Backroad Wanderings: Palmas, Aveyron

Looking up at the Eglise Saint-Vincent de Palmas

Last Sunday we had magnificent weather here, and I was itching to get out and do a little more backroad exploration. Unfortunately -- no, let's say fortunately, it needed to be done -- my husband got me wrapped up in a home improvement project at about 3pm, right before I was planning to leave.

"It won't take long!" 

I've heard that before! 4pm, 5pm, 6pm...I finally hit the road in the early evening which, on what was a hot day, turned out to be most pleasant.

My only plan was to head east, as I know very little of the whole area between Gages, where we live, and the impressive medieval city of Sévérac-le-Château. 

My first stop, and the object of this post, was the tiny town of Palmas -- just 14 kilometres from my house, yet I had never set foot there.

A precarious and surprisingly accessible climb

I was pressed for time (grumble grumble, yet that home improvement project WAS worth it), and I'm afraid I didn't do the place justice. Naturally, I found myself drawn to the most clearly visible site to see: the stark yet stunning Eglise Saint-Vincent de Palmas.

Were there really no railings up this staircase?

I was intrigued at the apparently permitted possibility of climbling up an exterior staircase to a tiny terrace, and even more surprised to be able to open the iron gate to go into it.

I perched up there for a few minutes, feeling a bit dizzy, and forgot to take any photos looking down.

The narrow door at the top of the stairs

The door at the top of the stairs was only about a foot and a half wide -- I wondered about its purpose, and wondered even more about the advisability of passers-by (read:me) being able to climb up the stairs with no railing. But of course I was thrilled to be able to do so!

A church with a built-in mailbox

Front view of the bell tower

My visit to Palmas started and ended here. As the only person wandering around the village, I was already feeling conspicuous. An elderly woman had started observing me from her window; a dog started barking as I stood in front of its house to take this last shot.

My future backroad companion

I later found out I had missed a lot: the vestiges of a castle, three distinct "quartiers," a 16th century bridge. 

I have an excellent book by Daniel Crozes , a well-known local author, that gives an exhaustive wealth of information about every nook and cranny of Aveyron, but I have been consulting it after my outings only.

On further expeditions, Daniel Crozes will guide me -- at least once I've landed in the place I plan to explore. 

St. Martin de Cormières -- another find on the backroads of Aveyron

What's wrong with this picture?

Last week's visit to the snow-covered Lévézou area was not without a magical discovery: the St. Martin de Cormières church, a historical monument that is part of the community of Le Vibal.

I don't know why a telescopic crane had to be sitting next to it right at this time, but I guess machines have to live somewhere too.

Not a cathedral, but still...the work, the work

Although considered a small church, it is still quite imposing. We often hear about "the cathedral builders," but as I contemplated this more modest structure, I gave a thought to the efforts needed to build it in the XVth century. 

How long did it take? Were lives lost? Did the laborers work even through the glacial winter?

Once again, locked doors

I truly wasn't expecting the doors to be open, but I wish they had been; photos of the church here promise a magical and manicured interior.

  

Could this be the key? Certainly not...

Feeling like an intruder in the sleepy, snowy hamlet, I stole a quick photo of the cross on the village square. Only now, as I post the photo, do I notice the key on it. 

What could that symbolize? 

So much to think about....

A church definitely worth seeing in the winter

I suppose tourists are very rare here in the dead of winter -- and I even have to wonder about the summer, as nothing but the sign on the main road indicated the presence of this classified historic monument. 

I have a feeling I'll be back.

Choosing the road to winter

It all started with a cancelled plane.

Lest you think that all I do is wander around the back roads of Aveyron because that is, well, all there is to do here, listen up!

Today I had a highly cultural afternoon planned. The famous American artist Jim Dine, who has works displayed in the excellent temporary exhibit currently at the Musée Soulages, was going to be giving a conference in Rodez -- and I was going to go.

But his Paris-Rodez flight was cancelled, apparently for mechanical reasons, and I ended up in Rodez with nothing but a tad bit of shopping to do.

So, I had some exploration time. But where to go?

