I get no kick from champagne

Not strictly true, a bit of artistic license as actual champagne has been in short supply here, but we are having a good time learning about it and seeing it growing on trees (well, vines).  We liked Epernay, and the weather was good so we stayed a few days.  We arrived to learn that there was a ‘son et lumiere’ at one of the champagne houses, starting at 10 pm.  We managed to keep awake long enough to walk into town to see it and it was great, a very inventive fast moving champagne themed animation, with music,  projected onto the entire facade of the building.  It is difficult to describe but they really used the windows, columns, shutters etc to good effect – even the statue (prancing horse with rider) in front of the building was lit to fit the story, eg when the animation was about can-can nightclubs the horse was wearing fish-net stockings.  OK, perhaps you had to be there.

Trompe d'oeil in Epernay

We did the obligatory tour round a champagne house (Georges Cartier – never heard of it but never mind) and cellars, with tasting – and a taste was all you got, but it was nice fizz in a nice glass.  Of course we could have bought some to take away, but the good stuff is as expensive as it is at home, unlike other wines and beers.  It is amazing that all the ‘real’ champagne in the world is made in such a small area.  It is a complex and highly regulated business, eg the date for the beginning of the harvest is set by law, and varies with the season and weather etc.  At the moment they think it will be 20^th September.

We also went for a short bike ride/push around the nearest ‘grand cru’ champagne village, Cumieres.  It was a bit steep up into the vineyards, but worth it on a lovely sunny day.  The village was pretty with lots of tiny independent champagne houses (it seemed like every other house) who apparently make some of their own champagne and also sell grapes and juice to the bigger and well known houses.  We didn’t see any for sale though.

Some of the 15,000 independent producers of champagne

We moved on from Epernay and drove through some more champagne villages, and so did what we had planned to in May if it hadn’t been raining so hard.  As a last attempt to find some ‘artisan’ champagne, we made for a France Passion site near Troyes, which was supposed to be run by a champagne producer.  Hey ho – out of business we think, although the FP site is still there and very well appointed too.  Just as well, as about an hour after we pitched up, a convoy of 5 motorhomes hove into view and pitched beside us.  They turned out to be a very friendly bunch of German, Belgian and Dutch campers who were members of the NSU Wankel-Spider owners club (a small red sports car manufactured in the 1970s, if you are as confused as we were).  They were charming and we sat and had tea and cakes with them.  By the time we had finished a Danish family and a French couple had also arrived.  So much for a small quiet site!  None-the-less it was delightful, parked among the fruit trees on the edge of a small village.

Sheila and friend in Troyes

Now we are at Troyes Municipal Camp site, which is much better than it sounds.   Troyes has been a revelation, it is a very attractive town with lots of three storey half timbered houses painted in pastel colours, some lovingly restored, others seemingly about to fall down.  We have spent two half days wandering the streets and visiting various churches in various styles.  The cathedral was by far the best, to our way of thinking; while we were there they were playing a sung mass over the sound system which was really echo-y, in a good way, it was very atmospheric.  Claim to fame –Joan of Arc stayed there on her way to Reims.

Typical old street in Troyes

Tomorrow we are off again, in search of the source of the Moselle, which is somewhere around Epinal.  Plan A (to follow the Moselle to where it flows into the Rhine) is still on, stopping to walk, cycle and imbibe at regular intervals on the way.

On the road again

Hello, me again.  You may well have received this automatically because, earlier in the summer, you subscribed to my blog.  We are back on the road and I am blogging again, so if you are tired of my ramblings now is the time to unsubscribe from the blog.

First a quick catch up.  We returned home from France at the end of June to find the garden very lush, to say the least, after such a wet spring and got straight to work to make it look presentable for the ‘Open Gardens’ weekend in mid-July.  Amazingly we had a dry weekend, lots of visitors, and a good time was had by all.  Later in July Ray’s Mum came to visit for a few days and she chose a really sunny week so we got out and about with her, including a great day at the Sandringham Flower Show.  Then Olympic fever took hold and we watched and enjoyed hours of telly, one of the best things was seeing sports we knew nothing about and don’t usually see.  Almost made me get on my bike.  Finally we enjoyed a lovely family weekend at a very posh hotel, to celebrate my Mum and Dad’s Diamond Wedding anniversary.  How good is that?

