In Le Pouzin

May 13, 2025

Our hotel includes a well-regarded restaurant and offers breakfast, but not today. There is still no one else here other than presumably st least one other guest, so Rachael and I go down to a bakery about a third of a mile away. She walks and I bike, partly because even such a pathetically short walk has become a challenge for me, but also because I want to go just a bit further to have a look at one of Le Pouzin's premier attractions - like Viviers, this village has its own two thousand year old Roman bridge. This one is even older though, probably dating back to the early first century AD, and is quite different - it's a single arch 14 meters wide crossing the Ouvèze River just before it empties into the Rhone.

The Roman bridge at Le Pouzin has been functional for over two millennia. Surprisingly, it was still open to automobile traffic as recently as a few years ago.

So that was well worth the trip, as was the bakery. There's no place to sit, so we each walk out with our two pastries and polish them off back in the room, washing them down with instant coffee brewed with the help of our immersion coil.

The pedestrian bridge across the Ouvèze provides a much quieter option for getting back to our side of town.

It's another hike and bike day, with Rachael planning a walk up the ridge on the other side of the Ouvèze while I plan to test out the Voie Douce de la Payre, the paved greenway that follows the course of a former rail line along the Payre from Le Pouzin to Privas, the administrative center of the department. Rachael has some challenging climbing ahead, but my outing looks like a relaxing cruise, just enough of a workout to earn me a second meal at yesterday's restaurant. We leave the hotel at nine, with the agreement that we'll be back in town at one, and hopefully early enough to be assured of getting seated for lunch.

The Voie Verte starts right at the end of town, generally following the Rhone for the first three miles before crossing the Peyre

I'm including this photo of an Eurasian collared dove, a bird we see every day, to brag on myself. After reminding myself almost daily for the last week I finally remembered last night to listen to this sounds of this bird and the mourning dove, so now I know which of them wakes me up in the morning.its this guy.

I was sure I'd be able to identify this, but I give up. Just some chateau, probably a hotel now.

The Alyssas Viaduct, the largest of the viaducts on this line.

I'm not really sure if I'll reach Privas because I'm in a time box again. I figure I need to turn around by around 11:15 to make it back in time for our lunch date, but when that time comes and I'm only a mile away I continue on, take a quick look, and turn back. Not much energy gets expended on the return ride, which for most of the way passes on a comfortable, fast 1-2% glide.

Privas may not be a top tourist draw, but as the prefecture (capital) of the Ardèche, it's distinguished for being the smallest administrative center of any department in France.

Here's another identification challenge I struggled with, thinking it was a church. It's the Sainte-Marie Hospital, a psychiatric facility.

Looking east across the Rhone, it's easy to imagine we'll see snow when we get nearer to the Italian border.

This lucky shot took me aback. It's always startling to get a good look at starlings in a good light and see how colorful they are.

I make it back to town about five minutes late, but I'm fine - Rachael's still a half mile off when I give her a call. I check first at our hotel to validate that it's closed, but then bike back to CheZelle and find a quite different scene today. The outdoor deck is almost full, but I grab the last free table and ten minutes Rachael shows up to join me.

While we wait for our server to bring around the menu board Rachael fills me in on her hike, which in spite of a steep stretch where she had to abandon the trail for a quiet paved road was probably the best hike she's had since we arrived in Bari a month ago.she pulls out her phone to show me what she's brought back, and then our attention turns to the menu of the day.