Another day in Ardèche

This is the second set of pictures from Ardèche. We visited the old village church that was across the way from Claude's house.

This is random, but anyone who really knows me will understand my need to take pictures of bugs.

And this one...where is my bug collection when I need it?

The view from the church was gorgeous with the mountains in the background.

Next to the church, there was a rose garden. It wasn't very well tended, but the roses were beautiful all the same.

We walked around the rose garden for a bit to enjoy the pretty day.  I liked the primitive style of this crucifix.

This is the view of the church from the back. 

We headed up the hill and stopped at a little chapel that overlooks the valley. This is where a stations of the cross starts.

From the chapel, there was a beautiful view across the valley. Claude's house is on the left, but the picture is a little too small to see it!

Here is an example of the stations of the cross. Most of the crosses inside were removed. Not sure, if they were stolen or not.

When we went back home, we ate lunch with Claude and then walked along the street behind Claude's house. The main road is actually at the back of his house since it was built way later once this street became too small.

And further down the street.

One of the famous chestnuts!

A little further out, it seemed as if we had left civilization behind!

We found a random bamboo forest growing by the side of the road.

Isabelle showed me this stone that she used to play on as a kid. At the time it was smooth and the kids could slide down it! It's amazing how quickly something like that can deteriorate.

This building and statue was erected a long time ago during one of the plagues. Apparently people prayed to Mary to keep the plague from crossing the river. It never reached their town, so they constructed this monument in honor of Mary.