Sunday 30th September Les Toulerons.

Great day again. Sun shinning though the temp around 6 deg. We have noticed that despite the sun the temp will not climb much higher than 14 deg during the day, unlike most winter days at home which might start cold but warm up during the day.
Sitting here a little confused as I am typing this as I'm listening live over the net, with perfect reception, to Ray Hadley and his lot for the start of the Grand Final and thinking of you all at Nos 9 gathered around the TV. Sent a text message to the them saying I was listening in Danmarie Sur Loing in France! which they acknowledged.
Beatrice is busy doing the washing and housework.

Disaster. Manly just were never in the game and the precious one should be sacked immediately! He was hopeless.

Decided to stay at home and cut the grass and do some gardening.

Temperature up to 25 deg.

Out to Rongy tonight to have dinner with Gretchen at her 300 year old home the Presbytery which is the subject of a book called 'French Spirits' written by her son Jeffrey Greene which she tells us was on the best sellers list in Australia. More about all this later.

Saturday 29th September

Les Toulerons. - Saturday
Woke up to a beautiful sunny day and blue skies. Temp up to 14deg this morning.
We have been asked to check on V & G boat, de Villehardouin, berthed in Chatillon - Coligny. We
re-connected the power to the berth outlet, checked that the bilge pump was working and that no water had entered the cabin as it has been raining on and off over the last few days.
Walked into the town and most of the shops were closing for the day or for a couple of hours for lunch.
Bought a couple of baguettes for our lunch and made our way back home.
Watched the Rugby, Australia play Canada, they didn't look to convincing but weren't playing their top team, however Canada were very good.
Pulled the lawn mower out and cut the grass all around the front of the property and down the drive way. Hopefully it'll stop growing so fast as winter is now approaching.
Heard gunshots around and about in the woods as the le chasse is still on for the next few weeks.
Otherwise a quiet evening at home sitting by the glow of the fire.

27th - 28th September- Les Toulerons

Thursday.
Well the weather has certainly changed. Ongoing drizzle and very cool in the mornings. Lighting the wood burning stove at night which is something we are not use to. Must say it heats the whole cottage up very nicely as its all open plan. We are enjoying the change in the seasons, well we do like the sunshine which has been missing these last few days, though must admit it has tried to make an appearance without much success.
Thursday ( 6 deg this morning)we visited Briare to have another look around the town and visit the tourist bureau so we will have all the info about the ceramics that they are known for, in case Marisa would like to see it all. Went into a local coffee shop,(not the tourist type) and joined them all having a morning cup. We still go for the deux double grand cafe au lait, not quite use to the shot they all have which just about knocks your socks off. Place was full of smoke, it will interesting to see how they go when it all is suppose to go smoke free, so we have been told, by 1st. Jan next year. Restaurants and cafes that is. Don't think they will ever ban the dogs that are allowed in.
Went on to Saint Amand En Puisaye to view the pottery town. It must be that winter is approaching as the town was virtually closed down, everywhere, even the tourist bureau.
So we decided to drive home slowly,looking at the country side. The fields were sprouting all new shoots and turning quite green, we will have to find out what they have planted.
The sun tried to come out again and the temp jumped to 14 deg which was the top for the day.

Friday
Back to Gien to see if the vacuum cleaner had been fixed. No luck so went off to the Gien pottery as they were having a sale. Not that we could manage to get any of it back home, anyhow it was all mighty expensive!
Home to have a bit of a rest then it was out again to the Auberge des 7 Ecluses where I had early in the day made a reservation for three, all in my perfect French. Well I thought it was, as it worked, when we arrived at 7.30 there was the table for three with a reserved sign on it and in the none smoking area, just as I had requested.
We had caught up with Elizabeth again and enjoyed a great evening talking about France and the different countries we had lived in and everything else thrown in as well. Before we left we were joined by Mme Jacomin (wife of owner) for (infusion tea) She spoke English very well and told us how they had enjoyed Sydney when they visited a few years ago.
Drove home through the mist after another enjoyable day.

Wednesday 26th at Les Toulerons

Wednesday 26th September-Les Toulerons

Very misty morning today.
Decided we had to do something in the garden (Beatrice decided for me) so out to rake up all the apples under the trees so I can cut the grass, I’m told, firstly sorting out all the good ones. Hundreds of them! Washed, cleaned and wiped them dry before putting them on to the storage trays in the cool pantry. Some have been cooked and Beatrice will bake some and we’ll collect some more walnuts from the tree outside and eat em up! I’ve requested apple crumble.
Don’t know why I haven’t been eating an apple a day as I usually do, perhaps its because I didn’t get to choose them at the supermarket. Being this close to nature will take some getting use to. We eat the strawberries that are in abundance out the back door and also pick and eat the grapes off the vines growing over the pagoda, along with the variety of vegetables from the garden. We could be really self sufficient here. Bob would love it! He could even go out the back door and bag a duck flying over the house.
Alas! It started to rain and we had to come into the cottage for coffee.
Didn’t get to cut the grass.
Excitement as a white van drove up the track. It was the meter reader. We searched around the place for it and then found them under noses by the back door, admittedly hidden by a calendar.

