Month: June 2023

Still no joy regarding getting photos posted. That will have to wait until I get back home .

Straight to Rouen which is actually in Normandy. Just when you think the churches can’t get any bigger along comes another gothic masterpiece. It’s colossal in size with towers everywhere. Joan of Arc was tried and burned at the stake in Rouen so you can imagine she’s all about the city. In fact there’s a museum just about her trial which shows the trial every hour. Also Richard the Lionhearteds heart is buried in the cript. No indication as to where the rest of his body is buried.  It’s also got a fancy one handed clock in the main pedestrian zone which is worth a look at. Nice city.

Aftetwards I made my way up to an aires near Amien but did not go into the city as I’ve been before.

Im having trouble transferring photos to my iPad for some reason so when I fix the issue I will post them. I tried to get into Versailles today but the first entry I could get was 3pm which was no good to me as I believe  you need a full day there. Plan B!!!

i went to see Monets house and gRden where he painted  his water lilies paintings. It’s NW of Paris in a small village called Giverny. The house is quite large and the garden split into two. The first garden is a manicured one with lots of flower beds. You have to go under a tunnel to get to the water garden. It’s just like yo see in the paintings and truly beautiful. Unfortunately the place was rammed with adult coach trips and also four school end of term classes. Why you would bring six or seven year olds to a place like this I have no idea.

Im staying at an aires near to Rouen tonight where I’ll visit in the morning.

Well!!! That’s was a day and a half. Best Chateau , best cathedral all in one day. Exciting stuff. Started off by heading to Blois which was about 1 1/2 hours north. The Chateau is supposed to be the best in France? It’s certainly impressive with a brilliant courtyard and lots of history. It was the seat of Henry 111 with lots of murders etc. Fascinating place.

On to Chatres which has the best cathedral in France. It’s absolutely enormous with the gothic design. I thought I’d done with churches but not so. Once your eyes get adjusted to the darkness of the interior it’s breathtaking. The stain glass windows are the original and just incredible to witness. If you don’t believe in God when you go in you will believe when you come out.

Id found an aires east of Chartres which is a municipal campsite. Right by a river and very scenic.

Well the tyres are still up so that’s a good thing. I’ve got until Saturday to get toSt Omer which is an hour outside Calais so plenty of time. I’m trying fill in time now I’ve got the wheels sorted a lot quicker that I had expected. Like done in 30 minutes.

So I decided to go back to Tours . The first part of the journey was along winding country lanes. Nothing but wheat fields to enjoy along the way. Just east of Tours there were some vineyards but mainly wheat.

Tours is the capital city of the Loire region and has civic  buildings to suit. Town hall, justice buildings etc but very impressive they are too. I did not manage to get to the cathedral as I’m churched out. No more until next year I fear.

Im parked up at an aire east of the city right on the banks of the Loire river. Very peaceful.

One thing is most noticeable over the last two days. More motor homes are on the road. The French school holidays must have started. All heading south!!!

You May or May not have noticed it but I’ve been travelling more than normal miles each day for the last few days. Over three hours is way too much for me. The reason being was that I was trying to make up a day. My front two tyres need replacing so I was attempting to make up a day to get this done. Read on!!!

Today had to be more exciting than yesterday and boy it was. I travelled up to Aubusson which took nearly two hours through forest and then wheat fields ,then corn. It’s not a particularly big town but famous for its medieval tapestry factories. There’s a fantastic museum right in the centre showing the development of the art. To be honest it’s not that brilliant but it does have some modern works by Hayao Miyazaki and also works depicting Tolkien. These are all very very cool. Gone are the dark colours showing George slaying dragon etc but in come yellows and reds. Amazing. There was one tapestry showing a tangled rope. Work of art.

Anyway further north to Bourges which is the chief town in the region of Berry. Passing the Canal de Berry on the way. Also several signs for road closures on Le Tour. One for 6th July and the other for the 12th. Exciting stuff.

I tried to get into an aires I’d closen but the annual funfair was there. So eventually picked a camp site just near the centre. On the way I spotted a tyre garage so called in to see if they could help me. I expected we can order today come back tomorrow. As would be the case in the UK. But no, they had two of my spec in stock. Get in. Okay it cost me €300 but I paid £285 for two before I left the UK. Job done.

I booked onto the campsite and walked the twenty minutes into Boules. It’s quire modern so must have been damaged badly during WW11 but the cathedral had been restored. You can see it for miles. It’s basically designed Round the Notra Dame but I could not see it myself. It a pleasant enough place but not high on the tourist trail unless you need new tyres!!!!

