Only a short amount of driving today and we are heading to Avallon, Vezelay and then stopping in Auxerre for the night.
Avallon: is a walled town overlooking the River Cousin. We find a terrible parking spot for Vinnie on the main road, but couldn’t find anywhere else, so walked into the historic quarter and the Tour de l’Horloge (15th century clock tower). It is very quiet in the old quarter this time in the morning, so we wander into the old church (Collegial St-Lazare) which apparently was flocked too about eight centuries ago as it was believed the a part of the skill of St Lazarus gave you protection from Leprosy. Unfortunately it is relatively derelict and in need of some serious renovations. It is also sad to say that one medieval town after another is starting to cause a blur in the old memory and things are seriously starting to look alike. Scott has a theory on the number of flowerpots and is now just looking at them to see which ones are nicer.
Vezelay: Now a Unesco World Heritage Site with great camper van/motorhome parking facilities (6EUR per day – you can’t camp overnight, but there is information where you can). It is a tiny hilltop village topped by a medieval basilica (still in use today). This town is on the Santiago de Compostela in Spain and we saw a lot of trekkers, including Scouts. You start the walk in town at the Place du Champ de Foire (the tourist office is located near here although they didn’t have any information in English) and can visit the Porte Neuve, Maison Jules Roy and Chapelle de la Cordelle before going into the Basilique Ste Marie-Madeline. The streets are all cobblestone streets which are bordered by art galleries, restaurants and wine shops. Everyone aims to get to the Basilique Ste-Madeleine which was founded in 880 AD and subsequently rebuilt between the 11th and 13th centuries and then again in 1940. It is a peaceful church considering how many people were there and very simply furnished – other than the nun who was oblivious to the note that said about silence as she dragged her vacuum cleaner along the aisle. The Basilique is a mixture of gothic and Romanesque architectural styles and you can then wander in the grounds to see the countryside below.
What is nice is that the church is still used today and is very much a working church and the nuns and priests are very prevalent in the church and also the village where they run a local shop.
We headed back down the streets to a restaurant with a terrace and just made it in before the usual French lunchtime hoards arrived.
Auxerre: We arrived in Auxerre and joined a small queue for the municipal campsite (Eur 13.60 per night including electricity) which is approximately 20 minutes walk from the medieval part of the town. We unpacked and set up camp and then headed off to walk along the river. This campsite has the weirdest configuration for electricity. Once you set up camp, the lady from reception comes out and unlocks the electricity box and then puts in your cable – when you leave she has to come back and unlock and unplug it! Auxerre used to be a port in Roman times, but the river is now probably only used for tourists travelling along the river system in their boats and barges.
At the top of Auxerre is the Cathedrale St-Etienne, so up we go again. I do wonder if these towns were just designed to ensure I have to walk uphill constantly. Not as old as the nearby Abbaye St-Germain, the Cathedral has been dated to the 11th century. We wander back down through the pedestrianised streets and a different way back to the municipal campsite to enjoy some of the last of the days rays.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011: Chambord, Blois and Amboise
Well the beautiful day from yesterday certainly changed overnight with thunder and lighting and lots of rain. So we set off on our long drive today driving through some villages that were deluged. Eventually we made it to Chambord.
Chateau de Chambord: We aren’t visiting many chateaux, so I choose this one. Supposedly for its full-blown chateau splendour and one of the best examples of French Renaissance architecture. However it is also the busiest and most visited in addition to being one of the most disappointing. There is plenty of motorhome/campervan parking however, with an area dedicated which is good as the car parks were complet and this was lunchtime. Chambord started out life as a hunting lodge when it was conceived by Francois I in 1519 – it is so small don’t know why he bothered, after all 426 rooms, 77 staircases and 282 fireplaces wouldn’t fit in the usual hunting party! The double helix staircase was supposedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci who Francois I befriended. Strangely enough the chateau turned out to be too cold and nobody ever lived there permanently. Francois I only spent 72 days here during his 32 year reign so a perfect investment for the starving people of France during those times. Eventually the French Government bought the property from the Comte de Chambord’s heirs in 1930. The tour takes you through several rooms that are decorated as they may have looked during different times, notice the may bit, nothing here is original. Chambord was disappointing to say the least, there aren’t many rooms open, not much is left of the original building and the grounds are in total disarray with weeds bigger than anything else planted here. We were going to camp overnight to see the night show, but decided it would probably be as crap so headed off.
