Our French Sunset

After a magical day in the Camargue, Caroline and I started the drive to England to see our families. It is quite a way, so we split in into 3 parts. The first day we drove from Carcassonne to Orleans, a long 6 hour trip. The second day was from Orleans to Boulogne, a shorter trip but we hoped to stop in Versailles on the way. Then on the third day, we were driving the short hop to Dunkirk, ferrying across the English Channel, and then up to Cheshire which was our first stop.

The old town of Brive, excellently maintained, as so many French towns are.

The beauty of a roadtrip is that during a long drive, you still get to see things as you're going along. Obviously the knowledge you gain of a place is not as detailed as if you just base yourself somewhere, but you get to see many different snapshots. On our trip from Carcassonne to Orleans we had planned a stop in the town of Brive la Gaillarde. Pretty much everything went to plan with the drive, and we were treated to views of the beautiful green hills of the Dordogne and then up through the centre of France to Orleans. Unfortunately we didn't have time to stop in Orleans, but we had to move straight on to the northern coast of France.

Louis XIV on horseback in front of  the Palace of Versailles

Even the gates at Versailles are opulent

We were wary of last drive through France as we were to come quite close to the capital, Paris, which I wasn't particularly happy about driving through. As such we came closer than we thought and were in sight of the Eiffel Tower. However, after some nervous moments we managed to work our way around the Periphique. We stopped for a short break in Versailles to see some of the amazing architecture. Personally, I couldn't stand the crowds at Versailles which was way larger than anything we'd experienced anywhere else along our roadtrip. Queues to get into the Palace at Versailles stretched hundreds of metres, and the coach park was packed. Still, we made the best of it, and went to the quieter Cathedral, and generally strolled around. Once back on the road, it was fairly straightforward as we headed to Normandy.We reached Boulogne in daylight and our hotel was parked right next door to the most amazing patisserie which provided our breakfast the following day. We treated ourselves to a meal out on our last night in France. It was a good time to reminisce about the good and bad times on the roadtrip around France, and to plan the second half of our European break with family in England.

The sun goes down on Boulogne harbour, and on our French roadtrip

South West of France

Pink Flamingoes of the Camargue

The medieval waals of Cite de Carcassone

From the Auvergne, we moved to the South West of France where we based ourselves in the city of Carcassonne. Carcassonne is an excellent place to base oneself for a roadtrip as it is about one hour from the foothills of the Pyrenees, an hour or two from the Mediterranean, a short hop to Toulouse, Montpellier, or Nimes, with an amazing amount of interest in itself.

On the ramparts, looking at the Gallo-Roman semi circular tower, second in this line.

Carcassonne is a hidden treasure, a city which I'd not heard about until reading Kate Mosse's novels which are based around the city. Like much of this trip we have tried to get a little off the beaten track and have been rewarded by experiencing some beautiful parts of France. Carcassonne is a city split in two by the river Aude. On one side is a medieval walled city surrounded by a twisting, sprawling town. On the other side is another old town, though much of the buildings are more like from the 1600-1800's. That's not to say that side of town isn't old, it just was pummelled at times, including once being razed to the ground with the inhabitants banned from rebuilding until an amnesty 7 years later. Times were indeed tough in the middle ages.

Carcassonne fortress towering over the river Aude

The "new town" has a history of its own

It is a joy to walk around the walled cite de Carcassonne. There are a fair share of souvenir shops within the walls, and cafe/restaurants but it is all in keeping with the environment. Just walking around the walls is a great experience. Although much of the walls were rebuilt in the 1800's, there are parts which are much older, going back to the Gallo-Roman period which roughly was between 250-450 AD. The cite is built on a hill which makes it an imposing fortress, but it also makes walks to it (and runs around it!) quite difficult. It is absolutely worth it though.