This is definitely not the road to Marcillac

I basically had two choices: driving towards spring, or savoring the end of winter.

The road to Marcillac tempted me, as Le Vallon is always a bit warmer. 

It was 37°F in Rodez; logically it would be over 40° in Marcillac. And after the 2 weeks we have had, even 41°F sounded positively balmy.

Some serious snow had clearly been going on here

But then again, despite our two weeks of cold and ice, Rodez and my home village had actually accumulated only a few puny inches of snow. So I hadn't really braved the elements. 

I decided to take the colder option and head up the Col d'Aujol, a small pass only about 20 minutes from Rodez, but also about 200 meters higher. 

Around here, when it has been snowing, 200 meters usually makes a lot of difference, and today was no exception. 

Bushes under a blanket

The road was clear and dry, but as soon as I got above 700 meters, everything around me was a quiet winter wonderland. 

I regret missing many photo opportunities because there was simply no place to park. Snowdrifts were blocking the roadsides, and the few smaller roads heading off the main one didn't promise the best driving conditions. 

(In fact, they didn't even promise that I would have enough traction in my snow tires to make it home, so I played it safe.)

Snow like cotton balls, a reminder that spring is around the corner

At the entrance to one hamlet, though, I found an ice-free parking area, and was able to commit this day to my photographic memory: the day that the famous American artist Jim Dine couldn't take his flight from Paris to Rodez. 

Wandering the backroads of Aveyron -- a New Year's resolution I just may keep

Such roads will, henceforth, be taken 

Like so many, I make New Year's resolutions. I usually write them down in a notebook and, being on Christmas break, it seems that I will easily be able to find the time to keep said resolutions.

Then I go back to my teaching job and, well...you all know how these things go.

But in June 2015, I will have lived in Aveyron for 20 years. And yet there are so many roads, even close to my home, that I have never driven on, and so many villages I have never even set foot in.

So I do think that in 2015, I will be hitting the back roads of Aveyron more: all by my lonesome and off the beaten track.

Such roads may or may not be taken, for reasons I will explain below

In my area, though, it's a bit délicat to get too far off the beaten track. How can you know if a signpost is leading you to a "public" hamlet, or a farm that is private property?

You can't. 

As I have already found out, tiny roads like the one above, despite bearing a sign indicating they are leading "somewhere," often end up pretty much in the private courtyard between a farmer's house and his or her barns.

Oops. Quickly backing up and out can be a bit embarrassing when toute une famille is watching you suspiciously - and hopefully not taking down any license plate numbers.

Yet I will not be deterred. 

Here's to exploring France's 5th largest département -- that would be in surface area, of course, not population -- in 2015!

Off the beaten track, watching autumn fade into winter

Two "animules" who were more than happy to pose 

Since my day off in late October when I decided to drive down a road seldom taken and drag my camera out of my purse, I have made several forays off the beaten track.

Last Sunday morning, a drive to the village recycling bin somehow led me to turn down side roads that I have never even thought of exploring in nearly 20 years of living in Gages.

The exploration was worth it if only for these two young donkeys who were sweet enough to be photogenic for me. 

A peek down a little-used railroad track

A couple times a day, a one-car regional train travels down this track on its way to and from Rodez and Sévérac-le-Château, about a 50-kilometer trip. I have seen the train go by and it is usually empty. There are quite a few buses that cover the same route, so I have often wondered how this particular train has managed to stay running when many other lines have been shut down. I have also often thought it would make a great commuter line.

So near, yet so far from my house

When I told my husband about where I had gone exploring, he said "Là, c'est un autre monde."  Standing alone in front of this vast field, it was hard to believe I was only a few kilometers away from housing-developed Gages-le-Haut, the part of Gages-Montrozier where we live.

A tree-lined trail for future exploration

There are lots of paths in Aveyron where one is not really sure whether they are made for driving or walking. I felt like driving down the rather wide, pebbled "road" on the left, but thought I might get into some sort of car-related trouble. So I refrained.

These photos were taken a week ago, and show some of the last vestiges of autumn color around our parts.