Blois: The town of Blois isn’t far from Chambord so we head here. We find a parking spot, luckily, along the riverside and witness one crash on the roundabout with a car so desperate to overtake the horse and cart is overtakes on a one lane roundabout. So far first impressions are a town of young overhyped teenagers with cars they can’t drive and road rules they ignore. Anyway as usual we walk up to the Old City. Blois suffered heavy bombardment during WWII so a lot of the modern day town is post-war reconstruction and rebuilt to how Blois might have been in medieval times. At the top of the hill is the Cathedrale St-Louis although the stained glass windows date as far back as 2000 it is a bit uninteresting inside. One good thing about Blois is that all the tourist information is also given in English. Across from the Cathedral is the facade Maison des Acrobates and one of the few 15th century houses to survive. We were going to stay here but can’t compete with the hotted up cars that have stereos we can only hope drive their occupants deaf in a short space of time, so we move on.
Amboise: This is the final resting place of Leonardo de Vinci. We head to the Camping de L’lle d’Or and the even bigger than usual queue. I snagged a spot for two nights and we head into the melee of motorhomes, campervans, antique campervans, tents and various other holiday style accommodations. We are on an islet surrounded by the Loire River, however, due to the amount of people don’t expect it to be vaguely quiet. To give you an idea, we are in spot 300. We head into Amboise for a quick look around.
We find a Carrefour and buy a few local supplies before sitting down for a beer/wine at a sidewalk cafe.
Wednesday, 3 August 2011 and Thursday, 4 August 2011: Amboise
Up early – Scott finally had a decent night sleep for the last few days, so hope his mood improves J We are heading to Chateau du clos Luce which is where Leonardo de Vinci took up residence on the invitation of the French king, Francois I in 1516 at the age of 64.
The chateau was built in 1471 on 12th century foundations and is arranged around an octagonal corner tower with two 2-story buildings at right angles. I think Leonardo was onto a good thing, as well as the house, grounds and access to the Chateau Royal d’Amboise he also had an allowance of 700 gold ecus (no idea what an ecu is, but it sounds a lot) a year and all he had to do was to talk to the King, think, design and draw. The tour through the house is interesting and well organised with information about not only da Vinci but the other people in his life. I loved the fact that his cook was vegetarian, although in his will Leonardo only gave her his coat which was made of leather. However, it is not until you read the Model Room in the basement you see Leonardo’s drawings and the models that have been done to show how his inventions or amendments to other people’s inventions were done. As Scott argued that he didn’t invent anything just stole ideas from previous generations, it was still interesting and he was certainly a prolific and prodigious worker up until he died. After the house you then walk through the gardens to see life-size examples of his works as well as large copies of his paintings in various areas of the grounds and is a great place for kids to actually get hands on with moving models and learn something at the same time. It is certainly a beautiful house and the grounds were lovely, even the vegetable patch had been recreated. Leonardo died here on 2 May 1519 and his body interred in the Chateau Royal d’Amboise.
We walk back through the town centre to the Chateau Royal d’Amboise and pick up an audio guide that takes you through the times of this Chateau. The fortifications were gradually built from 503 and overlook the town below and the Loire River making a majestic impression on the cityscape. Some of the 16thcentury structures survive as well as the Chapelle St-Hubert which is now the final resting place of da Vinci (he was originally interred in another part of the grounds). You go inside the chateau through several well decorated rooms, although the audio guide is more interesting for its comedic value in some parts.
After Henry IV moved the royal court to Paris the Chateau became a stopping point only for the Bourbon kings and gradually grew into disrepair. Napoleon gave the final order for its destruction, but one fifth of the castle survived. The grounds are well maintained and refreshing from the shambles of a garden in Chambord.