Layeerd hills in the Pyrenees

Towns and villages nestle into valleys in the Pyrenean foothills

We took two day trips from Carcassone, one to Ax-Les-Thermes in the Pyrenees, and another to the Camargue. Both were absolutely amazing for the scenery we saw, though the Camargue had the added benefit of being a wildlife reserve. Our trip to the Camargue started with a trip to the Mediterranean town of St Maries de la Mer where a yearly Romany pilgrimage occurs every May. From there, it was just drive around and stop and look at the flora and fauna of the region, including white horses, kingfishers, Heron's, the scrubby ground full of sea lavender and dotted with Tamarisk trees, and of course, the bright pink Flamingoes.

Sparkling Mediterranean

St Maries de la Mer

White horses of the Camargue

Still waters over the Camargue marshes

Camargue sunset

The Alps to the Pyrenees

Notre Dame de France (La Vierge), Le Puy's most visible monument

Well, more accurately, we drove from Annecy in the Hauts Savoie to Carcassonne in the Aude Valley. This was a 2 day drive split up with a stay in Le Puy en Velay. And again, more accurately, we didn't stay in Le Puy, but in a village about 10 km away.

Finding our accommodation was impossible without the help of the locals who proved to be friendly and helpful. We went to the village where we thought we should be, only to be told we weren't anywhere near. But then, one of the locals said they would drive to where we needed to be and we could follow them. We then found ourselves staying at a beautiful old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere!

The beautiful stone house we stayed in

We explored Le Puy en Velay the next day. To be honest, I'd never even heard of Le Puy before we started investigating this trip. I now know it is the start of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage trail where many Catholics set off to the shrine of St James in northern Spain. I was absolutely wowed by the city which boasts much architecture from medieval and pre-Norman times. One thing I would advise anyone that gets inspiration to go to Le Puy is be prepared for some hill walking. The old city is built around a hill, or hills, and the cobbles and steps don't make walking around any easier.

Seeing the sights took some effort....

...but the views were worth the effort

The high point for me was definitely the Cathedral, a beautiful building dating back to Gallic-Roman period, or the 5th Century. Much of the architecture comes from the 10th-13th centuries as like many of these ancient structures, they are renovated over time. The Cathedral has had a good run, missing out on destruction from revolutionaries and invading forces, which means that it is in good condition, taking into account its age.

Le Puy Cathedral is still in excellent condition

St James, the reason so many make the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage

Le Puy is situated in the Auvergne region of France, a landscape of beautiful rolling hills, many of which were formed by volcanoes, which contributed to the lush, green countryside. The central mountain range of France, the Massif Central, is often overlooked due to the Alps and Pyrenees also being a part of France. But the valleys, gorges, rolling hills and colours of this area make it truly beautiful. We headed south from Le Puy to Carcassonne where we will spend 3 days before heading north to England.

Rolling hills of the Auvergne as seen from the top of Massif de Meygal, anothe leg burning hike.

By the way, for those of you who get the Monday blues, France closes on Mondays :D

Highs and Lows in the French Alps

Sunset over Lake Annecy

The French Alps has to be one of the most beautiful regions in the world. Caroline and I based ourselves in Annecy which must be one of the most beautiful alpine towns I've ever been to. Lake Annecy is picture postcard stuff, one of the cleanest lakes in Europe. What more could one possibly want?

Lake Annecy, one of the cleanest lakes in Europe

 Ok, the stunning beauty counts for a lot, but one certainly pays for it. We drove to Annecy via autoroutes and the tolls were quite expensive. And as one would expect of a tourist town, the price of food, drink, souvenirs is a bit over the top. But our answer to that was to eat at our hotel from a supermarket, with cheese, ham, bread and yoghurt on the menu.

Palais de l'Isle, Annecy

Palais de l'Isle, Annecy

Archways, alleys and medieval buildings are a pleasure to walk around in Annecy

The price is something that we expected, but what we didn't expect was for our hire car to break down. This was an annoying episode which cost us most of a day in sight seeing. We drove the car out of the hotel parking lot, and within 50 metres, it just cut out and stopped. A mechanic came out and didn't know what was wrong with it, and then our rental car company towed it away and replaced it with another, which we thought was a pretty good result for us. The only problem was that we had to pick up the car from Lyon airport which is about 125 km. Hertz came up trumps and sent a taxi to pick us up and drop us at Lyon where we got a new car and drove it back to Annecy. The main hassle was that a whole day had been wasted by doing all this.

