Lynn Amber - Travel & Photography
sharing my thoughts through words and images
Blueberry Season in Vermont
Over the years, we have established a small planting of blueberry bushes in our garden. This year my husband went to the effort of protecting all but 4 shrubs with netting. It has paid off. We leave the unprotected shrubs to the birds and have enjoyed a great crop of delicious fruit from the covered plants. I’m back from my Maine gig for a few days to process some of the bounty – freezing some and making jam. (And, of course, eating fresh in pancakes and muffin treats!)
Coastal Maine Botanical Garden 7.27.26
What a gorgeous day at the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. Crocosmia, Lilies and Hydrangeas stole the show this afternoon! It was pretty crowded for a Monday – I guess it is mid-summer and tourist season! But, I soaked up the sun and enjoyed meandering through the gardens and woodland trails – oblivious to the crowds and focused only on the flowers!
Le Puy Camino – via Podiensis: Condom to Montreal du Gers
May 2, 2023
Happy to see the sun today!! When I walked yesterday, I enjoyed the company of several guys from Paris. They shared with me a variant diversion from the Way that would eliminate a troublesome, muddy and steep section of the GR65. It would also bring me through the medieval fort of Larressingle. I followed their advice and am so glad I did!
Before leaving Condom, we had to stop at the most famous photo spot in town! Outside the 16th century Cathédrale Saint-Pierre is a larger-than-life statue of the Count d’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. We had fun taking a photo shoot here! A friend from the previous night’s lodging offered to take our picture! I have always loved the Three Musketeer movies and it was such fun to pose with them.
I captured some final photographs of Condom on the way out of town.
Crossing the Pont des Carmes over the La Baise river, it was a glorious morning and a picturesque look back at Condom.
Today’s landscape encompassed rolling hills, vineyards and a combination of paved roads and dirt agricultural tracts. It was not long before the town gave way to greenery.
Following the GR65 variant into Larrassingle, I felt like I had stepped back in time.
This small 13th century fortified village is amazingly preserved. The bridge into the village is a UNESCO site and considered an important historical monument along the Way of St. James.
The interior of the village is only 270 meters in circumference and it was quite lovely to wander around and admire the ancient architecture. Since it was still considered the off-season, the little cafe was not open regularly. Too bad! I was looking forward to resting and having a small snack!
After leaving the village, I continued on the paved road that would lead me back to the GR65 proper. Shortly after departing Larressingle, I crossed an ancient pedestrian bridge called the Pont d’Artiques. It crosses the Osse River and is another UNESCO World Heritage Site along the Way. I came upon an American couple who were riding bikes in the area. They were housesitting nearby and had been touring Europe picking up various housesitting gigs throughout the British Isles and Western Europe. Very intriguing!
The path continued through agricultural fields and old farms. The air just felt so fresh and clear today!
The Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Routgès is the oldest church in the region – dating to before the 13th century.
The interior was quite a surprise!
The town of Montreal du Gers is a pretty little village and our accommodation – A La Halte du Rempart – was located right on the main square. I sat at a small cafe and had a beer while I waited for the lodging to open and watched the town crew putting up flower planters on the other hotel in town.
Our lodging tonight would be in a shared dorm space with 10 other people at a cost of 26 euros with demi-pension. Because I got there ahead of most other pilgrims, I was able to secure two beds that were positioned so that we were on one end of the room. My big surprise came when several men showed me the view from our second floor window. They exclaimed that finally we could see the Pyrenees and wanted to point it out to me.
Throughout the day, I noticed that the big toe on my left foot was getting very irritated. When I took off my boots, it was pretty red and looked like an infection might be imminent. I put some antibiotic ointment on it and bandaged it up – hoping for the best. I discovered that, due to several days of wet, muddy weather and trails, the inside lining in my boot had started to separate and press against my toe. I needed to remedy this situation and stuffed newspaper in my boots to try and push the lining back up into place. Tomorrow will be a good test to see if it gets any worse.
It was a pretty rough night sleeping in this dorm room. Lots of snoring and coughing going on!! Yikes!! Tomorrow is another day!!
