Rodez, France, 28th June 2013

We left Grenoble still heading south into the gorges in the Vercors area. We picked up a route map in the tourist office in Villiard-de-Lans. Just south of the town the road enters the Gorges of the Bourne - a Michelin *** attraction. The road is at the base of the gorge - just hollowed out at the base of the cliff and the height is not enough for tall vehicles but it makes a spectacular drive. Continuing on, the road circles the top of the Combe-Laval which gives quite a different perspective. 

New style vehicle for La Poste.

 The road along the Gorge de la Bourne near Villiard-de-Lans.

 Looking down from the Combe Laval road.

  

We stayed in Vallance and the next day made an excursion to Rochemaure which has the standard ruined castle above the town and is where my Godson (Robert) has a house with magnificent views over the Rhone Valley. Not far to the west is Alba la Romaine with the remains of a Roman theatre. On the eastern bank of the Rhone is Montelimar famous for Nougat. When my Sister and I came here 45 years ago we nearly ate ourselves sick on the free samples of nougat. It was Sunday this time, and the nougat was more elusive. 

 Rochemaure - every town should have its own ruined castle standing guard.

 Montelimar nougat in the traditional packaging - not the most economical way to buy it.

 

The following day Monday 24th June we left Vallance still heading south for our next stop Avignon. On the way we called into Orange. How many towns can boast of a well preserved Triumphal Roman Arch from 1stC A.D. in the middle of the roundabout as you enter the town? We also went to Vaison la Romaine which is on the tourist trail. A 1stC A.D. Roman bridge connects the Upper and Lower town on opposite banks of the river. 

 The Roman triumphal Arch now in the middle of a roundabout on the main road into Orange.

 The upper town of Vaison la Romaine

 Need a tagine? There is a good selection in Vaison la Romaine. I fancied a child's sundress in Provencal fabric, but there were only two sizes - six months and six years!

 

The following day our first stop was Saint-Remy-de-Provence. About 10 years ago we stumbled across a fabric shop while searching for the car which we had temporarily lost. I had kept the card and found it on the web recently, but when we got to Rue Lafayette it had gone. Fortunately there was another fabric shop on the opposite side of the street so I was able to buy "Tissus Provencal". Saint-Remy is a nice town to walk around with narrow lanes and interesting shops. Although the Mistral was blowing the streets were sheltered.  

 Many roads in France are lined with avenues of trees.

 The Town Hall square in Saint-Remy-de-Provence with its shady trees and outdoor cafes is typical.

 The fabric shop I found in Saint-Remy-de-Provence.

 Inside the shop.

 My purchases from the shop (and scraps given to me)

From there we went to Arles which has a lot of Roman ruins including an amphitheatre where French style bull fights (The bull lives) are held. However the attraction being advertised was Equestrian spectaculars - think Spanish Lippizaner Horses and I would have loved to see them in that setting. To finish the day we took a run out onto the Camargue - the Rhone Delta. There are large areas of rice paddies and it is flat and the Mistral was blowing hard making it not very pleasant. However we found some white horses although the flamingoes were mostly hiding. 

 The Roman Amphitheatre in Arles is still in use.

 The white horses of the Camargue.

 

This morning in Avignon I thought I should get a photo of the famous half bridge but it proved rather difficult as there was little official parking along the river. 

Sur le pont d'Avignon.

We are now in Rodez which we reached via the Tarn Gorges. From Rodez we made an excursion out to Villefranche-de-Rouergue one of the Bastide towns/villages. These were new towns built to a regular plan between 1220 and 1370 in South West France.

 The road through the Tarn Gorges is also cut into the side of the cliffs.

 More pretty wildflowers growing on the rocks.

 A hillside town in the Tarn Gorge.

 Street scene in Rodez. The dogs caught my eye, but as usual i was a bit slow snapping.

 June is the end of the school year and the time for school excursions.

 Around Rodez it is very pretty undulating countryside.

 The central square next to the Collegiate church of Notre Dame in
Villefranche-de-Rouergue has the arcades typical of Bastide towns.

 Examples of the choir stalls in the Collegiate church.

The cloisters of La Chartreuse Saint Saveur (just outside Villefranche) may be the largest in France, but they are very plain, not surprising as this was a Carthusian monastery.

Looking down on the village of Conques. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was too late to see the treasury - the largest collection of medieval reliquary gold and silverwork.

Grenoble, June 21st

From Dijon we continued south. We are really "en Vacance" and not being at all serious tourists, so the frequency of posts will probably decrease. We have been booking our accommodation on line as we go and it has been working out very well. After leaving Dijon our first stop was Dole where we eventually found the tourist office but being Sunday it was shut, so we settled for coffee in the square. The waiter was running to look after the dogs as well as the people. 

The Cathedral at Dole.

 A rather stern looking Madonna in the church at Salins les Bains

We stayed in Bourg-en-Bresse and the following day just drove out to admire the countryside and the "Village Fleuri". Just outside Bourg-en-Bresse is the Abbey of Brou with another lovely glazed tile roof. We are now in Savoie and out of Charolais country, but I don't know the name of the brown and white breed of cattle we see here. 

The glazed tile roof of the Abbey of Brou near Bourg-en-Bresse. We walked right around the building but could not find a better angle for a photo.

 

 Walt Disney in the French countryside.

 
We found the Tourist Office in Belley, a town I had never heard of, but it turns out it was thriving under the Romans. We took the walking tour of the town which is always interesting. This town only became French in 1600 (before that the area was under the Dukes of Savoie (Swiss?).  It was a hive of activity during the Counter Reformation and there are 4 former convents although it is a pretty small place. More relevant are the contemporary cafes and we got a good cup of coffee in one. 

 Lots and lots of wildflowers everywhere.