We put this behind us and chalked it up to experience. Our new car did get us to Chamonix the next day, though, before we head west towards the Pyrenees. One of the things we wanted to do was see Mont Blanc, Europe's biggest mountain. We were blessed with good weather, and a comfortable drive.

Mont Blanc towers above Chamonix (and everything else!)

Alpine rivers flow quickly, and wherever you are in Chamonix, Mont Blanc isn't too far from view

European Roadtrip: Amsterdam to Annecy

The wonderful Place Francois Rude in Dijon

My experiences of road trips have been that sometimes, there are real treats to be had in the least expected places. After landing in Amsterdam and spending a day around the city, Caroline and I had planned to drive to the French Alps where we were to stay at Annecy. We were taking a fairly straight route down through Belgium, into the Ardennes region of France, and then down the Eastern side of France with overnight stops in Charleville-Mezieres and Dijon. We weren't too sure what to expect along the way, though we had planned to stop at Domremy la Pucelle to see the memorial to Joan of Arc.

We left Amsterdam and immediately became lost in roadworks, driving in the wrong direction for about 15 minutes. This would become par for the course. We found the right way and headed towards France. Neither of us had spent much time in Belgium, and I really don't know why as it is such a beautiful country. Much of our route followed the Meuse river in the Wallonne region of Belgium, a truly beautiful area of the world with Dinant being our favourite spot. Having been born in England, I still have trouble believing I hadn't even heard of Dinant as a town when it really is stunning.

Dinant, on the Meuse River

We carried on our wending way to Charleville-Mezieres, the capital of the Ardennes region of France (and Belgium). This was where our navigation problems really began to surface. It was beginning to get dark as we reached Chareville-Mezieres, which made things harder, and we were both tired from the drive, and I guess a bit of jet lag catching up. Anyway, we couldn't find the way to go, got lost in one way systems, and the peculiarities of French road signs didn't help. Luckily, my minuscule knowledge of French, coupled with a strangers minuscule knowledge of English allowed me to gather directions for where our hotel was. But the problems didn't stop there, on what was turning out to be a very long day. We were low on fuel, and couldn't find a petrol station. we were directed to an automated petrol station, but I didn't have a credit card on me, only a debit card, which the machines wouldn't accept. We went to sleep a little stressed, very tired, and a little worried about our ability to get fuel.

Woinic Boar, symbolic of the Ardennes

The morning brought clarity to our thinking, new hope, and determination to just get on with things. A delicious breakfast, and directions from our kind hostess allowed us to fill up with no problem. The previous evening, the only stations open in the vicinity were automated, but in the morning all petrol stations were open. With a full tank and clear heads, we headed to Domremy la Pucelle, the birth place of Joan of Arc. But we took the wrong road again and ended up in Reims! Still in the general direction we wanted to go, we decided that we'd spend a couple of hours in Reims and forget about Joan of Arc. We managed to navigate the town better this time, and went to the Cathedral, a truly spectacular gothic structure. Reims Cathedral was the place where many kings of France were crowned and it has a brilliant array of stained glass, foremost of which was a window designed by the artist Marc Chagall. No photos I could take would do it credit, it really is beautiful craftsmanship.

Wonderful stained glass at Reims Cathedral

From Reims we headed south to Dijon which we found ok, although again we became lost in the maze of the old town, and again were helped by a local who guided us to where we wanted to go (we were actually very close!). We had a little stroll in the evening, and spent a couple of hours around the old town the next day. Dijon is very old, pre-dating Roman times even, though much of what can now be seen comes from the middle ages onwards. The interesting fact that I learned about Dijon is that the city has an affinity with owls, which can be seen dotted around the architecture and in the pavements. Apparently, visitors to the church of Notre Dame can touch a bas relief carving of an owl for good luck. I didn't know this, and although I saw the church I never touched the owl. However, luckily, I don't believe in luck.