Le Puy Camino – via Podiensis: La Romieu to Condom
May 1, 2023
Today’s walk to Condom would take me 14.5 kilometers through yet another muddy trail day! It was an easy route except for the delays when I had to scrap mud from my boots!
There were a couple of highlights along the Way today worth mentioning. In Castelnau-sur-l’Auvignon, I passed by a unique war memorial with some interesting albeit sad history. On June 21, 1944, a battle took place here between multi-national resistance fighters and troops of the German occupation of France. The out-numbered resistance fighters were forced to evacuate and suffered the loss of 19 heroic freedom fighters. This memorial commemorates their bravery in the face of insurmountable odds.
A short walk from Castelnau-sur-l”Auvignon, through a countryside filled with vineyards, I came upon the Chapelle Sainte-Germaine de Baradieu. This lovely 12 century Romanesque chapel is all that remains of an ancient monastery. I took a break here and walked around the grounds and inside the church.
Above – inside the church and the entrance courtyard…
After leaving the church, the GR65 runs alongside the Lac de Bousquetara for a short distance. I noticed some “boondocking” campers on the shoreline.
I enjoyed the company of a couple of gentleman pilgrims for part of my walk today. They were from Paris and one of them had studied at New York University and spoke very good English. They informed me that during the trail tomorrow there is a section that should be avoided due to very steep, muddy terrain and provided me with a detail of an alternate route. I very much appreciated this!!
When I arrived in Condom, I found a nice spot to have a cold beer and rest before finding my gîte – Gîte d’étape Le Réconfort. The gîte was okay. My only complaint is that there wasn’t a real good system in place to wash and clean boots! I ended up having to take a dishpan with water to the back alley and scrub them with a brush. I admit to being in a very ugly mood for a bit that night!! My boots needed to get dry and stuffing them with newspaper did not help matters. It would prove to be an issue in subsequent days.
I spent some time in the evening trying to plan out the rest of the trip’s accommodations. With the Victory Day holiday coming up, some gîtes were closed. As with much on the Way, it all works out in the end!
Coastal Maine Botanical Garden 6.8.26
When I decide to stay in Maine on my day’s off, I watch the weather and pick a good day to wander around the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. I need to see what has come into bloom since my last visit!!
I headed right for the forest walk via the Haney Hillside Garden and found a beautiful clump of Tiarella in full bloom.
Further down the hillside in the Meditation Garden I noticed the delicate little flowers of Redvein Enkianthus brushing against my cheek!
At the bottom of the hillside, I took a left and walked along the Huckleberry Cove trail. I had not walked in this direction before and was surprised to see the paintings displayed intermittently along the trail. There was a sign with a QR code so you could access more information about the display but my cell service was too light to bring up the website.
I walked as far as Huckleberry Cove and turned around.
I walked back up to the more manicured garden area via the Backwoods Trail. This brought me by one of the trolls I had not yet discovered – Lilja, who holds the scent of the Fowers of the tree.
I kept going to the Rhododendron Garden to see what was putting on a display right now. Some very exotic-looking rhodendrons along side some good ole stand-bys.
On my way back to the entrance to the garden, I came across this beautiful peony, a lovely Viburnum plicatum tomentosum and a magnificent Calycanthus “Harlage Wine.”
Coastal Maine Botanical Garden 5.26.26
I was back at the Maine Coastal Botanical Garden just after Memoral Day to see how things have changed since my visit earlier in the month. Lots of trees now out in leaf and new spring blooms to appreciate!!
Rhodendrons in bloom above in the Rhododendron garden
My one complaint about the Maine Coastal Botanical Garden is that many plants are simply not labeled – which is very frustrating to me when I come upon a plant that I’m not familiar with. But, I really do love the garden and the grounds – especially the woodland trails.
Coastal Maine Botanical Garden 5.4.26
I spent three seasons workamping at Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. At the time, I wanted so badly to take a trip to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden but it was just too far for a day trip from that location. I am workamping this season on the coast in Southern Maine and find myself less than a hour drive from this special place. Yesterday, the weather was looking promising and I traveled the short distance to check it out.