Now we are back in France in the motorhome.  Plan A is to go towards Epinal, which is pretty much the source of the Moselle, and to follow it downstream (North) till it turns into the Mosel and eventually flows into the Rhine at Koblenz.  But as ever the route will depend on weather, serendipity and the availability of camp sites and places to see.

We arrived yesterday at La Chaumière at Buysscheure (no idea how to pronounce that) thanks to a recommendation from friends Wyn and Chris.  This is small, very friendly site near St Omer, so not very far from Calais.  We decided to stay two nights as we generally rush through the northern départements in a bid to get somewhere more exciting, and we have been for a lovely walk today through rolling fields and a marshy nature reserve.  The highlight of the walk was definitely the ‘bac à chaîne’ which you had to use to cross the river – it was a flat bottomed boat attached to both banks by a long chain.  We probably should have translated ‘bac à chaîne’ (tub at chain?) from the description of the walk before we set off!  The waymarks were painted on the boat, which was a nice touch.

Tomorrow we are heading for Épernay in the Champagne region and this time we are determined to sample some bubbly as we pass through.  The weather forecast is good............

Home at last

This will be the final post for this trip – we thought we had better sign off by saying we had got home safely!

As soon as we left Aubazine on Monday we were back under the low cloud and it rained on and off all the way to Cheverny, just south of Blois.  We stopped overnight at a France Passion site at Cours Cheverny, and parked up in the vineyard.  Lovely, apart from the drizzle.  The family gave us a good wine tasting, (I must learn to empty my glass after tasting, not drink it all, it starts to taste better and better) and as we were on the way home we bought a few bottles.  They obviously have a lot of visitors as the tasting cellar was very attractively set out, with chandeliers made from empty wine bottles.

So the last couple of days were mostly on the road, with no dramas, thank goodness.  Our last night was spent at Guines, just outside Calais.  It is a lovely site, but at the end of June it becomes a bit of a transit camp, full of people like us just staying for one night before crossing the channel, just before the high season prices and the French holidays start.

We had a wonderful trip and saw some amazing sights.  We feel so privileged and blessed to be able to take the time and travel around in our (motor)home from home.  Especially so this year, as while we were away  our dear friend Flo became very poorly and, in fact, passed away earlier this week.  We are very grateful to everyone who let us know what was happening at home so that we were able to share the situation in a small way.  Flo was a wonderful lady with an enormous heart for other people, she will be very much missed by all who knew her.

So that’s it, we hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures, and here’s to the next time! 

     

Isaiah dancing

Only a few more days now, tomorrow we start seriously driving towards Calais.  I have checked the tunnel crossing and we are definitely booked to come home on Thursday, so we need to be at our last stop (already booked) on Wednesday night.

Today we are in the middle of nowhere, not very far from Brive, as the crow flies.  It is incredibly peaceful and we have been very lucky that the weather has continued sunny and hot.  We went for a lovely walk yesterday, through the forest to the nearest village of any note (Aubazine).  The route went along the side of a gorge for a long way so we had some great views.  Part of the way follows a small canal that was built by monks in the 12^th century to supply water to their abbey.  Cut into the hillside high above the gorge it was an amazing feat of engineering.  We found a perfect picnic spot at the bottom of a pair of waterfalls.  Fortunately, the cafe (for beer) and the cake shop (for fruit tarts) in Aubazine were open on the way back.

Aubazine square

 Since my last post we have been busy making the most of our last week.  Last year we by-passed Albi, but thought it looked an interesting place to go, so as it was sort of en route, we stopped for a quick visit.  We stayed in a campsite called ‘Albirondack’ which kind of says it all – it is themed like a north American ranch with log cabins and a lot of bear-related posters and signs, quite surreal.  It was the most expensive site we have ever used, so strictly for one night only, but it was very well appointed and they even delivered the morning bread order to our pitch!  Location is everything though, and the shady footpath which took us into the town centre was perfect.  The main reason for visiting Albi is the cathedral, a huge brick affair which stands above the town, really spectacular and spectacularly difficult to photograph.  Inside, the walls and ceilings are painted all over in rich colours, quite different from the many plain churches and cathedrals we have seen, maybe they were all like that once.  The other point of interest in Albi is the Toulouse-Lautrec museum, but it was such a hot day we decided to give that a miss and sit in a cafe for a while instead.  The museum is housed in old palace buildings and gardens, which had lovely views over the river Tarn.

