Thursday 29th October.
St Julian to Listrac-Medoc.
We scrubbed up a bit this morning as we wanted to drop in to Chateau Leoville-Barton and thought our biking clothes were one step too far. Lucky we did, as Anthony Barton was there so had a quick chat. Another step down memory lane as we stayed there years ago and I wanted to see if I remembered it correctly. Sadly he couldn’t show us around as he was busy decanting wine for a lunch party and it was nearly midday and we all know that Medoc must be decanted one hour before drinking! Better get on with ordering some of this year’s vintage as he said it is going to be exceptional. We had decided to be organized and book before leaving - that was when Vivi thought she’d left her mobile in the pub last night which left us with only about 10 miles to go, so had a relaxing time in the blazing sunshine, weaving through vineyards. The autumn colours are beautiful and there are lots of butterflies about still. There is much activity amongst the rows as they are madly pruning. We asked 2 vine workers on the edge of the road why this and what’s that and like all horticultural workers they were more than happy to down tools and chat. Escaping from them we cycled west out of wine country and into the forest at Benon where we found a church completely hidden in the trees which had been there for 900 years. Apart from a man with a chainsaw it was a most tranquil place to have a picnic – almost too hot in fact and out of the wind. We then found Chateau Maucaillou who offered tours so joined in on one and had a bit of a tasting – 2004 not a great year I’d say! Interesting tour but all in rather speedy French so missed quite a lot. They presented us with rather nice glasses at the end but sadly we had to give them to the others on the tour as they wouldn’t last five minutes in a pannier. Very sad - they’d definitely be one up on our plastic tumblers.
Saturday 31 October 2009
St Christoly Medoc to St Julien
Wednesday 28th
St Christoly Medoc to St-Julien-Beychevelle
Excellent breakfast in a grand dining room and we headed off for Pauillac in thick fog with a string of chateaux to look at on the way. We wondered if we would be the only people to do the scenic route of the chateaux and not see any but luckily it cleared after an hour or so. It was ten 25 degs so lovely weather for biking.
Once you get out of the Bourgeois cru region and into the Premier cru the names of the chateaus read like a roll of honour. We came down the coast road as the main road was overloaded with heavy lorries taking the grape skins to wherever they make ‘eau de vie’ and were quite scary. All along the coast are the crevette catching machines all unoccupied until suddenly there was a chap lowering his net. He invited us aboard and showed us his meagre haul - perhaps as many as 20 shrimps, didn’t really seem worth all the effort and explained why no one else was out. His French was unintelligible and we had trouble understanding him but all was revealed later when he said he was Spanish, and had only lived in France for 46 years and seemed reluctant to speak any French. I’m not certain if he spoke it better than I do, he just shouted louder.
The local Bordelais dialect is impossible and we have been caught out several times. Last night we asked for a plate of cheese for 1 and were given 1 very thin slice of cheese only! We asked for some ham for lunch to go in our baguette and when we stopped later to have our midday feast, unwrapped it to find 4 huge thick slices of uncooked bacon. That was a very upsetting moment!
Pauillac which we had been told was ‘full’ of B&B’s turned out to have none so after a frustrating time we managed to find one in St-Julien -Beychevelle. St Julien boasts a very fine restaurant which we looked forward to trying, very much. It looked a bit on the smart side so put on our best clothes and sauntered over to be told it was closed for a private party. So back on the bikes 5 miles into Pauillac and then home again much later. Luckily it was a beautiful warm starry night and the road was quite empty.
It was a day for losing things, The mayoress had to chase us along the road to return a pair of specs, we lost a map, but found it on the ground and I then lost my phone. Luckily I found that bad Alec had hidden it under his bike helmet outside for the night.
St Christoly Medoc to St-Julien-Beychevelle
Excellent breakfast in a grand dining room and we headed off for Pauillac in thick fog with a string of chateaux to look at on the way. We wondered if we would be the only people to do the scenic route of the chateaux and not see any but luckily it cleared after an hour or so. It was ten 25 degs so lovely weather for biking.
Once you get out of the Bourgeois cru region and into the Premier cru the names of the chateaus read like a roll of honour. We came down the coast road as the main road was overloaded with heavy lorries taking the grape skins to wherever they make ‘eau de vie’ and were quite scary. All along the coast are the crevette catching machines all unoccupied until suddenly there was a chap lowering his net. He invited us aboard and showed us his meagre haul - perhaps as many as 20 shrimps, didn’t really seem worth all the effort and explained why no one else was out. His French was unintelligible and we had trouble understanding him but all was revealed later when he said he was Spanish, and had only lived in France for 46 years and seemed reluctant to speak any French. I’m not certain if he spoke it better than I do, he just shouted louder.