I ended up purchasing an annual membership since I was sure I would be returning multiple times during the summer and fall season. And, as a bonus, my membership allows me access to many more public gardens across the country who participate in a reciprocal agreement. It was not a hard decision for me!!
The gardens are an interesting mix of natural and more formal spaces with an extensive ‘forested’ trail system around the perimeter. Spring flowers were putting on a spectacular display.
There was an extensive collection of Hellebores – which are one of my favorite spring perennials!
Native bleeding heart, marsh marigold and snowdrops…
Pieris japonica (Japanese Andromeda) and Corylopsis gotoana (Fragrant Winter Hazel)
There were some early rhodendrons and azaleas blooming in the Rhodendron Garden. In order:
Rhodendron “April Snow” – Rhodendron dauricum “Album” – Rhodendron “April Gem”
Rhododendron “Rosebud” – Rhododendron “Cornell Pink”
The most whimsical part of the garden are the extraordinary bigger-than-life giant trolls that are located in various locations throughout the property. Created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, the structures are collectively called the Guardians of the Seeds and are intended to celebrate the Maine woods. Made from recycled wood, each troll has an important mission that is shared on interpretive displays.
There are two more trolls that I did not pass by during my travels through the garden, so I will need to go back!!
Looking forward to many more trips to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden during the season as plants continue to leaf out and flower. There is also a very cool children’s garden and I will save that for another post. 🙂
Le Puy Camino – via Podiensis: Lectoure to La Romieu
April 30, 2023
After a continental self-serve breakfast, Susan and I headed out. I was starting my walk towards La Romieu and Susan was hoping to stop by the Chapelle des Carmélites de Lectoure in time for the morning mass before leaving Lectoure. We would meet up in La Romieu at the end of the day.
The descent out of Lectoure snaked through the ancient wall that used to surround the city.
It was another misty, cloudy day and with all the rain that had fallen the previous day I was soon to discover a trail ladden with significant mud. This mud is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It must have a high clay content because it is very sticky. Much of the day was spent stopping to scrap built up mud from my boots!!
I did not take any photographs after leaving Lectoure until I reached the village of Marsolan. In the middle of the traffic circle in town, there was an iron cross. I loved the chicken that sat upon the top of the cross!
Between Marsolan and La Romieu, I encountered much of the muddy trail. It was quite a slog to get through. Little did I know there would be more to come (and much worse!) in the days ahead.
Today was a very light day for photographs as I was concentrating mostly on getting through the mud. I remember walking down a very secondary road not far from La Romieu when I saw a sign that intrigued me.
What luck to stumble upon a botanical garden!! I was in heaven until I realised that the garden was closed the day I was walking through this area. So disappointing! The garden has an interesting history. It was developed on land owned by the renowned French botanist Gilbert Cours-Darne. The collection of plants that are nourished on this land in Gascony were collected by Cours-Darne from all corners of the world. He bequeathed his land in 1992 to Véronique and Arnaud Delannoy. Cours-Darne felt this couple had a love of the land and a desire to continue his project to maintain the garden and open it to the public. Véronique and Arnaud Delannoy and members of their family still operate the garden to this day Here’s a link to the full story of how the garden came to be.
Shortly after leaving the garden, I arrived in La Romieu. The GR65 enters the village via the Parc de l’Olivier à La Romieu. It’s a nice green space with play areas for children and a commanding view of the Collégiale de La Romieu – a 14th century historical monument and UNESCO site. The village was originally founded by two monks who had just returned from a pilgrimage and the name La Romieu means “pilgrim” in the Occitan dialect of Gascony. That’s really cool!!
La Romieu is a pretty little village and as I entered the center of the village I quickly spotted a cafe and decided to rest and enjoy a beer before looking for my lodging for the night.
I settled at an outside table and enjoyed the blue sky that finally appeared!! The establishment where I grabbed my refreshment is L’Etape d’Angeline. It is a cafe, bar and restaurant that also has pilgrim accommodations. I had hoped to stay here but they were full when I was booking my reservations a few days in advance.
There is a fun legend associated with this town and I wish I had known about it when I was there. The village has a curious nickname – “the village of the cats.” And apparently throughout the town there are stone sculptures of cats that were created by a local artist. Had I known, I suspect I would have wandered around the village in search of these stone cats!