A quiet day today with the main objective to get far enough north without overstretching myself. About three hours max. I travelled through some stunning countryside,forests,wheat fields corn fields. Nice to see. My first stop was Ussel but I only stopped for a short break before heading over to Bort Les Orgues. This translates as Bort of the organs. High above the village is a mountain range and if you use an awful lot of imagination you could just about see some sort of organ at the top. They’ve obviously never been to the Giants Causeway!!!!

I had a quick round the village which too two minutes after parking up right by the river. It looks as though Le Tour is coming through the village as a couple of painted bikes were on display. Nice one. Busier day tomorrow.

North North and ever North. I travelled up to Cahors first thing this morning over the mountains, high above the clouds. Some great views. It was nearly two hours driving along country roads with very little traffic. Cahors is famous for its medieval bridge with its three towers. Considering when it was built they did a good job from what I could see. Down by the river there were boat trips for the tourists. Also the cathedral is worth a look at but I did not. Around the square the local Saturday market was taking place. The white asparagus took my eye.

I’d plenty of time today so I took the opportunity to journey across to Sarlat, another village. This place is really cool with all the streets turned into a Saturday market. Selling everything from belts, scarfs, wicker baskets to jewellery etc. It is also the world capital of from gras and truffles. I sampled a piece of truffle and was lost as to what all the fuss was about. Did not sample the foie gras!!! All the buildings are off a yellow sand stone which gives a very pleasant setting.

There were a lot of camper vans parking by the lake last night. It was a good spot and a worthwhile place, to spend the night. You could only stop for 24 hours but who checks???

Heading north today to a mountain village called Rodez about 2 hours away so making progress. Initially over the Grands Causses mountain range via the A75 motorway. I’ve never figgered out why some are free and some are toll. This one was free!!! Eventually started to descend into Millau and got a good sight of the viaduct Millau in the distance. Very impressive.

Eventually got into Rodez which to be honest is not that impressive. The church is massive in sandstone and the old town is only small but it’s worth a visit of some sort. I was going to stay here the night but moved north to an aires in Marcillac Vallon thirty minutes north. The aires was just outside the village by the river. If the sirens go off you have to evacuate due to flooding. Oh dear!!!! It’s only a small place but famous for its knives. You can buy a small bone handled switch blade knife for       €115. They look very nice but no thank you.

Back on the toad again after two very pleasant days with Dave and Sue Walmsley. Last evening I got invited to a Tapas and wine function in the next village. Although we did not know what expect it turned out rather well. On the 21st June the whole of France have a music festival and each town or village puts on a show of music. This was in a local restaurant by the Canal de Medi.  There were 10 or 12 on our table ,all complete strangers to me anyway. Let’s say the music which was presented by an elderly guy plus girl singer started off slow but as the evening progressed really got going. Red wine???? anything to do with it. But a really enjoyable experience.

Today was getting back into the swing of travelling and planning ahead so I did not want to do that much. I set off for St Guilherme Le Desert which was about an hour away NE of Narbonne right up in the mountains. It’s a very typical French rural village. Parked up and had a good look around the narrow stirrers and into the main square. Quaint.

On to a lake which was west of clermont L’Heraut called  Lac du Salagou andfounf the aires I was looking for just adjacent to the lake. Only ten minutes walk to the cafe by the lake. Nice. Afterwards I settled down to work out a rough itinerary for my route home. Hitting scenic stops along the way to Calais.

Yesterday was a very stressful day. Sue Walmsley had booked the van into a local garage to try and finally sort out the up and down problem on the drivers window. It took me three hours to travel up through Spain and into Ouveillan which is north of Narbonne. We had a very nice lunch at their house and then dropped the van off at the garage. They are right by the Canal de Medi so decided to go for a walk whilst the repair was being done. We picked the van up at 5:15 to discover they had disconnected the motors in the door so the window could not move. Hopefully that will solve the problem until I get home.

Today Dave wanted to show me the lagoons beyond Narbonne so I got all my camera gear ready and off we went. It only took 30 minutes to get there and we set up up this very steep incline to a headland above the lagoons. What we had not realised was that it had been raining overnight and it was very humid. The bugs were out I don’t think they were mosquitoes but they did bite and there were a lot!!! Sue legally get attacked with bites all across her shoulders and legs. Not nice at all. So we decided to call it a day and set off to find a pharmacy to buy cream. That done we went into Narbonne to have some lunch.it was not too busy and we had a three course lunch by the canal. Tonight is the music festival in all of France and there was a small brass band playing nearby. I can honestly say they need to keep practicing!!! Dreadful.