The local Bordelais dialect is impossible and we have been caught out several times. Last night we asked for a plate of cheese for 1 and were given 1 very thin slice of cheese only! We asked for some ham for lunch to go in our baguette and when we stopped later to have our midday feast, unwrapped it to find 4 huge thick slices of uncooked bacon. That was a very upsetting moment!
Pauillac which we had been told was ‘full’ of B&B’s turned out to have none so after a frustrating time we managed to find one in St-Julien -Beychevelle. St Julien boasts a very fine restaurant which we looked forward to trying, very much. It looked a bit on the smart side so put on our best clothes and sauntered over to be told it was closed for a private party. So back on the bikes 5 miles into Pauillac and then home again much later. Luckily it was a beautiful warm starry night and the road was quite empty.
It was a day for losing things, The mayoress had to chase us along the road to return a pair of specs, we lost a map, but found it on the ground and I then lost my phone. Luckily I found that bad Alec had hidden it under his bike helmet outside for the night.
Soulac - Christoly Medoc pics
Vivi peddling hard in Listrac Medoc
The roll of honour of chateaux in the region
A shrimp catchers hut. Mad as a fish!
Chateau Tour Bonnett, not to be confused with Ch Bonnett which I think is rather larger!
Soulac to Christoly Medoc
Tuesday 27th October
Soulac to St Christoly-Medoc
We had breakfast outside as it was sunny and forecast to be 25 degs today. Margaret our hostess filled us in on quite a lot of the recent history of the area. It was the last place in France to be liberated, 1 day before Guernsey. We went back into Soulac to look at the church, Notre Dame which was beautiful. When you entered you went down a lot of steps and it had the appearance of a crypt. It had disappeared under the sand for over 100 years in the 14th century, rather like St Enedoc in Trebetherick. At the top of the tower you can still see old iron rings where people used to tie their horses when it was buried.
We then biked on across to the East coast along the estuary as it seemed more interesting than sand and pine tracks. Not sure it was really as it was VERY flat marshes but nice and easy anyway. We had a bowl of soup in St Vivien St Medoc before really getting in to the proper Medoc wine growing region. Since the clocks have changed we have to be a bit more together about finding somewhere to stay, and had been told there were lots of chambre d’hotes. Well there weren’t and we were getting a bit desperate, sitting in the square at St Christoly-Medoc. Alec was desperate for the loo and went round the back of the town hall where he was met by a woman who asked what he wanted. Having said a ‘chambre d’hote’ she said that she had one and it was all fixed in minutes. We were sent off through the vineyards and are now staying in the Chateau Tour St Bonnet. It is a lovely old house on the very northern edge of the Medoc area and we were lucky as there is nowhere else for miles.
The relief of knowing we had somewhere to stay made me completely forget about how desperate I was until we were halfway to the Chateau. At that stage we still thought it would probably be a manqué bungalow next to a chateau but I didn’t care I was getting in there whatever. An elderly Monsieur and Madame met us but he was deaf so soon called his son who spoke English but was clearly preoccupied with the business of making wine. When I asked him who the lady was who signed us in he said ‘oh that’s my sister, she’s the mayor’ The mayor – wow!
Soulac to St Christoly-Medoc
We had breakfast outside as it was sunny and forecast to be 25 degs today. Margaret our hostess filled us in on quite a lot of the recent history of the area. It was the last place in France to be liberated, 1 day before Guernsey. We went back into Soulac to look at the church, Notre Dame which was beautiful. When you entered you went down a lot of steps and it had the appearance of a crypt. It had disappeared under the sand for over 100 years in the 14th century, rather like St Enedoc in Trebetherick. At the top of the tower you can still see old iron rings where people used to tie their horses when it was buried.
We then biked on across to the East coast along the estuary as it seemed more interesting than sand and pine tracks. Not sure it was really as it was VERY flat marshes but nice and easy anyway. We had a bowl of soup in St Vivien St Medoc before really getting in to the proper Medoc wine growing region. Since the clocks have changed we have to be a bit more together about finding somewhere to stay, and had been told there were lots of chambre d’hotes. Well there weren’t and we were getting a bit desperate, sitting in the square at St Christoly-Medoc. Alec was desperate for the loo and went round the back of the town hall where he was met by a woman who asked what he wanted. Having said a ‘chambre d’hote’ she said that she had one and it was all fixed in minutes. We were sent off through the vineyards and are now staying in the Chateau Tour St Bonnet. It is a lovely old house on the very northern edge of the Medoc area and we were lucky as there is nowhere else for miles.
The relief of knowing we had somewhere to stay made me completely forget about how desperate I was until we were halfway to the Chateau. At that stage we still thought it would probably be a manqué bungalow next to a chateau but I didn’t care I was getting in there whatever. An elderly Monsieur and Madame met us but he was deaf so soon called his son who spoke English but was clearly preoccupied with the business of making wine. When I asked him who the lady was who signed us in he said ‘oh that’s my sister, she’s the mayor’ The mayor – wow!