The legend goes like this: During medieval times, a peasant girl named Angeline (hence the name of the restaurant!) lived in the village and had a love of cats. When a famine hit the area and food was scarce, it became necessary to survive by eating what was available and sadly the “cat” population in town started to decline. Angeline secretly made an effort to protect as many cats as she could. When the famine ended, and there was an abundance of food, the villagers realized they had a major problem. No cats meant an increasing rat population which caused problems of its own! Angeline let it be known that she had rescued some cats and they were set loose in the town to control the rats. The cats did their job and, to this day, cats are revered in the town!
When it was time to check in to our lodging, I went in search of the building. We stayed in the Chambres d’hôtes Boisson which is operated by a local artist, Christine Boisson. Her paintings filled the walls of the house and it was a nice cozy place to stay for the night. The price included breakfast but not dinner. We knew this in advance and, before leaving Lectoure, we had purchased food for dinner – noodles, veggies and some good bread and cheese. Our accommodation had a small kitchen in which we could prepare our meal and it was perfect!
When our host, Christine, stamped our pilgrim passport books I was surprised that she did not actually have a “stamp” as most accommodations did. Instead, she drew a picture in our pass book and dated it by hand. I thought the picture that she drew curious and wondered why she chose that particular item to draw. Having read now about the legend of the cats – it has suddenly become perfectly clear!! Ha!! Can you spot the “stamp” from Chambres d’hôtes Boisson??
Le Puy Camino – via Podiensis: Miradoux to Lectoure
April 29, 2023
After a good night’s sleep and breakfast at Chez Vous Chez Nous, I started off towards Lectoure – a 16 kilometer walk today. Before leaving Miradoux, I stopped in a patisserie to grab a sandwich and a piece of fruit that would serve as my lunch later on in the day. It was a misty day for much of the walk, but still a pleasant easy walk on relatively benign, rolling-hills terrain.
A short distance outside of Miradoux, I noticed some ruins off in the distance. The Château de Gachepouy was built in the 14th century and served as a watchtower. The word “gachar” means – to watch, to guard or to spy on – in the dialect Gascon from the Gascony region of France. And “pouy” means hill, mound or height. I love how the name of the castle fits its purpose!
The cloudy, misty day put forth an ambiance that was relaxing and peaceful. The gray mist allowed the beauty of the spring colors to dominate the landscape. This day was one of my favorite walks – filled with solitude and stillness. While much of the day I walked on my own without many passing pilgrims, I was delighted to see some familiar faces at one point along the trail.
As I was walking along enjoying the silence of the day, I heard some distant singing. It was coming from behind me and growing nearer. Shortly, I was overcome by the French family of five that we had met at an earlier gîte. They were trekking along and singing as a group. I was delighted to witness such family cohesion. I remembered that Lectoure would be their stopping point after a two-week vacation walk along the GR65. Such fun to see them again.
In the small village of Castet-Arrouy, I stopped and peeked inside the Église Sainte-Blandine. I’m always amazed at the ornateness of the interior of some of these churches given the often very simple exterior architecture. Unlike many churches, the pews are replaced with chairs.
More of the countryside alone the way and some things in bloom!
Just on the outskirts of Lectoure, I came upon this cemetery – possibly the Cimetière Saint Gervais. I took a short break from walking and wandered around here for a spell.
Leaving the cemetery, I started to enter the outskirts of Lectoure. Before coming to the old town section of the city, I passed by a round-about and was greeted by a very rustic interpretation of a pilgrim.
Since it was too early to check in for our accommidation for the night, I decided to try and locate my belle-soeur Susan. I texted her to see where she might be, and then sat down on a bench right outside the Cathédrale Saint-Gervais and Saint-Protais and ate my lunch. Eventually, Susan responded and I found her enjoying a hot cup in a small restuarant a short distance away. She had taken a day off from walking due to a sore knee and grabbed a taxi to Lectoure – spending much of the day there. I learned from her that it actually rained hard all day in Lectoure! I treated myself to a warming glass of wine and a Crème Brûlée for my lunchtime dessert! 🙂 Unfortunately, our accommodations for the night would not let her check in early but she was able to drop her bag there. I was disappointed to hear this since I knew her knee was bothering her and she did not feel well. I already had a not-so-good feeling about the place.