Parterre garden at Albi

Albi - view across the Tarn

Albi cathedral

A few kilometres further on and we were in Cordes-sur-ciel, one of the hill-top ‘bastides’ or fortified villages which are very common in this region.  It is clearly a very popular place to visit and there is a huge parking area/aire suitable for leaving a motorhome, and even stopping overnight.  Cordes is lovely, with tiny, steep, winding streets and the remains of the gates and walls which fortified the town from the 12^th century.  Later, in the 15^th or 16^th century Cordes became wealthy through the trade in ‘pastel’ a blue plant based dye, so many beautiful and expensive looking Italian-style town houses were built.

Cordes sur ciel

Cordes sur ciel

 We spent that night at a remote France Passion site belonging to an English couple who had left the rat race some 20 years ago and become wine growers.  They were out at a market and had left their teenage son and daughter in charge, so we had a good chat to them about their school and college prospects – typically neither of them wanted to take over the business, they wanted to live in the city and do something easier... I bet they change their minds eventually!  Anyway they were delightful and cheerfully sold us some wine – another one of those occasions when one thinks ‘I don’t think this would be allowed in England’ like children riding pillion on motorscooters.

View from our 'pitch' at Domaine Merchien

The route from Cordes to Aubazon is through beautiful countryside, gradually changing from very steep gorges and rocky outcrops to hilly, but mostly less dramatic, farmland. We called in at Souillac, to visit yet another abbey, this time with famous 12^th century sculptures.  The life size sculpture of Isaiah shows him dancing, dressed in flowing robes, a lovely image, much more human somehow than my usual idea of Isaiah as a rather severe old man! 

Isaiah dancing, Souillac

   

So for the next few days we will be traveling back slowly to Calais, stocking up on wine and beer on the way.  But now it’s off to the pool, just one more time.

We'll follow the sun

Sun, sun, sun – did I mention it is sunny here?  We are now in the Haute Languedoc national park, a bit inland, as the weather in France in general seems to be improving – hope it is in England too, we have heard that the drought restrictions have been lifted.

 

We left Saintes Maries de la Mer, in the Camargue, as we were gradually losing the battle with the mosquitos.  On our last day there we went back into the town for a last call at one of the superlative ice cream parlours and a look round the cathedral.  The cathedral crypt was amazingly hot and stuffy from hundreds of votive candles; not content with the 2 Saintes Maries that the town is named for, there is also a shrine to St Sarah.  Apparently this saint is particularly important to the ‘gitanes’ (gypsy travellers) and in late May her statue is paraded into the sea.  We were beginning to wonder if there was enough oxygen in the crypt, then thought that the candles would go out before we expired, but it didn’t feel very healthy.  Saintes Maries also has a bull ring, but the French version of entertainment with bulls is less damaging to the bull than the Spanish – the men have to grab tassles tied round the bulls’ horns, within a 15 minute time limit, so it sounded more dangerous for the men than the bulls, but we didn’t go and find out.

We decided to follow the sun along the coast so we travelled west to Agde.  I wouldn’t rush to book a fortnight, but it made a very pleasant stay and was indeed sunny, most of the time.  We arrived in hot sunshine and decided to walk to the beach to have a look, which was lovely along the path by the river Herault as it flowed into the sea.   We saw some black clouds blowing up over the sea, but didn’t take much notice as they didn’t seem to be coming our way.  Back at the campsite we were making dinner when it started to rain and a ferocious squall lifted the awning off the tie-downs, not a happy sight.  We could only think to haul it in, despite the now torrential rain, so team Mathias leapt into action with me hanging on to the awning for dear life while Ray pattered about in the developing quagmire pulling out the remaining pegs and winding it in.  It must have provided the evening’s entertainment for our neighbours.  Even before it had stopped raining, the site staff came round and laid down pallets so we could cross from the van to dry land!

Agde is in three parts, the fishing port where we stayed, the city (tiny town), and the ‘cap’  - a purpose built resort.  The city was unexpectedly pretty, with narrow three storey houses built from the local stone which is black basalt – looks like black pumice stone – and a fortified cathedral.  It is also very ancient, founded by the Greeks on the site of an old Phoenician settlement.  On the edge of the town there is a circular lock that connects the Canal du Midi to the river Herault.  It has three exits, so three sets of gates, which was unusual and interesting for those interested in locks.  The third picture is a huge trompe d'oeil painting on the side of several houses - much better than a blank wall. 