Soulac
Vines in the Medoc with the Gironde in the background.
Port Richard
Third station taken at Soulac
Sunken church at Soulac (Notre Dame) if you look closely at the top of the tower you can see the iron rings which were put there when the church was completely covered by sand and farmers tethered their horses and cattle to it!
St Palais sur Mer to Soulac
Monday 26th Oct.
St Palais sur Mer to Soulac (Medoc region of Gironde)
Having sorted out the nut problem we rode into Royan which is an entirely modern seaside resort displaying massive signs of wealth. Numerous sandy bays with smart villas, tennis, bridge, boules & sailing clubs, loads of surfers and no sign of the recession. A bit like Sydney. The temperature is 22 degs so we wandered about a bit and then sat on the beach with a cold one to wait for the ferry to take us across the estuary to our route down to Bordeaux via we hope Pontet Canet, Pauillac, Leoville Barton etc. At this point the river estuary is about as wide as crossing to the Isle of Wight and takes 30 minutes.
Fortunately Medoc country is flat too (at least the top end is) so we rode down to Soulac through pine forests, found the tourist office and a B&B and went in search of supper. Madame (an English lady whose husband teaches English at the University) had recommended a restaurant where if we mentioned her name we’d get a good deal. We aren’t so sure we found the right one but we did find a place which was a deli by day and restaurant by night, sat 8 max (there was already a party of 5) and the owner (who did everything) cooked us coquilles and artichokes to die for, sold us a fruity white wine and some excellent cheese. Having thought it would be all very local the coquilles came from Galloway, the wine from Gascoigne and the cheese from Spain and artichokes from Italy. It was the most expensive dinner so far, so I don’t know what happened to the ‘good deal’ but it was worth it and we are now on bread and water. 45 minutes later we managed to find the B&B which seemed to have moved since we left it 3 hours before. And oh yes we managed to speak and see Lulu on Skype from a bar which was another first so what a day!!
Royan
The cathedral at Royan taken from the beach. The town is completely modern having been flattened by the Americans in 1944. The cathedral is a huge concrete boat shaped thing, hideous from the outside but very still, clear and clean on the inside.
St Palais pics
The shrimp fishing machines at St Palais sur Mer
Somewhere which should be imprinted on every Kinahan's memory, the steps onto the beach at St Palais sur Mer where they sat every day on their summer holidays.
A bit more of the beach at St Palais where Danny nearly drowned when his beach ball blew out to sea.
The ferry which took us from Royan to Verdon
A special one for Mike the Aviator - this place made us think of you!! And incidentally we hear Ollie Bond is now safely in South America - well done Ollie, phew what a relief!!
Friday 30 October 2009
Thursday 29 October 2009
Saujon to St Palais sur Mer
Sunday 25th Oct.
Saujon to St Palais sur Mer
Woke to blue sky and a perfect day – how can two consecutive days be so different. Wandered into town in search of some breakfast and were disappointed to find only a boulangerie open and not many people about. The lady in the boulangerie kindly told us where we might find a bar doing breakfast which we made our way to and it was only as we were finishing that we realized it was 8.30 not 9.30. That’s the trouble with not watching any telly or reading newspapers, I was convinced the clocks went back next w/e not this one.
We rode over to St Palais sur Mer which is a special trip down memory lane for Vivi as this is where the Kinahan family took their caravan and their summer holidays for several years during the 60’s. We had a little difficulty identifying which beach (Nauzan) and which campsite, (camping Bernezac) but eventually it all came flooding back so we took photos of everything which seemed remotely familiar and will test the rest of the family anon. The beach is still the same although seemed much smaller and there is an awful lot of town which I never knew existed. We are in a hotel a couple of miles on a headland north of the town and the sea is crashing on the rocks very close to our window.
One of Alec’s nuts fell off so we have to find a shop tomorrow to see if he can replace it (for his bike). Another thing we learned today is that tomorrow is a holiday so fingers crossed we find somewhere open. However it is very comfortable and the weather forecast is good so it is not the end of the world if we have to stay a bit longer. We nearly dipped our toes in the sea but good sense overcame us as we couldn’t think how to dry our feet without getting sand in our shoes. Feeble excuse I know!
Monday 26 October 2009
Saintes to Saujon
Saturday 24th Oct.
Saintes to Saujon
We didn’t really have a plan for today; all we knew was we couldn’t stay where we were, too expensive and cold, and that the sky was full of rain and the forecast terrible. So we set off in the rain to look at the cathedral and the Roman gates to the city and then the Roman amphitheatre which could seat 17,000 people. The latter is impressive but there isn’t really enough of it left to really get you excited, but they really did set lions on locals and gladiators against one another so it was quite a happening place once. By now we’d just about had enough of Saintes and the rain was really taking it’s toll but amazingly it was quite warm rain and the wind wasn’t too bad so we decided to set off for Saujon and see just how far we’d get. Somewhere about half way we found an Auberge which would have been perfect but it was closed until 6pm and as it was only 4 we decided to keep going until amazingly and much to our surprise we arrived in Saujon – soaked to the skin, in danger of getting webbed feet, but proud of ourselves. We rejected the first hotel because the room was freezing but the next to our surprise a) let us in but b) spread towels and sheets on the lobby floor and made us undress into a bucket so our clothes could be taken away, washed and dried. Things were looking up - a bath, a whiskey, dry clothes and out for supper.
