Dijon and Beaune

Monday 30th March. Beaune 47.01761 4.83661.

Our plan today was to visit Dijon. We have books and guides and electronic maps with stopping places covering just about all of Western and Southern Europe and always have a few options of where to stop depending on whether we just need a parking place or services. According to our guides there is only one place for motorhomes in Dijon within walking distance of the city centre so that's where we headed. It was closed. The Motorhome parking and service point is outside a large campsite which was undergoing renovation and we weren't too sure whether or not everything was closed or just the campsite but as we were deliberating a pleasant young man with perfect English explained that we couldn't park. We could have water if we wished but we couldn't park. Strange really as there were about a dozen spaces where we could have parked without bothering anyone but my request was met with a polite refusal and a suggestion that we parked further along the road in a car park by the lake where the young man suggested that the police "probably" wouldn't move us on. Well, we didn't want to see Dijon that badly and there'll always be another day so we headed off for Beaune. We've visited here before but always stayed nearby in local vineyards so this time we decided to stop in the city and see what touristy things we could do for a day or so.

Our daughter, who lives in France and who at one time lived not far from here at Autun recommended the Hotel-Dieu des Hospices de Beaune, a magnificent gothic hospital, in use until the early seventies, which is impressive from the outside with turrets and a pitched roof decorated with multicoloured tiles. The inside is equally impressive and so we plan to visit tomorrow. The guide books also mention Moutarderie Fallot, Burgundy's last family run mustard factory and museum so we tootled off to the tourist information centre to book a visit there as well for tomorrow. The Musee du vin looked promising as well but it was closed by the time we arrived and is closed on Tuesday so that's one for another day. We did visit the Basilique Collegiate Notee Dame but it wasn't the most impressive church we've visited on our travels but the old city within the ramparts has some beautiful buildings and is well worth a visit.

This area, of course, is Bourgogne, beautiful countryside, famous vineyards with Chateaux to match in the Côte d'Or and is the gastronomic centre of France and when we have stopped here in the past we have always stayed in a vineyard and taken the opportunity to buy some delicious wines at much less than the outrageous prices charged in the shops in the towns and cities roundabout. So tomorrow we plan to stay just off the Route des Grands Crus at a small vineyard we stopped at before at Cormot Le Grand and restock the wine cellar, well the wardrobe actually which passes for a wine cellar in a Motorhome.

The courtyard housing the the tourist info office in Beaune

Beaune

Pat

 

Posted with Blogsy

Where is everybody?

Saturday 28th March Mareuil-sur-Ay 49.045156 4.034797

A pleasant drive today through the Foret de la Montagne de Reims which is in the Parc Naturel Regional de la Montagne de Reims (phew). We're in to Champagne country now and the villages have become more affluent with big (some very big) chateaux. But where is everyone? Nobody strolling, no kids out playing, no smoke from the chimneys. It's like a series of film sets waiting for the crew and actors to arrive. Very strange.

We are parked up next to the canal, as promised, and the 8 parking places soon filled up leaving the late arrivals to park further along next to the "No Motorhomes" sign. A walk around the town confirmed we were in another film set and that the two adjacent bistros are closed until such time as the owners decide to open them again. I would imagine this place is very busy in summer. After the walk it was time to give the new fishing rod an outing. Lovely rod, shame about the lack of fish. Anglers, of course, are eternal optimists and there's always another day, another stretch of water and better luck just around the corner. Fishing is a metaphor for life in general I think. However should you suffer from depression the last thing you should probably do is take up fishing, it'll only make you feel worse most days.

Sunday 29th March. Juzennecourt 48.1846 4.9788

A somewhat boring drive today through mostly flat countryside accompanied by strong winds and showers. We choose routes that have a scenic aspect to them according to the map, I suspect the cartologists pen slipped on this occasion. Anyway, here we are parked outside the Marie in another village sans chevaux and its pouring down. It was very very quiet until an hour ago when the house attached to the Marie came to life. We thought it was abandoned until suddenly the lights went on and music came blaring out. Kind of folky music with an African beat and English lyrics. Over the last eighteen months or so we've stopped on quite a few French Motorhome parking places with varying facilities and prices. Most have signs directing you when you arrive in the town or village but this one has no indication or directions. It has an ancient water pump, which is good because many of these places turn the water off during winter to prevent freezing and they're usually not turned on again until April. It has a drain to empty our grey waste but nowhere to empty the loo but it has six free electricity points which is always appreciated so if you're reading this, thank you Mr or Mrs Mayor. It also has, from what we can see through the window a spotlessly clean WC and possibly a shower; but it's locked up.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Dijon, described as one of France's most appealing cities and filled with medieval and Renaissance buildings. Our proposed parking spot is a mile from the city centre so we're hoping it's stopped raining by tomorrow. There is a primary school attached to the Marie here so I guess we'll have an early awakening and an early start tomorrow. Our pillows are about twenty feet from the mysterious music source ( they're playing bloody Coldplay now!) so I hope they have to get up early in the morning and don't keep us awake half the night. We can hardly knock on the door and ask them to turn it down can we?