Agde, cathedral

Agde, circular lock

Agde, trompe d'oeil

The beaches are long, sandy and windswept, but the weather was so good (did I mention the sun?) that we had a couple of days real seaside holiday and actually swam in the sea – well, we didn’t spend all that time driving to the Med without swimming in it, even if it was freezing.  Ray, of course, is now as brown as a berry; I have gone for the Neapolitan look – brown, pink and white stripes.  Praise the Lord for sunblock.

Now we have turned inland and are up in the hills at St Pons de Thomieres.  It is stunningly beautiful and we have cycled to Olargues, one of the ‘plus beaux villages de France’ (most beautiful villages in France) – I don’t know what you have to do to become one, but there are a lot of them.  Anyway, it was lovely, especially as there is a cycle path along an old railway track from the campsite, which is great to cycle on and relatively flat.  Today being the hottest day we have had so far, we decided to go for a tramp in the hills – again a spectacularly good walk, with superb views up and down the valley.  And for our birding friends, we have serins flying around – they are probably quite common here, but something new for our lifetime list, and doing what the book says – singing from tree tops and looking like escaped canaries!

Olargues

Chapel with blue sky

voie verte cycle path

view from the cycle path

Pretty flamingo

First things first – we are now in possession of a fully functional new water pump, expertly installed by the on-board engineer I thought to take with me.  The owner of the campsite near Aix had told us there was a motorhome dealership about 15 km away, so with the help of the sat-nav and the interweb we established where it was and that it had an accessories shop. Well, nearly right, just that the shop was decidedly low on accessories and the staff clearly weren’t expecting customers.  Although the ‘pompe’ section was bare of ‘pompes’, we found someone to ask, who ferreted around under the counter and came up with a basket of suitable ‘pompes’. So we bought one and Ray connected it up in minutes while we were still parked on the forecourt, and hey presto all the water systems are working again, hallelujah!

We had a great time at the site near Aix, it was really peaceful, the scenery was spectacular and the weather just about perfect.  We made an assault on Mont St Victoire, but the mountain won, it was just too far, too hot and too up.  But we had a great walk and completed a circular route which took in a huge dam and lake, a lot of mountain, and lots of extraordinary rock formations.  In fact we were so impressed that we stayed an extra day and did another circular walk, flatter this time, but also with lovely views, wild flowers and herby provencal vegetation.

Next we moved on to Arles, via the pump shop and then the supermarket, to replenish the fridge.  Arles is worth a visit for the Roman remains and the Van Gogh connection but for some reason we didn’t take to it as we did to Aix.  It may have been the overcast weather or the way the bus went in through a huge shabby retail park, or even, as the Rough Guide puts it, the laissez-faire attitude to rubbish collection, but somehow the whole place looked a bit unloved.  Nevertheless the Roman amphitheatre and especially the arena next door are quite stunning and there are lots of pretty squares and other buildings of note. There is a ‘Van Gogh trail’ which takes you to places he painted, marked with a board in the street showing the painting in question, at the position he would have placed his easel.  The best one was the hospital where he stayed for a while as it has a lovely flower-filled courtyard and has been kept painted in the same colours as Van Gogh’s painting.

Now we have moved a bit further south and are in the Camargue with the flamingos and mosquitos.  We are staying in a campsite at Saintes Maries de la mer, right on the coast.  It was incredibly windy when we arrived, so everything filled up with sand, but it kept the mosquitos down.  We stopped at a museum and nature reserve on the way, and saw some really top birds – lots of flamingos, stilts and glossy ibis, and a superb display of 5 or so bee-eaters flying around on the wind, beautiful iridescent colours as they twisted and turned.  We also heard a cuckoo – only our second on this trip. Yesterday was flat calm and overcast, a perfect day for a long cycle ride – a lovely route along a dyke between the marshes and the sea.  Today has been sunny and hot again, and we have been to a nearby bird reserve – Norfolk friends think Titchwell/Pensthorpe, add 20 degrees of heat and a couple of hundred flamingos and you get the picture.  Best bird today has to be the night heron which did a fly-past as we were sitting in the cafe at the end of the visit!