Sunday 16 September 2012

Sancerre & Nevers




 
So, was the bike ride up to Sancerre worth it? Yes and no. Yes, it’s a beautiful town with fabulous buildings and a great walking-trail. And No, because, whatever Stephen said, there is no way that was only a kilometre. Plus, I discovered a bus went up to the town and back to where we were moored, but only after we’d cycled up there.
 
Actually, we didn’t cycle the whole way there – we got off and pushed at the really hard bits.

There are some really well signposted cycle routes in this region, under the “Velo Loire” scheme. Trouble is, they do attract a lot of MAMIL’s (Middle Aged Men In Lycra). I know it’s great to have a hobby that get you out in the fresh air and keeps you fit. But really, is skin-tight, fluorescent lycra really the only way to go?

Anyway, back to Sancerre and a very important discovery we made there. Everyone knows about Sancerre wine, right? But, what about Sancerre beer?
On your behalf, we sampled some with lunch and I can honestly say it is some of the best beer we have ever tasted (and we’ve tasted a few). Stephen had the Blond and I had the Rose, which was flavoured with plant extracts. I really hope we see it again, but have a horrible feeling we won’t.
Stephen, modelling the latest in great beer
I would recommend a visit to the amazing little hill town, it's small enough to explore on foot and there is much more to it than just wine (although, there is a lot of that too).

On to Nevers, via another aqueduct. I had never been over an aqueduct in my life before last week, now I’ve done two! Truly, there is no end to the excitement on this trip!
Stephen at the start of the aqueduct
Nevers is another beautifully photographic town. Stephen described it as being a bit like Bruges – every way you turn, there is something to photograph. Except it’s all a bit charmingly shabby (which Bruges is not), but as you’ll know from my previous post, we are a bit partial to “charmingly shabby”.
Side street in Nevers - charmingly shabby
 
The Ducal Palace - not shabby at all

In a town we don’t know, we generally head for the cathedral/big church first, as they tend to be in the centre of things. This is half true with Nevers, as it has two halves (High and Low Town) and two cathedrals. We visited the High Town Cathedral, which is magnificent and has some beautiful modern stained glass. The cathedral was largely destroyed in WWII by the RAF, who were trying to bomb some nearby foundries, but other than the stained glass, you wouldn’t be able to tell.

Emma’s highlight of Nevers has got to be the “Rolling Ball Fountain”. This consists of a really big, solid ball of marble which is pushed round and round by water coming up from underneath. It took us several minutes to decide that, yes, it really was just the power of water moving it.
Emma & friends at the Rolling Ball Fountain
We are off the Decizes next, where my parents are joining us for a couple of days. We plan to travel down the canal to Digoin. At the moment it is still shorts and t-shirt weather here by mid-morning, so I am hoping it lasts at least for the next week!

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Elegantly Wasted...

Is it just me, or do slightly (and sometimes more than slightly) dilapidated buildings look interesting and charming when you abroad, whereas at home, they would just look tatty? 

 

 

Is it the light? The "holiday" frame of mind? Maybe if I had to live next door to them, I'd revise my opinion and think them tatty after all. But at the moment, they are still seem charming.

We travelled with some new Finnish friends, Johanna, Joseph & Eevin for a week or so, but they have now gone on ahead of us, as they need to move faster than we do. So - Happy 40th Birthday Joseph! It was great travelling in convoy with them - and not just because there was one stretch of canal where they had a map and we didn't.

We are out in the sticks a bit, travelling on the Canal Lateral a la Loire. Beautiful countryside and some lovely little towns and villages en route.

We particularly enjoyed Chatillion-Coligny, a medieval walled town which had a wonderful (and free!) marina.

Inside the walled town of Chatillion-Colligny
 
Emma, doing her best "I am really cute" impression
We've also seen a number of great trompe d'oeil over the past week or so. This is my current favourite - painted on a garage door just by a lock entrance.


We also crossed the Loire at Briare a few days ago, via a magnificent aqueduct. It's over half a kilometre long and has walkways on both side. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel and is absolutely amazing.

Just entering the aqueduct
 
About halfway across
 
At the end, looking back
Tonight we are at Saint Satur and Stephen tells me we have now travelled 1,270 miles. Tomorrow (if the rain stops for long enough) we are planning to cycle up to Sancerre, which is the home of one of Stephen's favourite wines. It's a long, steep hill (especially with Emma on the back of my bike, plus she require a running commentary of what's going on around us), so wish me luck!

Tuesday 4 September 2012

On to Paris

More beautiful countryside on our way to Paris. We passed right through the centre of the Champagne region. The bottle bank at the marina in Mareuil-sur-Ay made us laugh, being about two-thirds full of champagne bottles, rather than the usual "Vin du Pays". It's a lovely little town (one baker, one butcher, 14 champagne houses), but does seem to have some rather unusual residents.....

The vineyards are quite amazing to see; mile after mile of carefully ordered rows of vines.

 
And I loved this wild flower garden planted at one of the locks we passed through. It was full of insects and butterflies.


Arrived in Paris in rain and high winds - not very August-y. We stayed at Paris Arsenal which is right next to the Place Bastille, in fact the Bastille Metro Station forms one of the boundary walls, so very central.

My sister, Helen, and her daughter, Lily came to visit for the weekend, much to Emma's excitement. Lily is now five and had two "must do" items on her list for Paris:

1. Go and see the Eiffel Tower (or the "Eif Tower" as Emma calls it)
2. Go and see Quasimodo's House (better known as Notre Dame - she's been watching the Disney film)

Both pretty easy to accomplish!


In the event, I think both Emma and Lily were more excited by the other events of the day - a ride on the Metro, lunch in a cafe, a ride on a carousel and a big bag of popcorn!

Next day we met up with an old friend of mine and her daughter. We worked together at Royal Trust Bank many years ago. She moved to Paris 20 years ago and this was the first time I had met her daughter.

We all had lunch then took the boat out for a trip up and down the Seine. The sun shone and the children had a whale of a time doing a little bit of sightseeing and a lot of pulling out all the toys and squealing at each other.


 
The Eiffel Tower and Paris's Statute of Liberty from the Seine

 



Before signing off, I must post a picture of the boat we were moored next to in Paris. When we booked in the Harbourmaster said "you are in slot 130, next to the colourful boat; you won't miss it". He was right!