St Prochaire to Saintes pics
Roche Courbon from some very impressive steps at the end of the garden.
House again
Scary grottos
First 1000 miles (not k's) up!
St Saturnin where I bagged the 6th station!
House again
Scary grottos
First 1000 miles (not k's) up!
St Saturnin where I bagged the 6th station!St Porchaire to Saintes
St Porchaire to Saintes
Friday 23rd October.
After a stunning supper in the local Auberge ‘Le Bruant’ in St Porchaire last night, and for anyone wanting a few days in a small hotel with good food it is very well placed for Cognac and the beaches etc. The menu was almost entirely offal, Calves head and kidneys, Pigs trotters and boudin, lambs testicles and brains, ducks livers chicken giblets etc etc presumably they had a deal with the local abattoir – we didn’t try them all but what we had was perfectly cooked and fortunately unrecognizable! Then, 2 miles home in the dark to work it all off.
The day started very well with the best ‘brioche de maison’ and many instructions on how to get to the Chateau Roche Courbon. It was a couple of miles along some forest tracks and for the first time you could really feel Autumn, the mist, damp, colours, falling leaves, scent and warm air had a heady effect and around a corner you come upon a beautiful 16th century chateau . It was built on a rock in the middle of the marais by M Courbon and was a lovely example of that period. It had been abandoned in the revolution for over 100 years, until a financier bought it and re-designed the whole place in the early 1900s. It was of particular interest to me as I think we visited it when us Kinahans were young, as I remembered the very scary grottos from 30,000 years ago in the forest. They are still quite scary and I thought I’d seen the last of Alec as he disappeared down a passage at the back of one of the caves. The garden is entirely built on the marsh and supported by huge oak timbers sunk into the ground to stop all their hard work disappearing into the bog. Every year they have to dig it up and replace many of them.
They had forecast a lot of rain so we decided to head into Saintes to look at some of the Roman ruins there. It was an easy ride along the river Charante through some picturesque villages with spectacular merchant’s houses overlooking it. We celebrated 1000+ miles (with a glass of fizz – Badoit, on a bench by the river)
By the time we reached Saintes it was raining quite hard so we went straight to the B&B only to be told they were off on holiday tomorrow so NO heating. If ever we were ready to strangle someone so to take revenge we used the hair dryer to dry our clothes and heat the room - it was not enough!
We then had a filthy dinner (actually I had horse steak and chips and it was delicious) so to console ourselves called in at the Bar Salisbury (next to the cathedral) which was a sort of jazz dive and full of inebriated men plus one bar girl. Vivi was immediately chatted up first by an intoxicated Frenchman and then by a 6’ 6’’ gent from the Bahamas who claimed to be an architect and a professor at the local university. Yeah pull the other one (definitely a dealer) we thought until we got home only to be told by madame that he’s ‘Winston’ a Dean at the college, charming and a pillar of the community – whoops!!
Friday 23rd October.
After a stunning supper in the local Auberge ‘Le Bruant’ in St Porchaire last night, and for anyone wanting a few days in a small hotel with good food it is very well placed for Cognac and the beaches etc. The menu was almost entirely offal, Calves head and kidneys, Pigs trotters and boudin, lambs testicles and brains, ducks livers chicken giblets etc etc presumably they had a deal with the local abattoir – we didn’t try them all but what we had was perfectly cooked and fortunately unrecognizable! Then, 2 miles home in the dark to work it all off.
The day started very well with the best ‘brioche de maison’ and many instructions on how to get to the Chateau Roche Courbon. It was a couple of miles along some forest tracks and for the first time you could really feel Autumn, the mist, damp, colours, falling leaves, scent and warm air had a heady effect and around a corner you come upon a beautiful 16th century chateau . It was built on a rock in the middle of the marais by M Courbon and was a lovely example of that period. It had been abandoned in the revolution for over 100 years, until a financier bought it and re-designed the whole place in the early 1900s. It was of particular interest to me as I think we visited it when us Kinahans were young, as I remembered the very scary grottos from 30,000 years ago in the forest. They are still quite scary and I thought I’d seen the last of Alec as he disappeared down a passage at the back of one of the caves. The garden is entirely built on the marsh and supported by huge oak timbers sunk into the ground to stop all their hard work disappearing into the bog. Every year they have to dig it up and replace many of them.
