Our Blog - Pyrénées - Eus, FranceThe village of Eus is another of the Plus Beaux Villages in France. It sits on a hill with the façades of the houses tumbling down the side of the hill. This old defensive site had to push back the French in the 16th century and the Spanish army in the 18th century. There really isn't too much in the town, but we took some time to walk around, looking at the Saint-Vincent church, and then descending a few steep alleys paved with pebbles to get a drink at the Place de la Republic.
When we were having a couple drinks, the owner of the place we were sitting at brought their dog, actually an 8-month-old puppy, over and had him tied up nearby. It was just close enough for Lucy to go over and say hello, and they did a little bit of playing ... as much as 2 puppies on leashes can do!
There are two churches with the name Église Saint-Vincent, but the one in the village is called Église Saint-Vincent-d'en-Haut, as it is on top of a rocky hill overlooking the village. Its construction lasted from 1726 to 1743 and it is built on the site of the old Volta castle. We were unable to go inside the church but we could look. None of the side chapels were visible, only the main altar. This has lovely Baroque altarpiece, again by Paul Sunyer. In the center, around the Virgin, are the protective saints: Saint Gregory the Great, Jerome and Jacques the Major on the left, which are counterpart to the right at Ambroise, Augustin and Blaise. At the foot of the Virgin, Vincent, patron of the church is represented with the wheel of his martyrdom, while on both sides, carved panels represent the presentation at the temple and the flight to Egypt.
A few pictures as we were heading back to the car, mainly of the countryside, but one of a cactus with a lovely bloom.
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