We had reservations in a renovated 18th century royal tannery built in 1754 that is now an historical monument and operated as a bed and breakfast and meeting space. The Gîte d’étape La Manufacture Royale de Lectoure was one of the most unique places that we stayed. We headed there after our snack in the cafe to check-in. The atmosphere was an interesting mix of fancy yet simple decor. The accommodation had been open only one year. Our host greeted us and while very nice, she exuded an elegance beyond what I expected in a pilgrim accommodation. Although it is advertised as welcoming to pilgrims, I got the impression that they were really catering to a different clientale. Upon further research, I discovered that the owners do have more upscale accommodations in the lodging as well as special events.
The “Pilgrim Cottage” is a separate area where those of us walking the camino are housed. I’m not sure we even had access to the rest of the lodging. It is much simpler in design and sparse in furnishings but still very comfortable. It appeared they were having a special upscale function in another part of the building and we were given a quick tour, shown to our rooms and left by ourselves. It is one of the few places where I took some interior pictures of the fixtures, etc.
The Pilgrim Cottage
We settled in and took showers and walked around the town for a spell – landing on a small cafe for dinner. I had a delicious salmon burger with fries that was more than adequate for my appetite. When we returned to the lodging, we discovered the only other pilgrim that was staying here had arrived – a young woman who was traveling solo and was just starting her camino from Lectoure.
Scenes from Lectoure:
The town was very busy with tourists from around France as it was during one of their many school vacation times. It has the designation of the “town of art and history.” Lectoure traces its origin from an Iron Age settlement to medieval times and was at one time a walled city. It was considered an “oppidum” – a fortified town that existed between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC during the Iron Age. Wow – that’s old!! It is in the Gascony region of France and I got the impression Lectoure is a bit of a tourist town.
The next day was going to be close to a 19 kilometer walk so we retired early. While the beds were comfortable, I had a hard time getting warm. The stone construction and basement feel to the place did not “warm” up during the night. Despite that, I slept and woke up refreshed and ready for the next day’s walk.
Longwood Gardens Conservatories
Given the long, snowy, bitter cold winter we have been experiencing in Vermont, a recent visit to our native state of Pennsylvania required a stop at Longwood Gardens. I grew up on the grounds of this reknowned public garden and there’s nothing quite like walking into the moist, warm atmosphere of a conservatory in the dead of winter. In November 2024, a years long project that was part of the “Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience” renovation transformed about 17 acres of the land on the grounds. One major aspect of this project was the construction of the new West Conservatory. I had not been to Pennsylvania to see the new conservatory since its opening and I could not wait to explore it.
It’s rare these days to see Longwood blanketed by snow but we visited a week after a major snow storm dumped several inches of the white stuff on the ground. Cold temperatures prevailed that prevented the snow from disappearing before our arrival.
We started our visit in the East Conservatory and worked our way through to the end of the old conservatory. It’s such a special place for me. I have such incredibly fond memories of growing up here, living in employee housing and exploring the whole grounds as my backyard.
The Orchid House was completely redone as part of the most recent construction project. An architect who used to be one of our landscape customers was part of the design team. That was pretty cool!! Every effort was made to keep it within the same look and feel of the old conservatory.
Exiting the old conservatory at its western side, there is an outdoor courtyard that leads to the West Conservatory. Looking back towards the windows that frame the Exhibition Hall, the renovated water lily garden fills the space between the two conservatories. I’ll have to come back in the summer to appreciate that feature!
Stepping inside the new conservatory, I was immediately taken with the open, airy feel complete with canals and ponds surrounded by a Mediterraean inspired landscape.
There are numerous small alcoves throughout where one can sit and reflect on the surroundings.
Some of the flowers blooming in the West Conservatory:
It was a perfect day with very few people – a great time to avoid the crowds!! I think we counted more employees than visitors during our romp around the grounds.
Lynn Amber - Travel & Photography 