nap, just one week ago we mused about: "You Can't Go Home Again"
Just one week, nap, can you believe it?
And look what happened!
You directed yourself, shadow deltavee, and me to France, and what an adventure this has been
This I'll say only once:
Now we are about to enter a team Kraland Challenge by proxy so to speak joining team Serious Crunchers which has entered, because your captain, nap, is incommunicado, but sujo1 is captain, king, and kicking.
And TDL has shown up called forth by sujo1's pigeons, and I went back - kind of home - to EVGA and talked with old friends. Two (one of them an orangutan) we can expect to join Serious Cruncher - maybe more will follow.

Yes, nap, we could go home again against all odds.
This is Base Camping at its best.
Everyone is invited to become part this invigorating experience that lifts your mood when it all comes together like this.....
La vie en rose

Dear stefada!
You overwhelm us. You spoil us. I don’t recall one single trek that has been as pretty and full of all kinds of adventures as this one.

This time, we will visit the "Rougier de Camares". This place is very original, because the earth is loaded with argillites, which gives it a red color. Some say it sounds like a mini Colorado.

Breathtaking, stefada. Colorado is red but in addition to being red, this "Rougier de Camares” has a scenery quite different. These gentle shapes and curves are really special. I really look forward to this. Have found suitable footwear already – and nothing steep – nothing to be afraid of.
I think the red hills are rock-like, aren’t they? I mean: They will kick back if you kick them believing they are gravel ….

What I particularly like is to see how landscapes change with the seasons. On the following photos, if there was not this tree a little lost all alone, it would be hard to believe that they are all from the same place.

That’s so true. Do you know what? I’ll have to spend an entire year to take it all in. Those photos really emphasize how different it is …. Beautiful!
And speaking about seasons. I have one more thing I want to see in my lifetime (did the heather on the graves at Bergen-Belsen and the tulips in Keukenhof in the Netherlands). The thing is lavender fields – lavender fields in bloom. Do you have them in your region? If not, I’m sure I could make a trip from Tarn et Garonne.

Après cette balade dans les environs, nous visiterons Camares, le village. Avec son vieux pont qui date environ du XIème siècle, l'église Saint Michel, et l'église Sainte Croix, dont la particularité est d'avoir une grande statue de la Vierge au sommet de son clocher.

And one more precious bridge from ancient times! Same clean style but still different. Those builders were artist, weren’t they? And two more churches. You hit smack in the middle of my affection. As often as possible I stop at churches and also go inside if they are open, because I admire the works of art they are; everyone unique.

Aha! You know the patrons of the vaulted restaurant where we’ll dine. And I’m sure "le cœur nous en dit" to go on a trip to the water. It will probably be a moonlight trip with all we have done. And where will the water be?

I’m embarrassed to talk as if the trip was only for me, but I’m certain I speak on behalf of nap and fata morgana deltavee as well.
Thank you ever so much, stefada. You have taken much pains making these daytrip arrangements, so please accept Base Camps sincere thanks.

Let me show you an old bridge just some 5 km from my home.
Once again, thank you ever so much
I'll be ready at daybreak, stefada

No, Stefada, I don't. This must be a Google Translate slip of the tongue. You have all kinds of merits.

And there is plenty of wild lavender in the area. My parents picked them up and planted in their garden. The perfume is very pleasant on foot, and after it is put in sachet to slip into the laundry. Opening the cabinet becomes a pleasure.

I'm very pleased to hear that. And we also put these lavender sachets in our linen closets. As much as I would love to spend an entire year in your area, the lavenders more or less determines that mid-July would be a good time, right?

Looking forward to today's surprise:
A Gallo Roman site .... well, something the Romans built?
An aquaduct?
One more pretty bridge?
An amphitheater?
Time and Stefada will tell.

In the meantime, let me tell you a fairy tale:
Once upon a time, a young vigorous team entered the WCG Forums and crunched like mad. Their team thread was like a large litter of puppies playing. Until one day one of the puppies became unwell and sadly that was the end of a happy team thread.

I interacted with them and crunched with them for more than the duration of a Base Camp Trek, and all while I was hibernating, my account - non-producing account was with Crunching@EVGA . They were naturally born Base Campers, so they went on Base Camp treks.
Well, I contacted them yesterday (have an account with their forum), and OlddanIT from Crunching@EVGA has already joined SeriousCrunchers to sujo1's undivided delight. bill1024 promised in this thread to drop some production.
And I don't even think they were on the Crunching@EVGA team in my days - or maybe that's why
One more - with an orangutan avatar - has announced that he probably shall join SeriousCrunchers very soon, and I have in fact noticed at least two more Crunching@EVAG people making reconnaissance raids this morning.
I hope they liked what they saw, and I for one would love them to become openly active on WCG again.
Please give them a very friendly welcome

Tout d'abord, bienvenue à OlddanIT et bill1024 ! Qu'on ne sera jamais de trop à participer au WCG. Et puis, comme on dit chez nous : "Les amis de mes amis sont mes amis".
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First of all, welcome to OlddanIT and bill1024! That we will never be too much to participate in the WCG. And then, as we say at home: "Friends of my friends are my friends".