Palais des Ducs, Dijon

We left Dijon in good spirits, having been charmed by the city, managed to navigate out of the town well, and dropped on to the right road towards Annecy, where we arrived to witness a sunset over the lake, which lays claim to being the cleanest lake in Europe. We have 3 nights in Annecy to check out the alpine air and surrounds. So far this roadtrip has taught me:

- be open minded and accept that changes of plan aren't necessarily bad things
- trying to communicate to people in their language gains respect...and the French are a generally helpful people
- French road systems and road signage is not easy for non-French to understand
- French food is amazing, and I will probably arrive back in Australia the size of a small planet!

Sunset over Lake Annecy

Nostalgic for Amsterdam

When I travel I love to experience new things, whether it be people, landscape, culture etc. This roadtrip will be taking in some new things as Caroline and I drive around France. But before that, we flew from Melbourne into Amsterdam and spent a day in Holland's cultural capital city.

Our flight with Emirates was smooth but exhausting. We took a 3 flight route, with brief stops in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. Each leg of the trip was about 7 hours so there were no ridiculous 12 or 13 hour legs. But the flying time was still the same, which means that it is still exhausting. The first flight left Melbourne at about 2.40 am Sunday morning and landed Amsterdam at about 8.00 pm Sunday night. This was good as it meant that after a quick shuttle ride to our hotel, we could crash out at a reasonable time, which is what we did.

We are staying close to Schipol Airport and today we commuted to Amsterdam for a chilled out time before starting the drive tomorrow. It was a little strange going back to a city where I'd spent quite a bit of time before, albeit a long time before. We walked around a bit before meeting up with an old friend. In the early 1990's I went to Amsterdam a couple of times as a sort of apprenticeship in the art of street performing. At the time I was in a double act and we learned our skills in Amsterdam. While I met a lot of people in Holland, I've only kept in touch with one, a woman called Marion. Today, Caroline and I met up with Marion at a cafe that we used to go to over 20 years ago, De Balie.

Caroline meeting Marion for the first time in over 10 years

It was actually a very odd experience sitting in a cafe for the first time in over 20 years, waiting to meet someone who I hadn't seen for over 10 years (Caroline probably hadn't met Marion for 15 years) in a city that is 10,000 miles away from my home. But meet up we did, and we had a great time chatting with Marion and her family, and catching up on what she is doing (a mother to a 2 year old daughter and nearly full time work) and reminiscing about the past.

Chess Pilgrimage Site

Besides plenty of walking and sightseeing I managed to visit the Max Euwe Centre, though it doesn't open on Mondays and we had pancake for dinner, a typically Dutch dish. So the first day was a chilled out affair, but pretty tiring as we got through quite a bit. It was pretty much a perfect start to our European trip.

Central Station, Amsterdam

Restaurant of the Five Flies

Typical Dutch Architecture

Coffee is Taking Over from Chess for a While

Just to let you all know that this blog will be turning into a travelogue for the next month.

I'm taking a vacation which starts in about 7 hours (currently taking a break from packing and cleaning the house)  which will take Caroline and I to Holland, Belgium, France and England. We might pop into Switzerland and Spain on the way round, who knows?

While we are road tripping, we will have a few stops on the way. So we're spending a short time in Annecy, Le Puy and Carcassone to explore those areas a little more, before getting to England where our time will be split between Caroline's and my own families.

What am I looking forward to? Well besides hopefully seeing some beautiful French countryside, and experiencing some of the culture and history of rural France, it is the food that is uppermost in my mind at the moment, and especially the bread and cheese (yes, I admit that this could turn into a bit of a Wallace and Gromit blog).

The Emirates flight from Melbourne will take us to Amsterdam via Kuala Lumpur and Dubai, and will leave at about 2.30 am Sunday morning, and land at about 8 pm Sunday night. We then have a full day in Amsterdam before heading south to France.

So far, all the roadtrips I've had with Caroline have been amazing, so I'm getting pretty excited about this one. Here's a couple of memories from the last roadtrip in the USA.

Caroline touching a Dinosaur Bone

Me at Arches National Park in Utah