They had forecast a lot of rain so we decided to head into Saintes to look at some of the Roman ruins there. It was an easy ride along the river Charante through some picturesque villages with spectacular merchant’s houses overlooking it. We celebrated 1000+ miles (with a glass of fizz – Badoit, on a bench by the river)
By the time we reached Saintes it was raining quite hard so we went straight to the B&B only to be told they were off on holiday tomorrow so NO heating. If ever we were ready to strangle someone so to take revenge we used the hair dryer to dry our clothes and heat the room - it was not enough!
We then had a filthy dinner (actually I had horse steak and chips and it was delicious) so to console ourselves called in at the Bar Salisbury (next to the cathedral) which was a sort of jazz dive and full of inebriated men plus one bar girl. Vivi was immediately chatted up first by an intoxicated Frenchman and then by a 6’ 6’’ gent from the Bahamas who claimed to be an architect and a professor at the local university. Yeah pull the other one (definitely a dealer) we thought until we got home only to be told by madame that he’s ‘Winston’ a Dean at the college, charming and a pillar of the community – whoops!!
Saturday 24 October 2009
Rochefort pics
This is the top end of the dry dock commissioned by Louis XV for building warships including the Hermione which is being reproduced behind where I've taken this photo. When she is completed they will knock down the wall (200 yds behind where I'm standing) which keeps this a 'dry dock' and on the next high tide this area will fill with water so they can tow her out for rigging somewhere just down the river.
La Hermione under reconstruction
At La Corderie Royale rope being made.
Bridge with 'lock' built by the monks to provide water to the Abbey below.
Abbey at Trizay - looks better from the other side!
Rochefort to St Porchaire
Thursday 22nd Oct.
Rochefort to St Porchaire
What a day, well apart from breakfast in the super duper B&B which was great (every kind of croissant, gateaux, brioche) but we asked for coffee and the other 6 French guests went for tea but when they saw our coffee they all wanted to dunk their brioche in our coffee and madam didn’t reckon the two of us could possibly want more coffee so it was short rations and very miffed we were too. For once we felt quite youthful as the other guests were seriously ancient and only in Rochefort for the benefit of the Roman spa and mud baths which allegedly has a magnificent effect on your health.
Anyway we left them and rode down to the river and parked up outside La Corderie Royale; a huge building about 250mtrs long commissioned by Louis XV as the rope making factory for all the naval ships being built in France at the time. It had to be that big to accommodate the length of rope a warship needed at the time. It is now a museum and frankly it’s amazing, similar to the tin shed coconut hair rope making factory we visited in Kerala only 100 times larger, using similar methods only 100 times bigger, only difference is this one’s now decommissioned and obsolete and the Indian one – well well! Also at the Corderie Royale was an exhibition of how a Frenchman had designed and built both the Suez and Panama Canals. Very good stuff with video footage as well but no mention of the fact the Brits had a fairly big stake in the Suez at all. Maybe history lessons at the schools I went to were biased!
From there to Louis XV’s dry dock where the French are reconstructing at a cost of 15m euros the La Hermione a warship first built in 1768 and taken by Lafayette to help the Republicans in the American War of Independence. Apparently their intervention had some effect because the French are very proud of it. Anyway this warship is being reconstructed using exactly the same materials but modern tools and obviously some deference to ‘elf and safety’ so it won’t be exactly the same but as good as. They are due to knock down the bricked up entrance to the 250 year old dry dock in 2012, let in the next high tide and tow her out for rigging and then sail her back to the USA. The ship is huge and quite beautiful and if I’m spared I really want to be here to see this happen. Memo to Douglas, Willie or William – you should be here too!!
Anyway, after that we headed off for St Porchaire which was a lovely ride across slightly undulating countryside stopping at the old Abbey at Trizay which happens to be close to another of those places where you can start your walk to Compostele but we didn’t see anyone on the roadside so we guessed the leaden skies had put them off starting, or they don’t start on Thursdays.
Tonight’s B&B is a very pleasant gite proudly boasting it’s ‘green credentials’ hot water by solar energy they proclaimed, a double flush loo, only rainwater used on the garden - after a tepid shower we wished they were more concerned with the welfare of their clients than the planet.
Rochefort to St Porchaire
What a day, well apart from breakfast in the super duper B&B which was great (every kind of croissant, gateaux, brioche) but we asked for coffee and the other 6 French guests went for tea but when they saw our coffee they all wanted to dunk their brioche in our coffee and madam didn’t reckon the two of us could possibly want more coffee so it was short rations and very miffed we were too. For once we felt quite youthful as the other guests were seriously ancient and only in Rochefort for the benefit of the Roman spa and mud baths which allegedly has a magnificent effect on your health.