Town Hall parking.

Nice pump.

 

Pat

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Relaxed

Friday 27th March - Coucy-Le-Chateau. N49.520084 E3.314395

After the last couple of days of driving and not getting any sleep we are now refreshed. Slept like logs last night and set off today for the small village of Coucy-Le-Chateau. Sat Navs set to avoid tolls and motorways and it was a pleasant drive through some nice countryside and typically pretty French villages. A stop at LeClerc for a few bits and pieces and diesel (€1.15/litre), a coffee and croissant stop and we were starting to enjoy the trip. There's not too much here apart from a ruined castle and an archway entrance to the village 2.5m wide - made it with an inch or two on each side - easy!

Weather has been kind to us today, it's still cold but nice and sunny and feels almost spring like and it can only get better as we travel further south (can't it?)

Some of you may know that I bought a bike and an electric wheel recently and whilst the bike is fine I've had nothing but trouble with the electric wheel which was a disappointment but today salvation arrived. Whilst admiring the ruined castle and contemplating whether I could be arsed with the ten minute climb to view at close quarters my new friend turned up. We got chatting and after a few minutes a deal was struck so it's good-bye bike and hello the future -

Tomorrow we set off for Mareuil-sur-Ay which is a little South of Reims. We had planned to go to Reims tomorrow as the cathedral is not to be missed and the city is beautiful but then we thought hmm, Reims on a Saturday? The Motorhome parking spot has only 7 places and it's going to be really busy? And then browsing our Camperstop book I very luckily found a place described as Urban, Comfortable, Central, Quiet with a restaurant on the spot! Phew, that was lucky eh? And - it's on a canal with fishing on the spot!!! That's me sorted then. Tight lines eh?

Pat.

 

Posted with Blogsy

And we're off again.

Thursday 26th March - somewhere under the sea.

We left home last night at about 9.30pm to drive overnight to Folkestone for an early Chunnel. We were booked on the 7.20am but arrived early, despite a couple of detours through the Kent countryside due to motorway closures, and we've ended up on the 6.20am. The plan was to get a couple of hours sleep at the euro tunnel terminal but that didn't happen. Screeching seagulls, vehicle noise and too much coffee on the way down. So here we are, several metres under the sea bed, halfway to la belle France. We've planned our first stop to be at an Aire in Arras which is/was a fortified town with a gothic style town hall and subterranean passages however I think sleep is a priority before any sightseeing. I thought I'd start the blog off underwater because we are sat next to this sign -

Regrettably this is not the case, all phones/pads show "no service" so my first submariner blog will have to wait till dry land to be posted.

It's many years since I drove overnight in the UK and I was amazed at the number of HGV vehicles parked up in the lay-bys all the way down the A1. Nearly every lay-by was full as were the services near Grantham. We stopped again at Thurrock services before crossing the Thames and the place was absolutely rammed with HGVs. All the car parks were full and lorries were parked all along the roadways. Perhaps anyone reading this who does a bit of night time driving can explain.

Arras. N50.294618 E2.788113

We were going to push on a bit further south but after I started nodding off on the A25 decided that we'd better stop and get some shuteye. It's bitterly cold and damp here but that didn't prevent us sleeping for five hours and I would like to say we awoke refreshed; unfortunately that's not the case. I don't think I would do this journey the same way again. I'm not going to be able to tell you very much, if anything, about Arras. We are parked about a ten minute walk from the town centre but I doubt we'll be doing any further investigations today. This part of France is not the most picturesque and the ride from Calais would not have had much to recommend it other than an interesting encounter at a rest stop near Dunkerque. The guy driving the big rig parked next to us asked if we were on holiday and I said yes but a long holiday, maybe three or four months and told him of our plans. He was pleased we were going to Greece as that was his homeland, he lived in Thessaloniki and had just returned from the UK and was waiting for his boss to phone him to tell him where his next load was coming from. He said the ferry from Ancona to Igoumenitsa was ok but we should have booked on the superfast. I mentioned that as long as the voyage wasn't anything like the one we had a month ago through the Bay of Biscay I would be happy! Then he told us his story. He was on the Norman Atlantic sailing from Patras to Ancona on the 28th December last year. The ship caught fire in the Adriatic and at least 28 people perished. Our friend was in a small dinghy for four hours before he was rescued by a passing container ship. He injured his back and shoulder clambering on to the ship and subsequently spent two months in hospital. He still has nightmares about the incident. He had no wages whilst he was ill and his wife and children suffered hardship as well. He has been told he can expect compensation from the ferry company but the investigation is still ongoing. A very sad story. He wished us well and hoped we enjoyed our travels in his country. You can read more about this tragedy here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Norman_Atlantic

Pat

 

Posted with Blogsy