On Cévennes land
At the foot of the Aigoual, on the Stevenson road, here are the wild lands of the remote Cévennes,
Terroir where "you have to have run your finger over the grain of its stones" to know its authenticity,
On the Camisards path, through its spectacular gorges and hilltop villages,
The country bears the traces of the silkworms from Mt Lozère to the Corniche with enclosed valleys.
At Finiels, summit of Mt Lozère, Stevenson and his donkey saw the opening of a country of intertwined hills,
The medieval Rouméjon bridge, on a donkey's back, at Pont de Montvert will be crossed by the Scottish Protestant,
Theater of the rise to the front in 1702 of armed men assassinating the prelate of the King's Intendant,
Murder triggering a fierce repression of the dragons against the Camisards of Faith.
On short lawns and granite chaos, 8,000 walkers take the Stevenson road,
Guided during snowstorms by the montjoies, a plethora of stone lookouts,
"Only this troubled and bushy country bears this name, the Cévennes", Stevenson concluded,
With the Aigoual and Aubrac to the south of these pastures and to the north the Mézenc and the Mt Gerbier de Jonc.
Symbol of the Cévennes, the chestnut has shaped the food and social life of the territory,
Picked up from the ground using soles, shoes with nails to debug the fruit,
They were placed on keys where a fire of embers was consumed to dry them before the fair,
The perforated pan for grilling this poor man's fruit, today during the ennobled autumn festivals.
At the foot of the Cévennes, near vans, the Chassezac turns into small gorges that can be navigated by canoe,
It winds through the Endieu cirque between stratified walls 80 m high, almost stellar,
At Agachou beach, between sand and pebbles, you can dawdle and swim in the clear wave,
Towards the Corniche, between undergrowth and cliffs floats an atmosphere of legends and fairy land.
On the seven estates of the "Balcons de l'Aigoual" graze 20,000 sheep between hill and downhill,
Throughout the enclosures, the smell of "migou" pervades the valley between Aigoual and Lingas, a delight,
Picked up daily by the shepherds, the droppings piled up in sacks will serve as fertilizer,
While in the remote gorges of Tapoul, is it the pleasure of canyoning that summer visitors enjoy?
With their Protestant history forged from schist and chestnuts, the villages have a theatrical allure,
City stage of the Tarn canyon, Ste Énimie, in the heart of the Causses, stands out its medieval houses,
Between Languedoc and La Margerie, it was a merchant's path and a sheep draille,
Alleys under vaults, cobbles in rolled pebbles, a village remarkable for the tight stones of the houses.
It is the fratricidal struggle between Catholics and Protestants that will make Génolac the capital of the Camisards,
The king's soldiers having to put down the revolt left the name at the alley of the Dragons of Villars,
The village in the Middle Ages was a major axis of trade on the way to Régordane,
The lintels of the houses bear traces of the fortunes of megalomaniac traders and bourgeois.
At La Garde -Guérin, the old 12th century embossed tower. ensured the safety of travelers,
Faced with the looters in this village where lodged knights, Pariers and lords,
Each had its "parérie" and the adjoining portion of the road where they provided protection,
In exchange, travelers and merchants by toll and pulverization rights paid their contribution.
St Jean du Gard with its Provençal allure testifies to its Cévennes identity through its spinning workshop,
Using the steam, the cocoons of the silkworms raised in the neighboring silkworms were unwound,
Hard work and female worker solidarity at the industrial site reported in the museum,
It took 75 kg of cocoons to make 5 kg of thread, in the Lyonnais weaving workshops sent.
With its neo-Gothic church and the ruins of its Renaissance castle, Banne is a two-in-one village,
The Fort and its calades form the lower part with its houses with tiled roofs and scents of perfume,
Under the protection of the two towers of the ruining castle built on three levels with glazed roof,
The higher part, more recent, by the pointed bell tower of the church, dominating the olive trees is symbolized.
Jewel of the Ardèche Cévennes, Thines in its remote valley, tells the story of Cévennes life in the past,
At the end of endless gorges, drowned in greenery, the village floats through the chestnut jungle
Here the schist stone with a rusty complexion makes the houses with conservative lauze roofs
Close to ND's Romanesque jewel at the portal with four mismatched column statues.
In Tanaris, the Celtic god of thunder left his mark on the granite plateau of the summer pastures,
Where the Druids' trail through the splendid valleys, in the green of the dominant conifers,
Sees the transhumant herds parading on the stony paths lined with stone walls,
From Valgorge to Loubaresse via Borne, the road offers successive thrilling views.
Under the slate and slate, the doors of the half-timbered houses tell the story of Lozère life,
On the banks of the Lot, Mende raises its neo-Gothic towers of houses with Philibert-style roofs,
The city of bishops was built around its ND de St Privat la Gévaudanne cathedral,
The city placed at the crossroads of Auvergne and Languedoc will become a source of merchant fortunes.
In the golden age, the Languedoc university and artistic capital of Montpellier experienced the aura,
The stone vessel of St Peter's Cathedral sits next to the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial,
Formerly Place de l'Oeuf, the Comédie, an extraordinary agora, is closed by the Opera theater
And at the site of the old ramparts, the Arc de Triomphe du Peyrou symbolizes royal power.
For fifty years the builders of modern times have traced a contemporary urbanism,
All clad in glass, since 2011, this little architectural gem protects the Urban Town Hall,
Opposite St Roch station, the Belaroïa with its white metal facings houses hotels and restaurants,
And since 2014, the Totem of the White Tree, with its balconies suspended in the void, has been astonishing.
Through its bullfighting culture, its flamenco enlivening Sevillian dances close to tapas restaurants,
Nicknamed the “French Rome”, Nîmes la Gardoise is the most Iberian of the cities in our area,
Its Roman amphitheater, admirably preserved on both levels, hosts the festivities,
The other major building of the Maison Carrée and the Via Dominitia give an air of Italy to the city.
Guy said l’Arié…..Joie