My new Frenchy family doctor prescribed physiotherapy for me to try to get a handle on my persistent back and leg pain. A physical therapist is called a kinésithérapeute in French, quite the tongue twister! Mine is located in the quartier Saint-Vivien, the neighborhood around the church of Saint-Vivien. This is also the neighborhood which is home to Saintes’ 1st-century Roman thermal bath called the Saint-Saloine baths, which you may recollect from my April 2013 post. I felt it was a good omen that my Kinésio-guy was located practically next door to the ancient Roman bath.

Last week’s sessions were pretty late in the afternoon and I took my time walking home after my treatment, taking in the small sights and the more in-your-face images of life in Saintes. Our new hometown is a small city of about 30k inhabitants, it’s comfortable, pretty and at time downrigtht gorgeous.

So, do you want to walk home with me?

I just have to grin every time I pass this one-room-per-floor skinny madam of a home just a few houses down from my therapist’s place. From here I turn into the tiny rue Saloine and proceed past this funky home.

As has happened a few times before, this post, ehmm, self-posted. I must be seriously click-challenged since this occurs with some frequency, for which I apologise. A few people have already read this foreshortened story, so I just call it Part One and move on the Part Two for the next part of my walk. See you there!