 Judging by the dogs we see they should have a good clientele!

 A change from the more usual Christ in Majesty (or similar) above the main entrance to Belley Cathedral.

From Belley we started our touring of the mountains going past the Belvedere d'Ontax and over Col du Chat and then Col du Mont Chat (1504m) with magnificent views over Lac Bourget. Plenty of hairpin bends, but with the SatNav you can see them coming up. 

 Looking down on Lake Bourget from the Belvedere du Mont du Chat.

 The snow is melting and there are waterfalls galore.

We stayed last night in Chambery and today went higher into the Alps along Rue des Grands Alpes which took us over the Col du Meraillat (over 1900m) and amongst the drifts of snow and past lots of cascades and waterfalls from the melting snow. Still plenty of cattle but today they were Swiss Brown.

 This could be in the area of Col du Meraillet west of Mont Blanc.

 

 Wildflowers again.

Every day after we set off one of our first tasks is to find a boulangerie to buy the bread for our picnic lunch. We are getting better at spotting them and diving into a parking spot close by. Today (Thursday) was another day in the mountains. We went over Col du Galabier at 2646m. Although the pass was open there were feet of snow each side of the road in places. Le Tour will be going over this pass on July 21st, so it will be interesting to see how much snow remains then. We stopped for coffee at Col du Lautaret and the cafe was full of cyclists including an English group who were riding from London to Monaco - 900 km in 10 days.

 As we sat in the cafe on Col du Lauteret a thunderstorm passed by and the lightning was spectacular.

The number of cyclists toiling on the pass is phenomenal.

 

 It is now Friday evening and today was another day in the mountains. The weather was perfect with the sun shining on the snow. The air is so clear and the mountains stand out against the sky.  We drove first up to Alpe d'Huez. There was some sort of cycle race and there were dozens of cyclists on the road. Alpe D'Huez is a huge ski resort and the road we wanted to take out of town was not signposted. However we found it - 15 km of twisting and narrow road along the plateau. Fortunately there was very little traffic as it was often single track and there was one particularly scary hairpin bend. The views were spectacular and being France there were occasional picnic tables.

 View from the hotel car park in Grenoble.

 French alpine scenery on a good day is hard to beat!

 French traffic calmers are serious.

To finish this post, a postcard view of the French Alps.

Dijon, France, 15th June 2013

Troyes - still in Champagne but gradually working our way south. This morning the Troyes Tourist office set us up with a walking tour of the city. It bills itself as the city of ten churches, but we only poked our noses into one - St Madeline - to see the 16thC stained glass. I was particularly taken with Isaiah's tree. 

 The Troyes tourist office caters for doggy visitors and there are plenty of them. They cost 3 euros a night in our hotel.

 Detail of the 1508 Isaiah's tree window in the church of St Madeline, Troyes.

 

There are streets of half timbered buildings. Unlike England where they are all have black painted timber with white or cream plaster in between, the French favour unpainted timber with pastel coloured plaster. A piece of trivia - the troy ounce still used today for weighing precious metals originated in Troyes in Medieval times.

 Half timbered houses in Troyes.

 Detail of the timbering.

 Coffee in the main square in Troyes, but it is not exactly crawling with tourists.

 

Troyes was an important textile centre from the 12thC but these days I think all the clothes are imported.

No not a bar in Cork - this one is in Troyes and has good coffee!

 It was quite a city under the Romans, and for a change from churches we drove out to inspect a Roman bridge. I think it has little of the original fabric remaining, but as usual the Romans were on the money when they chose the site. 

Although we have not driven over a large area of the region, the building materials have changed from dressed limestone blocks around Epernay through brick to half timbered to smallish stones set in mortar. 

On Friday we went to Vezelay. The basilica of Mary Magdalene was built on the site of a Roman villa and dates from 1120. An enterprising monk brought the relics of Mary Magdalene (who had died in Provence!!!) to Vezelay and pilgrims flocked there and the abbey made a fortune. Later it was one of the assembly points for pilgrimages to Santiago del Compostela in Spain - although today most pilgrims start in the Pyrenees. As you might guess, the basilica is at the top of a hill, but the street leading up to it is interesting. We were lucky to arrive as the choir of nuns and monks were singing unaccompanied (Gregorian chant?). The acoustics are excellent and the singing  sounded superb. 

 Looking along an alley in Vezelay.

 The main drag up to the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene, Vezelay.

 The Romanesque nave of the Basilica.

 A solitary nun prays in the choir of the basilica. Three Catholic and one Orthodox community are associated with the basilica.

The choir singing in the Basilica.

 

Later we drove to Dijon and managed to get caught in the rush hour. 

Today, Saturday we made an excursion to Beaune and then Autun both in Burgundy and top wine country. It was market day in Beaune and it was a good market although I did not see anyone selling snails! 

 The market in Beaune

A Brocante stall in the market.

 

Beaune is where Nicolas Rolin and his third wife Guigone de Sallins established a charity hospital for the poor in 1443. It functioned until the 1950s when the estate was able to build a new hospital. Of course it suffered during the French revolution, but some treasures were hidden. 

 The main courtyard of Hotel-Dieu des Hospices Civil de Beaune. The glazed tile roofs are typical of Burgundy.

 General view of the Great Hall with ~ 25 beds along both sides and a Chapel at the far end.

 The kitchen of the hospital.

 One of the treasures hidden during the French Revolution - the Polyptych of the Last Judgement. Gabriel is weighing the naked souls of the dead. The good go off to heaven on the left and the damned off to the right and Hell (cut off in this photo)

 

Our second stop for the day was in Autun to see the remnants of the Roman theatre and one of the Roman gates to the city.

Remains of the Roman theatre in Autun. Its use as a soccer field seems quite appropriate.