We wandered back through the town which is full and headed back to Vinnie before setting off for dinner. We found a nice restaurant that was slightly further up the pedestrian streets and had a huge meal before wandering back into the mail part of town below the chateau to watch a band whilst sipping a late night cocktail at the local bar. The band suited the situation and was very Cirque du Soleil, or as Scott called it, whimsical music.
The weather seems to be turning to drizzle, so we watched as much as we could before it started to rain heavier and headed back to the campsite.
Friday, 5 August 2011: Cognac
Up early as we have decided to head to Cognac which is about a four hour drive south. The weather is relatively miserable so sightseeing wouldn’t have been much fun and after the last couple of days we have had our fill of tourist sights. We are bypassing the motorways and heading the backroads today as it should be a more interesting drive, although if it becomes too hard to drive, it is easy here just to switch onto a motorway either paid or free. Have to say am impressed with the roads in France, but then there are so many of them. Unlike Ireland, however, they aren’t full of potholes.
We arrive at Cognac late afternoon with the same sort of drizzle as everywhere else. We are staying at the muncipal campsite, which is a tad fancier than most with a swimming pool. However, it quieter than the last few we have been too and it is only a short walk into town. We unpack and sort ourselves out and stretch out with a glass of red wine after the long drive.
Saturday, 6 August 2011: Cognac -> St Severin
Up early and into Cognac and the tourist office. We get the times for the tours of the different cognac houses and walk around the town. It is still early and the shops etc are only just starting to open up and stalls set up. We find a great parking spot for Vinnie on the river, so Scott jogs back (apparently it would be quicker than me doing it) and I stand around in the rain waiting for him to come back. By the time he gets back, he has driven from one end of town to the other with our step down (lucky there were no cyclists around) and the gas bottle still on. He didn’t do the checklist!!! We both change into dry clothes and pack everything away etc and head off to the Hennessy factory where we book into the late morning tour in English. We walk back through the medieval part of the town and have a coffee and croque monsieur to tide us over. The town centre is very pretty with the usual half timbered 15th century houses and narrow cobble lined street.
At 11:30 we join the tour of Hennessy which takes us to both sides of the River Charente to view the process involved with cognac. The tour is interesting with lots of interactive screen shows and graphics as well as the ability to go through the huge cellars and look (but don’t touch) the casks from the 1800’s that are still the basis today of the more expensive bottles of Hennessy. There are some bottles for sale at EUR6,300, bit out of our price range.
The tour ends in the tasting room where we had booked for the XO tasting and as I don’t like spirits, Scott got to drink mine as well. He was also able to have a tasting of one of the other types of cognac to compare the differences. It was an interesting experience and if you buy two tickets, you get the second one half price which was good.
On leaving Cognac it is still raining, so we decide not to stay in the town for the night, but to head near Verteillac as my cousin has a house there, but as we haven’t been able to get in contact we spent a few hours in Verteillac at the local bar, realising after a while that everybody here is English, anyway Scott got to watch the rugby with England beating Wales. We then drove to a nearby town called St Severin which had an Aires de Camping Car. We pulled in and walked through the town, what a revelation, it is only small but has everything, so we sit in the local bar watching the French playing pool (badly) with a couple of drinks. On the way back to the van we notice that in the town square a large marquee is being set up with a band playing tonight, so we head back to Vinnie to have something to eat and then wander back to the town centre to watch an english rock band playing. All very surreal, but after a few more drinks we call it a night leaving the revellers to continue dancing into the wee hours.
It starts to drizzle when we get back to Vinnie and after trying to sleep eventually give up while Scott moves the van to a place with no trees near us which helps a bit.
Sunday, 7 August 2011: St Severin
Up and the sun is shining, miracles do happen. We buy a few things at the local supermarket and head back into Verteillac to do some emails. When we get there, there is a huge monthly antique (or junk market as Scott calls it) in full swing, so we nestle down at the local pub and have a coffee doing emails and watching the world go by. As my cousin is still offline, we decide to head to a local camping spot which turns out to only be 2kms away from his house, so we get there and settle back in the sun totally chilling out. This part of France seems to be another suburb of England and we have no problems with language etc, a tad disconcerting. The campsite is great though, loads of things to do, pool, tennis court, petanque ground etc.