Farewell France

Monday 30th May- Happy Birthday, Jens

Well it is not a great day for celebrating your 68th birthday as it has been teeming down all night. The campground is a series of lakes and muddy campsites and there appears to be no respite from the rain. Alice has braved the rain and visited Jens with his present and croissant. Time will tell if we will brave the elements and visit Paris today.

Well we did venture out into the wilds and caught a train at 10:13am. Our first destination was the Delacroix Museum which is where Eugene Delacroix painted his final masterpieces. It was difficult to spot the entrance as there was a large truck parked in the doorway. Turns out they were unloading artwork for a new exhibition and as a result the museum was closed. Ah well, Not to be deterred we jumped back on the metro and headed to the island for a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral. We were going to do a tour of the crypt but guess what, it is closed on Monday. We ended up joining a long but quickly moving queue to visit inside Notre Dame. The rain was coming down steadily and was accompanied by a brisk wind. My umbrella had given up the ghost and hung limply above my head offering only the slightest protection from the rain. My patience was wearing thin but Alice kept me positive. Once inside I gave myself a good shaking just like a Labrador emerging from the water after a good swim. The scale of the building is huge but for me not as beautiful as some of the others we have visited such as Bourges. After completing a slow circuit with a horde of other bedraggled visitors we exited out into the rain.

There are plenty of sites to visit on the island so we headed off to the Conciergerie, minus my umbrella which has been consigned to a French rubbish bin. After an excruciating slow security process where only two people at a time could pass through a door we emerged into the cavernous Hall of Men at Arms. It was also a good opportunity to go to the toilet as there was nothing available around Notre Dame. The Conciergerie has been both a palace and a prison. During the reign of terror Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here and subsequently found guilty of treason. Her cell has been reconstituted on part of the actual site of her dungeon. There are also some other cells that endeavour to give you an idea what conditions the prisoners had to endure in this period. Saint Chapelle is next door however it was closed until 2:00pm.

We decided to walk over to Les Halles for lunch and possibly a spot of retail therapy for Alice. This turned out to be a poor decision as Les Halles is a huge mostly underground shopping mall. In the end we departed with nothing and took lunch at a nearby fast food café. My ham and salad roll was okay but Alice’s Quiche Lorraine was a failure. To top it off the coffee although steaming hot had the strength of a new born baby. By this time we were fed up with the rain and couldn’t bear the thought of lining up outside another museum. We ended up on a train back to Versailles a little after 2:00pm.

When we arrived back at the campground the birthday boy was at the café. We joined him and spent a few hours drinking, eating and catching up on our internet administrative tasks.

Tuesday 31st May – Who’ll Stop The Rain

Well Creedence Clearwater Revival asked the question and so do we – Who’ll Stop The Rain. All through the night the rain tumbled down and this morning it isn’t much better. According to television reports this is the wettest May since 1873. If it eases off a bit then we may travel into Paris after lunch for a final visit.

Just prior to midday we ventured out to the railway station en route to the Eiffel Tower. When we arrived the queues to ascend to the second platform were not that long however we decided not to go up as the view would be tainted by all the cloud cover. Nevertheless we had a poke around and marveled at the audacity of the design. It is easy to see why the Parisians wanted to retain this monument after the world fair of 189x. From here we jumped on the metro and headed up to Charles De Gaulle Etolie. From the metro station it was only a few minutes walk to one of Paris’s most famous landmarks, the Arc de Triomphe. This magnificent 1836 monument to Napoleon’s  1805 victory at Austerlitz, which he commissioned the following year. The intricately sculptured triumphal arch stands sentinel in the centre of the Etolie (star) roundabout. Alice and I decided to join the short queue and tackle the 284 steps to the viewing platform on top of the arch. The climb was definitely worth it as we had great views of the Eifel Tower, Sacre-Coeur, Champs-Elysees and the Twelve Avenues.

When we descended the weather had improved enough for Alice to take a stroll down the Champs-Elysees. This wide avenue is a shopper’s paradise as there are wall to wall designer brand shops which are punctuated by tiny boutique restaurants. We were a tad peckish so we took a seat in a very cheap fast food outlet. The coffee this time met our high standards and the tuna and egg roll was passable. After satisfying our basic needs we continued our leisurely stroll down the avenue. To save some time we jumped back on the metro at Franklin D. Roosevelt and headed back towards the island.

On the island we headed over to Notre Dame and visited the archeological crypt. There was no line up which pleased me no end. This dig is laid out very well as there are great information boards as well as some 3D interactive displays. If you are visiting Paris I think it is a worthwhile visit. It was a little after 4:00pm and the weather was still ordinary so we decided to call it a day.

