Beyond Fort de Planoise

I fell ill on Friday and slept all afternoon – then I did the same most of Saturday morning.  By the late afternoon I was going stir-crazy and suggested a hike.  André refused at first, saying I needed to stay in bed – but I thought I must be better.  We headed up to check out the battlements near Fort de Planoise.  I was also hoping to find some muguets.  Muguets are a small flower that is traditionally shared on May 1st as a symbol of fortune for the upcoming year.  It is also, of course, May Day, Beltane, and in France, Labor Day. (In fact, the US labor day also used to be in May – then it was moved to September).  It is a national holiday, but this year, since it is on a Saturday, we didn’t get a day off work.  For more information on muguet (our lily of the valley) in France see here for history and here for another expat’s view – includes the traditional May Day muguet song! We looked all over, and saw lots of flowers but we didn’t find muguets.  Griffin was lucky enough to get some from a classmate on Monday, so I guess we still have a chance for a lucky year.  We still had a wonderful (though rainy) hike and saw some great views, explored some amazing old barracks and powder houses.  We also said hi to the goats we had escorted a few weeks ago.  It seems they run free all day until the farmers call them back into their pen every night.  They have a few dogs that help out.  We splashed in puddles and played with the snails – who were all over the place.

 

Just a typical Saturday in Besancon for us!