Et maintenant, en avant pour une nouvelle visite !

Nous sommes à 2Km de Condatomagos (le nom latin de Millau), là où le Tarn et la Dourbie se rencontrent. Au Ier siècle après J.C, alors que Tibère est Empereur, ce site ayant toutes les ressources nécessaires à portée de la main (argile de qualité, eau et bois), il devient la plus grande fabrique de poteries fines de tout l'Empire Romain. On a retrouvé des poteries produites ici, bien sûr dans l'Empire Romain d'Occident, mais aussi en Allemagne, en Grèce, en Syrie, en Egypte, et sur les côtes de la Mer Noire. Ce monopôle durera jusqu'au début du IIème sciècle, quand d'autres sites commenceront à faire concurrence, et la prodcution continuera jusqu'à la moitié du IIIème siècle.

Le temps a passé, mais des fouilles ont permis de révéler La Graufesenque, et même si il ne reste que des ruines, ça donne une assez bonne idée de ce que ça pouvait être à l'époque.
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And now, forward for a new visit!

We are 2Km from Condatomagos (the Latin name of Millau), where the Tarn and Dourbie meet. In the 1st century AD, while Tiberius is Emperor, this site having all the necessary resources at hand (quality clay, water and wood), it becomes the largest fine pottery factory in the entire Roman Empire. We have found pottery produced here, of course in the Western Roman Empire, but also in Germany, Greece, Syria, Egypt, and on the shores of the Black Sea. This monopoly will last until the beginning of the 2nd century, when other sites will begin to compete, and the production will continue until half of the 3rd century.

Time has passed, but excavations have revealed La Graufesenque, and even if there are only ruins, it gives a pretty good idea of ​​what it could be at the time.


Vue générale du site / General view of the site



Le très grand four de potier (on peut rentrer dedans debout) / The very large potter's oven (we can go in standing)



Un des deux temples / One of the two temples



Maison à hypocauste (le chauffage par le sol qu'utilisaient les romains) / Hypocaust house (the underfloor heating used by the Romans)



Ce qui est extraordinaire, c'est que certaines des poteries qui ont été fabriquées en ce lieu, sont encore intactes aujourd'hui ! Toutes une partie du musée de Millau y est d'ailleurs consacrée. La production était essentiellement consacrée à la vaisselle de table, et donc des œuvres assez simples (même si pour l'époque ...).
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What is extraordinary is that some of the pottery that was made here is still intact today! All part of the museum Millau is also dedicated. The production was mainly devoted to tableware, and therefore quite simple works (even if for the time ...).



Mais il pouvait y avoir des commandes, et là, c'est tout simplement du grand Art.
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But there could be orders, and there is simply great art.







Je ne sais pas vous, mais je trouve fascinant que des gens aient pu fabriquer ça, il y a environ 2000 ans.
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I don't know about you, but I find it fascinating that people were able to make that, about 2000 years ago.





PS : Mi-Juillet est un très bon moment pour vernir.
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PS: Mid-July is a very good time to come.

It has not been easy to revive Base Camp, and noone promised me it would be so.
nap said yes. Openly.
deltavee said yes. Covertly.
I even e-mailed - that's how far out I was - all the way to ultimaThule, who probably
- - - you may sing this:
would have said yes
to a woman in distress
were it not for company policy.
I had no feedback from the regular crunchers on WCG, so I jumped over the fence, so to speak, and tried out some direct marketing asking if any Crunching@EVGA'ers would be interested.
Now SeriousCrunchers has been effectively reinforced by these new names who have skipped other scheduled plans and commitments in order to be listed on the
payroll:
bill1024
OlddanIT
Punchy with his old Punchy@BC - BC for Base Camp - profile
tanner2
yodap
thank you ever so much Crunching@EVGAers
- regular WCG crunchers are still more than welcome to help
SeriousCrunchers make 'una bella figura' in this upcoming challenge.
Captain sujo1 will give you a choice of an upper, a middle or a lower bunk bed
Of course we have a camp where you can pitch your tent as well

And a happy ending to my fairy tale two weeks back:
The little boy with the sincere look in his brown eyes behind his glasses has returned the Barbie and Disney DVDs which he and I checked out on my account at the library on time.

So many beautiful things happening ....