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A Walk About Town is hosted by Natalie over at Coffee and a Book Chick.

This past weekend (3/24-25) was a truly lovely one in Houston, and we have been starved for good weather recently: it almost didn’t rain at all in 2011, so we’ve been seeing drought, dead trees, and wildfires; and in the first few months of 2012 it has done almost nothing but rain. We skipped winter (it stayed above 60 degrees most of the time) and fear another hot summer. But! This past weekend was a dream: sunny, light breeze, upper 70’s. Okay, it got well into the 80’s, but I’m not complaining.

So of course on Saturday Husband and I were riding our bikes around town. It was a nice day for exploring, and we were on our usual route east of town. I normally do this ride in the dark, in the early morning or evening, and it’s always a treat to see it in daylight. This was finally the day to explore something I’d been curious about for some time. We ride by a large piece of property that is all overgrown vegetation and fenced with barbed wire at the top, angled inward, as if they’re trying to keep someone or something in rather than out. I’ve been told it’s a convent, which seems like an odd place to employ inward-facing barbed wire. We rode around until we found an open gate, and entered.

This turns out to be the Villa de Matel, run by the Sisters of Charity. It is even larger than I thought, and beautiful! We took some pictures with Husband’s iPhone; this magical device often takes the best pictures we get on our vacations and whatnot, but it didn’t do so well on this day in the sunshine. Maybe it’s better indoors? At any rate, I am sharing the pictures even though they’re not professional or ideal. What do you want, we were on our bicycles.

This was our view as we entered: big beautiful building, statues, fountains, and greenery. It was dreamy.

A lovely little grotto with trickling fountain, alter, seating, and a skylight above a statue of the Virgin so that presumably under ideal conditions she’s lit up from above. (That’s me in red.)

No plaque here, but I liked the statue. Three nuns. Acting as nurses? (The bag on the right looks like a medical bag.)

The grounds were really highlighted by the sunshine, and so green!

There was more. I wish we’d gotten more, and better pictures. There was a little neighborhood of residences; there was a swimming pool, and various buildings and facilities including a conference center. And the side that we normally ride by, all overgrown, is a natural area with a footpath. The sign entering the footpath was funny and I wish I’d gotten a picture of it: to paraphrase, “beware! uneven ground – water occasionally pools – watch out for wildlife including armadillos, possums, raccoons and snakes!” The entire grounds were beautiful, and as I said, at their best in the greenery and sunshine. The buildings were lovely. And it was – perhaps as you’d expect – peaceful and quiet, its own little world. I’m glad we took the time to explore.

Discovered anything new in your hometown lately?

Be advised: I’m out of town, so you’re viewing pre-scheduled posts until April 9. I love your comments and will respond when I return! But I’ll be out of touch for a bit. Thanks for stopping by!

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