Anyway we left them and rode down to the river and parked up outside La Corderie Royale; a huge building about 250mtrs long commissioned by Louis XV as the rope making factory for all the naval ships being built in France at the time. It had to be that big to accommodate the length of rope a warship needed at the time. It is now a museum and frankly it’s amazing, similar to the tin shed coconut hair rope making factory we visited in Kerala only 100 times larger, using similar methods only 100 times bigger, only difference is this one’s now decommissioned and obsolete and the Indian one – well well! Also at the Corderie Royale was an exhibition of how a Frenchman had designed and built both the Suez and Panama Canals. Very good stuff with video footage as well but no mention of the fact the Brits had a fairly big stake in the Suez at all. Maybe history lessons at the schools I went to were biased!
From there to Louis XV’s dry dock where the French are reconstructing at a cost of 15m euros the La Hermione a warship first built in 1768 and taken by Lafayette to help the Republicans in the American War of Independence. Apparently their intervention had some effect because the French are very proud of it. Anyway this warship is being reconstructed using exactly the same materials but modern tools and obviously some deference to ‘elf and safety’ so it won’t be exactly the same but as good as. They are due to knock down the bricked up entrance to the 250 year old dry dock in 2012, let in the next high tide and tow her out for rigging and then sail her back to the USA. The ship is huge and quite beautiful and if I’m spared I really want to be here to see this happen. Memo to Douglas, Willie or William – you should be here too!!
Anyway, after that we headed off for St Porchaire which was a lovely ride across slightly undulating countryside stopping at the old Abbey at Trizay which happens to be close to another of those places where you can start your walk to Compostele but we didn’t see anyone on the roadside so we guessed the leaden skies had put them off starting, or they don’t start on Thursdays.
Tonight’s B&B is a very pleasant gite proudly boasting it’s ‘green credentials’ hot water by solar energy they proclaimed, a double flush loo, only rainwater used on the garden - after a tepid shower we wished they were more concerned with the welfare of their clients than the planet.
St Vivi pics
Inner harbour at La Rochelle, in times of crisis a chain was suspended from the 'chain tower' on the right to the smaller tower to prevent enemy ships entering the harbour.
and now you know it's true
La Jarne to Rochefort
Wednesday 21st October.
La Jarne to Rochefort
This morning was a bad one; yet again I had a flat and worse still the spare inner tube had the wrong valve for the pump. So back into town and by the grace of God the velo shop was open. That took all morning but eventually we set off to look at Chateau Buzay which was closed, but we peered in through the gates and very impressive it is too (had we got inside we would have seen a house intact because during the first and second wars everyone in the village took one piece of furniture and kept it until hostilities ended thus preventing the Germans from looting the place). From there we had a windy ride alongside a motorway with very few velo route signs but a quantity of old men on bikes, foot and vans kept us straight. We even found St Vivien and took photos so now everyone knows – she really is!
In Rochefort, the Tourist Office came up trumps with a spectacular town house B&B where monsieur spoke perfect English with a curious Brighton twang, he had spent his youth he said fighting teddy boys in Hastings. He had just finished the walk to Santiago and was finding it difficult to readjust to life in Faulty Towers with Prunella Scales.
We had supper in a Basque restaurant to get us in the mood for the Pyrenees which are looming fast.
La Jarne to Rochefort
This morning was a bad one; yet again I had a flat and worse still the spare inner tube had the wrong valve for the pump. So back into town and by the grace of God the velo shop was open. That took all morning but eventually we set off to look at Chateau Buzay which was closed, but we peered in through the gates and very impressive it is too (had we got inside we would have seen a house intact because during the first and second wars everyone in the village took one piece of furniture and kept it until hostilities ended thus preventing the Germans from looting the place). From there we had a windy ride alongside a motorway with very few velo route signs but a quantity of old men on bikes, foot and vans kept us straight. We even found St Vivien and took photos so now everyone knows – she really is!
In Rochefort, the Tourist Office came up trumps with a spectacular town house B&B where monsieur spoke perfect English with a curious Brighton twang, he had spent his youth he said fighting teddy boys in Hastings. He had just finished the walk to Santiago and was finding it difficult to readjust to life in Faulty Towers with Prunella Scales.
We had supper in a Basque restaurant to get us in the mood for the Pyrenees which are looming fast.
La Rochelle to La Jarne pics
Our B&B in La Rochelle
Hotel de Ville La Rochelle
Art - Wouldn't the Purbeck Planning office just love this!
Chateau Buzay
La Rochelle to La Jarne
Tuesday 20th October.
La Rochelle to Buzay Chateau (La Jarne)
We have found that the best way to plan our route is to ask our hosts for advice on where/what to see. By the time they have trawled through all the maps etc it is usually mid morning and everywhere is shut for lunch. Being Tuesday everything in La Rochelle was shut anyway, so no museums, but we explored the town which really is beautiful. It is one of the only places to have survived all the wars intact. The town hall was particularly impressive with a rather moving plaque to the Mayor of La Rochelle who had obviously been a very popular fellow. So much so that the Germans had removed him and executed him at the age of 79 in 1944. Thereafter the resistance was even stronger.