Back at the campground Jens was busy on the internet so we joined him and spent an hour getting up to date. Alice is in charge of dinner tonight and prepared a great meal of meat and three veggies which she followed up with a fresh strawberry tart. This was Jens’ birthday treat which we bought from the local patisserie and was absolutely delicious.

Wednesday 1st June -   Leaving Paris

The rain continues to fall, the Seine continues to rise and so it goes. It is always fun when you have to pack up camp in the rain but eventually we were ready to leave. After settling our account of 255euro for 7 nights we hit the wet ring roads and escaped Paris. The traffic was thick but was moving at a good pace. Our route took us north and then east towards Soissons as we wanted to avoid the dreaded toll.

From Soissons we headed south through the beautiful countryside that comprises the Champagne region. Our destination was the town of Epernay which is in the heart of region with growers such as Moet Chandon. On arrival at the campground Jens kept driving as they had a restriction of 6 metres on campers. Jens van comes in at 7.5m so we had to revert to plan B which was to travel another 40km to the large town of Chalons -en – Champagne. We finally arrived just after 6:00pm and booked into the Municipal Campground for 24.80euros a night. Even though they have had plenty of rain here the sites are in great condition. A firm flat base of gravel, good drainage and plenty of room to setup makes this one of the better prepared sites.

Alice is coming down with a cold and Jens’ breathing is not great so it is an early night for all of us.

Thursday 2nd June – Convalescing in Chalons-en-Champagne

The rain beat a steady tattoo on the camper roof all night and Alice accompanied it by barking out a dry cough from an itchy throat. She has woken up not feeling well so we have decided to stay put for today so she can recuperate. Over at Jens’ we were faced with a different drama. During the night his annex collapsed and tore the arm out of the mounting bracket. At the same time the sharp ends of the arm gouged a small hole in the vinyl roof. On first inspection I did not think that I could reset the arm however between Jens and I we decided to tackle the task. My ladder was a camp chair and my armoury was a small wrench. It isn’t easy standing on the arms of a camp chair undoing bolts and at the same time trying to remember the sequence for putting it back together again.

We did manage to extract the housing attached to the arm and with some gentle prodding was able to get it reset in its track. Next we had to maneuver the arm back into the housing and retighten the bolts. A gentle tap with the hammer and the arm was in position to be bolted back on. Oh how I would have loved a ratchet socket set or a ring spanner to finish the job. I persevered on my perch and eventually had it tightened to a point where we could retract the annex.

With Alice and Jens out of action I took a long walk into the city centre. I did not see much on the way in as I was huddled under my umbrella taking shelter from the rain and wind. There are some beautiful old buildings and a large arch which marks the entrance to the town centre. There is a beautiful cathedral but I’m cathedraled out and gave it a miss. On return we cooked up a roast pork filet with vegetables and relaxed over a glass of wine.

Friday 3rd June – Champagne Road Trip

The rain eased up overnight however there is still plenty of cloud cover so I suspect we are not finished with it yet. Alice had a more comfortable night and may be up for a drive around the region. Jens also is feeling a little better this morning but he may not have enough breath for a champagne visit. David is hunched over the keyboard, sipping coffee and continuing to record our adventures.

Around 11:00 Alice was feeling okay so we hit the road north towards Reims and bisected the champagne trail at a small town by the name of Vaudemange. From here we headed south and travelled through some beautiful countryside. There are a lot of monuments in memory of World War1 as this area was one of the main battle fronts. In every town there are a couple of champagne producers but they are generally not open to the public. After all this rain everything is green and the vines appear to be in flower. There are plenty of workers in the vineyards tending the vines and you have to be vigilant when driving as tractors can appear at the most inopportune moments. The towns have names that I cannot get my tongue around however I didn’t have any trouble with Bouzy. One of the highlights of the drive was the diversion into the hilltop town of Mutigny. The view over the valley and nearby Epernay was fantastic. On the drive down Alice became excited as the vineyards were growing grapes for Moet-Chandon.

It was a little after 1:00pm when we arrived in Epernay. We were lucky enough to find a parking spot not far from the Avenue de Champagne but the only problem with my choice is that it was metered parking. Eventually I managed to decipher the instructions and was able to get a ticket to display on the dashboard. The avenue is about 1500metres long and is lined with Champagne’s most beautiful chateaus built by wine merchants in the 19th century. We decided to pop into Moet-Chandon to have a browse in their boutique store. The merchandise was very up-market and had a price tag to match. I thought about purchasing a bottle of their special 1995 vintage but I thought the asking price of 13,000euro was out of my range. Under the avenue there is about 110km of hidden cellars storing 10’s of millions of champagne. At the end of our walk we tried a tasting at one of the smaller growers.

