Journeys by Paul

  Digne  

Back to France 2006

(click on pictures)

Train Ride    So the train ride from Nice to Digne wasn't all that spectacular. It took about 4 hours and was so noisy at times that I couldn't hear what Viv and Tim, who I met on the train, were saying. I actually got on the wrong train at first. Let me ask you, if you saw a train with the words Nice  - Digne in big letter on the side, and you were already in Nice, wouldn't you think that the train was destined for Digne? Well, you'd be wrong. As the conductor started up the engine and was preparing to leave at least 25 minutes earlier, I walked up to him to confirm that the train was indeed going to Digne, and he told that the next one would be. So I nonchalantly went to my seat and picked up my suitcase and backpack and left the train. There's a picture of the little train that wasn't going to Digne on the left.

Tim and Viv are from England (as you can tell in the audio clips) and they arrived from Italy late the night before. They weren't expecting to catch the train I was on, but, when they found out it was leaving in ten minutes, they really didn't have much time to think about it, so they jumped on. They hadn't had anything to eat, and the train never stopped long enough for anyone to get lunch at the stations, so we had to make due with the bottle of wine I had in my backpack. Once in Digne, we  found a decent hotel about a 15 minute walk from the station. The clerk at the front desk tried to tell us that we could get a good deal if we got a big room for the three of us. There's an audio clip of Tim trying to explain in French that we were not that good of friends. By the way, Viv has an apartment that she rents out in England somewhere. I included a link to it down at the left.

Dinner     We went to dinner at a great restaurant, and had a three course meal for 11.5 Euros. The waitress who served us was a 16 year old Irish girl who came to France 4 years ago with her family. Her father and mother left Ireland, and, with her four siblings, drove around the countryside in order to find the right place to live. They then lived in campgrounds for a few years while the father worked as a builder, and I forgot what the mother did for work. The young waitress spoke fluent French, and is attending high school, or whatever it is called in the French countryside. There is an audio clip of us discussing the word 'innuendo" after Viv used the word, and the waitress mentioned she had not heard of that word. The waitress had gone to help someone else while we're talking.

Hippy Caves     Later during the meal, Tim was telling me about The Hippy Trail, and The Hippy Caves of Crete in the 1960s. American draft dodgers apparently set up housekeeping in some caves in Crete. The caves were furnished with carpets and furniture. I should have asked Tim what they did for lighting. Tim was not a draft dodger, but he lived with some of the Americans for two months during his rebellious youth (according to him). He said that Joni Mitchell wrote a song about the caves. The title is in the audio clip. I believe he said that she visited the caves at some time.

The next day, Tim and Viv went back to Nice, and I commenced what I thought was a leisurely hike to a town up in the hills. Although, the trail was really an asphalt country road, the incline was continuous and it ended up being quite a workout. It was a beautiful hike, though; the sun was shining and the sky was clear and blue.

Market Day     The next morning, I did my morning walk through the town to discover that  it was market day. Usually there is one day a week in these towns where vendors come in to town, and set up stands, and sell everything; food, clothing, flowers, books, jewelry. The stands are usually set up in the main square, but often le marche (the market) spills out onto the streets. I purchased my lunch for the day, and a watch for 10 Euros. Up until that point, I didn't have a watch, but  I could tell the time by looking out of my hotel window in Digne at the town clock that towered over the city. Come to think of it, I had a church clock to look at from my balcony in Nice, too.

Wifi     In order to enter this web stuff, I found a wi-fi hotspot at a sandwich cafe that utilized the Orange Wi-Fi network. I had bought an Orange Wi-Fi card in Nice that allowed me 2 hours for 10 Euros. It's kind of expensive but I got tired of having to drink a pint of beer every time I hiked the 25 minutes to the Irish Pub. Oh, one last item. I was walking around one afternoon and saw a very old cathedral. I entered it, and there was a funeral service occurring. The young priest conducting it had a beard and long black hair. The audio clip is of the organ music at the ceremony, a little narration, and then in the end you can hear the priest driving off on his motorcycle.

Lavender     Another aspect of interest in Digne is the annual harvest of lavender, and the week long festival that occurs here in the first week of August every year. I read a brochure that told of nightly fireworks coordinated with orchestral music. I would like to return sometime in the summer when all the fields are the color of lavender, and check out the festival. Even now, you can buy all kinds of lavender paraphernalia in the shops in Digne. Tim (from England) suggested  I purchase some lavender oil to take with me back to the U.S. I asked him what I would do with lavender oil, and he told me that I could have a lovely, lavender oil,  bubble bath. I shrugged and told him that I was straight. Oh, and click here for a "lovely" link to the lavender festival.

That's it for Digne. Tomorrow I'll be catching a bus for Grenoble.

Paul Ogier

   The Hike From Digne

Wild Animal	Asphalt Trail
Digne in the Distance
Another Wild Animal
	At the Top
Praying Mantis

 Le Marche

Lots of Olives	and Sausages
Plenty of	Vegetables
Books, too	Preparing my Lunch
Sausage Table	A Pumpkin?

 

 

 

     Lavender Fields