The Cathedrale was vast and quite impressive but rather spoiled by a very angry baby trying to gain his mother’s attention over his 5 brothers and sisters. The acoustics were amazing and he was positively deafening wherever you tried to hide. We had a quick lunch on a bench in the park overlooking the harbour and remembered our bottle of wine from yesterday. We were then joined by several other vagrants drinking various bottles out of brown paper bags and looking as grubby as us. It is the first town we have been to where there are a lot of beggars sitting on the streets but they must be richer than those at home as they all have 2 dogs. None of them have asked us for any money!
We then went along the coast past endless blocks of flats and summer village resorts, and I cannot get over how many boats there are in the various marinas, at one stage the sea of masts was so thick that you could not see across to the other side of the harbour. Eventually we turned inland towards the chateau at Buzay and made a major mistake in our map reading. It was pouring with rain and quite dark and in our haste we found ourselves joining a major road with a ‘Peage’ so had to push our bikes back against the traffic until we got on to the right route. Rather scary.
We stayed in the village of La Jarne and had a slightly sticky evening as the other guest was a rather monosyllabic and unfriendly fellow also eating supper with us. One thing in his favour was that he produced a rather good bottle of wine and amazingly all 4 of us only got through half of it! Small sips were the order of the day, accompanied by several courses of mainly vegetarian fayre. Our hostess was very kind and chatty. Whilst we were eating probably 2 inches of rain fell, the first they have had for 3 months and they have forecast much more to follow.
La Rochelle to Buzay Chateau (La Jarne)
We have found that the best way to plan our route is to ask our hosts for advice on where/what to see. By the time they have trawled through all the maps etc it is usually mid morning and everywhere is shut for lunch. Being Tuesday everything in La Rochelle was shut anyway, so no museums, but we explored the town which really is beautiful. It is one of the only places to have survived all the wars intact. The town hall was particularly impressive with a rather moving plaque to the Mayor of La Rochelle who had obviously been a very popular fellow. So much so that the Germans had removed him and executed him at the age of 79 in 1944. Thereafter the resistance was even stronger.
The Cathedrale was vast and quite impressive but rather spoiled by a very angry baby trying to gain his mother’s attention over his 5 brothers and sisters. The acoustics were amazing and he was positively deafening wherever you tried to hide. We had a quick lunch on a bench in the park overlooking the harbour and remembered our bottle of wine from yesterday. We were then joined by several other vagrants drinking various bottles out of brown paper bags and looking as grubby as us. It is the first town we have been to where there are a lot of beggars sitting on the streets but they must be richer than those at home as they all have 2 dogs. None of them have asked us for any money!
We then went along the coast past endless blocks of flats and summer village resorts, and I cannot get over how many boats there are in the various marinas, at one stage the sea of masts was so thick that you could not see across to the other side of the harbour. Eventually we turned inland towards the chateau at Buzay and made a major mistake in our map reading. It was pouring with rain and quite dark and in our haste we found ourselves joining a major road with a ‘Peage’ so had to push our bikes back against the traffic until we got on to the right route. Rather scary.
We stayed in the village of La Jarne and had a slightly sticky evening as the other guest was a rather monosyllabic and unfriendly fellow also eating supper with us. One thing in his favour was that he produced a rather good bottle of wine and amazingly all 4 of us only got through half of it! Small sips were the order of the day, accompanied by several courses of mainly vegetarian fayre. Our hostess was very kind and chatty. Whilst we were eating probably 2 inches of rain fell, the first they have had for 3 months and they have forecast much more to follow.
Tuesday 20 October 2009
Man and Dog
This chap and his dog took an hour and a half over a plate of smoked salmon and two pichets of wine.
The marina at St Martin en Re
The gates
Now this is quite definitely the 7th station, more modern than I've seen so far but not surprisingly it is in a church which was flattened during the war.
to St Martin en Re
Ars church by day.
Now this is quite definitely the 7th station, more modern than I've seen so far but not surprisingly it is in a church which was flattened during the war.
Sunday 18th Oct.
Ars en Re
Now, Sundays like Mondays and Wednesday evenings can be a little tricky in France, but we had decided to change the habit of a lifetime and go for a lunch instead of supper. Fortunately Vivi had pre-ordered a Poulet roti so we were confident of being fed. That organized we went in search of a café where they provided wi-fi which we found and it worked. The most entertaining aspect was a man and his very small dog who sat side by side and shared a large plate of smoked salmon and fries. We ate lunch in the sunshine on Holly’s balcony and then set off to explore St Martin de Re. Allegedly the smartest town on the island. It was pretty, it was a fortified citadel in fact the town is surrounded by a star shaped rampart and in the 1600’s could accommodate the entire population of the island. There is also a harbour and the whole town was heaving with tourists . So we had an ice cream, window shopped and went home. The wonderful thing about the Ile de Re is that it is completely velo friendly, there are cars but as a cyclist you simply never come into contact with them, if you do you are probably lost and should not be where you are. Added to that the whole island is completely flat which is a bonus over for example Bulbarrow, although there are possibly some, but not many who would disagree.