To finish our road trip we headed south from Epernay towards the small town of Bergeres-les-Vertus. After crisscrossing a number of small villages and on the outskirt of Grauves we headed up a steep hill. There were a number of cyclists on the road and it is quite hard to pass as they are often two and three abreast. At the summit we had a great panoramic view of Avize which seems to be the area where the grapes for Veuve Clicquot are grown. At Vertus we concluded our drive on the champagne trail and I would have to say that it was great. You could easily spend a week in this area if you wanted to drive the entire trail and spend some time exploring some of the vineyards.

Saturday 4th June – Farewell France

There were a couple of heavy downpours during the night and this morning the sky is completely grey. We are in no hurry to pack up as our drive north today is only a couple of hundred kilometres.  Eventually we got going and headed out to the D944 and headed north towards Reims. Most of this section was done with the rain constantly falling. The highway detoured around Reims and took us onto the N51 towards a familiar name, Charleville which is near the border with Belgium.

We took lunch at a rest stop which sported of all things, The Big Pig. I reckon it is up there with the Big Banana and Pineapple. When we entered Belgium, the rain had stopped but the hills seem to be shrouded in fog. We had chosen a camping spot on the bank of the Lesse River near Dinant. After navigating our way down a narrow winding road through dense forest we came to the camping ground. It looked fantastic however the authorities had banned the owners from taking campers as a precaution against the river flooding. It was a sensible plan as it was very swollen and was flowing extremely fast. The campground gave us the address of another place which was located on the other side of Dinant. Due to the size of Jens’ camper we had to drive 25km to reach a place that was only 6km away.

The drive however was quite spectacular and as we drove through Dinant we thought it would be a good spot to spend a couple of nights. We ended up at camping ground (21euro) on the outskirts of Dinant which was located on the bank of the Meuse River. The sites are quite generous but you have to watch out for the landmines that have been deposited by the resident goose colony. After setting up we took the chairs down to the riverbank and enjoyed late afternoon beer.

Sunday 5th June – Dinant, Sax in the City

Alice is still not well but she is going to accompany me to one of Dinant’s best museums. We won’t be looking at paintings or sculptures but we will be inside the old Leffe Abbey which is home to the Leffe Beer Museum. Situated on a hill overlooking the town of Dinant and the Meuse River it is the perfect location to learn about the history and techniques used in brewing one of Belgium’s most famous beers. The entry cost is 8euros which also entitles you to a beer and a present at the conclusion of the tour. Most of the displays are interactive and provide detailed information about Leffe and the Norbertine order of monks from the 12th century right through to the present day.  One of the more interesting interactive displays is the smell test. Just push a button and you can get a whiff of cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, wood shavings, leather, banana and pineapple just to name a few. At the end of the tour we adjourned to the bar and decided to taste the signature beers blonde, brun, ritual 9 degrees and a leffe royale crystal. After our newfound knowledge and beer tasting skills Alice and I can probably lay claim to being zythologists.  Sitting back in my antique chair and sipping a beer made me feel like I was lord of the manor.

The sunlight was streaming through the window so we adjourned to the terrace area to finish our beer consumption. The view was great and we really appreciated the warmth of the sun on our backs after the misery of the past week. I even splurged out and ordered a plate of cheese and sausage. We had a bite to eat in the back of the camper and then made our way down to the City centre. Apart from the views the centre is all about sax, Adolphe Sax that is. Sax was born in Dinant in 1814 and invented the saxophone in 1846. We don’t know why but he died destitute on 7th February 1894 in Paris. There is of course a Big Sax, The Anamorphoses trail, Sax Art which is displayed on the bridge and a Sax water clock. This is all complemented by the La Maison de Monsieur Sax (Mr. Sax’s House) which is a small museum with free entry. As we walked back towards the bridge we were accompanied by a Jazz combo featuring of course the sax. We did also manage to visit the local Notre Dame church whose spire is onion shaped and more like a Russian Orthodox Church.

There was still some daylight hours left so we returned to the campground and loaded Jens into the camper.  We followed the river for a few kilometres and then headed inland for the small village of Purnode. There was a reason for this detour as I had heard one of the last traditional Belgian breweries is located here. Sure enough we came upon Brasserie du Bocq which was established in 1858.The company still uses the traditional manufacturing process of top-fermentation beers with secondary fermentation in the bottle. They have a pretty good range so we decided to try a couple of different styles from the Gauloise range. It was a novel experience sipping beer outdoors right next to the brewery. The beers were excellent and the cellar door prices meant that Jens and I walked away with 20 beers. I must have spent too much as they through in a large bottle of Blanche de Namur which won a gold medal for wheat beer at the world championship a couple of years back. After our tasting we headed to the village of Yvoir, bought some supplies and followed the river back to camp.

The rain that was supposed to fall during the day thankfully never occurred. This meant that we could enjoy a couple of hours relaxing by the river. I don’t know if it was the beer or the sun but I nodded off for a few minutes. A nice way to end what was a very good day.