. But his walk up and over the Mont Lozère, descending to Pont de Montvert is quite inspiring. He said the Mediterranean is visible from the top on a clear day. I'd like to see that... but didn't make it up there this trip, though we did climb up to the top of Le Gargo, which is the highest point on the Causse Méjean, at roughly 1250 meters. Quite a strong wind blowing up there that day ! Anyway, that whole area is certainly one of France's lesser known treasures, though Unesco did get around to naming it "Patrimoine Mondial" earlier this year. A well deserved recognition in my humble opinion.

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  2. Thanks Owen,I shall get back to your questions on my next post. I need to revisit the map. Meanwhile I do remember we stayed a couple of days only in Florac and then drove up on to the Causse Méjean. The road up to there was extreme.The plateau on the top is impressively strange and has that ancient landscape vibe. It was windy when we were there too in September. We ended up in Buis Les Baronnies but not a direct route.
    The intention was really to get a feel for this region with the idea of moving south in the next few years.

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  3. Beautiful images Jane, thank you for sharing!
    So, the 'Blue Serge,' they are artisans?

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