Now, Sundays like Mondays and Wednesday evenings can be a little tricky in France, but we had decided to change the habit of a lifetime and go for a lunch instead of supper. Fortunately Vivi had pre-ordered a Poulet roti so we were confident of being fed. That organized we went in search of a café where they provided wi-fi which we found and it worked. The most entertaining aspect was a man and his very small dog who sat side by side and shared a large plate of smoked salmon and fries. We ate lunch in the sunshine on Holly’s balcony and then set off to explore St Martin de Re. Allegedly the smartest town on the island. It was pretty, it was a fortified citadel in fact the town is surrounded by a star shaped rampart and in the 1600’s could accommodate the entire population of the island. There is also a harbour and the whole town was heaving with tourists . So we had an ice cream, window shopped and went home. The wonderful thing about the Ile de Re is that it is completely velo friendly, there are cars but as a cyclist you simply never come into contact with them, if you do you are probably lost and should not be where you are. Added to that the whole island is completely flat which is a bonus over for example Bulbarrow, although there are possibly some, but not many who would disagree.
Photos Ile de Re
Ile de Re is another big wine producing area in fact I'm beginning to think that's all the French do apart from grow oysters. We found a huge bunch of grapes on the side of the road so squashed them into a bowl and to our surprise it was really very palatable!!
Harbour at Ars en Re and below the apartment we stayed in is between the trees!
German defences on the beach to the north of the island.
Saturday 17th Oct.
Saturday 17th October.
I am another whole year older today but was relieved to feel no different, still aching in all the same joints!
We had a very happy day and it was such a treat not having to pack up and set off yet again. We bought a picnic and went to explore the northern half of the Island, via the health spa where I wanted to book in for a long session and come out looking a new woman. (Alec’s present to me) Unfortunately they are booked for days so I (and Alec) am stuck with my looking my usual self. For those of you girls who may be thinking of doing the same sort of trip for health reasons - you do not seem to change shape in any great way. Most irritating!
We meandered through the marshes with field glasses and were treated to lots of migrating birds including some fan tailed warblers, lots of different redstarts, a bee-eater, rosy buzzard, hen harrier, Brent geese, all sorts of ducks, another swallow going over, and many others. After a while we realized we were lost, so stopped a couple (older than us) who turned out to come from Paris. He complemented Vivi on her French after she had explained how we had made it all the way from St Malo and also visited many chateaux somewhere up the Loire etc and said “ou est ta tente’ Vivi wondered why he was enquiring after her aunt. It was a while later we realized that he may have been talking about a tent. Anyway we picked a perfect lunch spot against a wall under a fig tree (pudding provided free) where it was really hot so a real treat.
For supper we picked a brasserie with wi-fi so we could skype the girls, ordered champagne sat at a table outside so as not to disturb the other diners and, happy as clams guess what – it didn’t work! So we had a good dinner anyway and resolved to call them all tomorrow.
I am another whole year older today but was relieved to feel no different, still aching in all the same joints!
We had a very happy day and it was such a treat not having to pack up and set off yet again. We bought a picnic and went to explore the northern half of the Island, via the health spa where I wanted to book in for a long session and come out looking a new woman. (Alec’s present to me) Unfortunately they are booked for days so I (and Alec) am stuck with my looking my usual self. For those of you girls who may be thinking of doing the same sort of trip for health reasons - you do not seem to change shape in any great way. Most irritating!
We meandered through the marshes with field glasses and were treated to lots of migrating birds including some fan tailed warblers, lots of different redstarts, a bee-eater, rosy buzzard, hen harrier, Brent geese, all sorts of ducks, another swallow going over, and many others. After a while we realized we were lost, so stopped a couple (older than us) who turned out to come from Paris. He complemented Vivi on her French after she had explained how we had made it all the way from St Malo and also visited many chateaux somewhere up the Loire etc and said “ou est ta tente’ Vivi wondered why he was enquiring after her aunt. It was a while later we realized that he may have been talking about a tent. Anyway we picked a perfect lunch spot against a wall under a fig tree (pudding provided free) where it was really hot so a real treat.
For supper we picked a brasserie with wi-fi so we could skype the girls, ordered champagne sat at a table outside so as not to disturb the other diners and, happy as clams guess what – it didn’t work! So we had a good dinner anyway and resolved to call them all tomorrow.
Sunday 18 October 2009
Pics Noirmoutier
The bridge over to Noirmoutier
Another station, I'm losing count!
View from the Noirmoutier chateau roof over the town
Noirmoutier chateau
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