Would you believe it, there was this strange noise, turning out to be the cow bells banging away at the front door, we had another visitor! Is there no peace.(just joking, we love it)

A good friend of V & G was calling. Gretchen Van Blaricom, actually an Americam who has been living in France for the last 12 years and has just returned from visiting Brittany.

We had a good chat and have been invited to have dinner with her family( and seven dogs) this Sunday and also made a date for us all to go to dinner, when Marisa will be with us, at the Rendezvous Peache Sunday 7th, which she says we will really enjoy.(No doubt we will hear more about it this Sunday)

25th September Bleneau Markets

25th September Les Toulerons

Drove into Bleneau this morning to visit the street markets. (About 10 klms away) Firstly stopping by the tourist office in Rogny to speak to Elizabeth about our Paris visit. Would have to return as she had gone out.
All sorts of foods available here, great cheeses, breads, vegetables and some things that you would rather like to think that people don’t really eat! (But they do!) Heaps of goat cheeses available, but strangely enough we haven’t ever seen any goats out in the fields when we’ve been travelling around. Cows, horses, sheep but not goats. We’ll have to ask Elizabeth where they all are.
Marisa is arriving on Tuesday so we thought we should arrange somewhere to stay in Paris for a few days.
No problem we thought!
Telephoned Elizabeth who still wasn’t back at the Rogny tourist office and she gave us some numbers to call. Tried them all and no vacancies. So we looked on the net, still no vacancies without having to hand over our life’s savings. Elizabeth eventually took pity on us and made a few calls and came up with the Libertel Canal Saint Martin. A two star hotel close to the Metro and major train stations. Not quite our life’s savings but a good portion of it! However we don’t know when we’ll back this way again so we went for it and booked a three-night stay.
Realised it’s the 25th today so its been two months since we left Australia. We’ve done so much that its feels as though it’s been away much longer. However before we know it the next 6 weeks will fly by. We have Marisa coming, Paris sights to see and places we want to take Marisa to- potteries, ceramics, chateaus, castles, coffee shops, markets………………………………………..
Listened to music, read our books and relaxed with a few glasses of red wine, which the French tell us is good for you and we believe them.

Monday 24th Les Toulerons

Monday 24th September Les Toulerons

Raining and definitely getting cooler. 10 deg over night. The leaves are falling and the grass doesn’t look as though it’s growing so fast. I will have to get stuck into it again though. Where is that ride on mower!
Spent some time updating the blog as I’ve found out that some people had been wondering what we had been up to over the last week.
Decided to try lighting the fire and found it to be very effective. Cast Iron (?) type with a glass front door and it throws out a very effective heat. We had to open a door as it became too hot. It will be really great when it gets really cold. They do have central heating and I only have to turn it on if need be, which isn’t really necessary just yet as the days do still get to the high teens.
Drove into Chatillion to the Super U to stock up the larder, buy some French wine, baguettes and fill the car with petrol. (1.38 euros a litre if you’re interested)
Yes Autumn is on its way!
Enjoyed delectable meal and a few glasses of wine, sat back , listed to music and read.

23rd September Les Toulerons

Sunday 23rd September Home at Les Toulerons.

Today we woke up to a very much different day than we had been use to over the last week. It was very overcast and had had been raining gently most of the night.
Lots of tidying up to do, emptying the suitcase and of course washing the clothes.
Ventured out mid morning to drive into Rongy to buy a banquette and a loaf of bread from our local bakery and a few other bits and pieces.
Watched Australia play Fiji at 2pm live from Montpellier where we had been quite close to the other day. Could see they were enjoying a beautiful warm sunny afternoon.
Could hear gunshots all around us in the later afternoon as they were shooting in the woods. We know that Valerie’s builder is a member of the local hunting team. The shots came so close to us that Beatrice didn’t want me venturing too far out of our garden area. We could see the birds (ducks) falling to the ground as they shot them and the dogs chasing around collecting them up.
Sad really when you think about it. It went on for hours all around us.
Had to get back inside to watch the next game live from Scotland with NZ playing the home team there. The Aussies will have to play a lot better than they did if they want to beat the Kiwi’s from what I saw.

Saturday 22nd September- The drive home

Saturday 22nd September- The drive home
Left Orange after breakfast to be at home before nightfall.
Drove up the old highway to Pont de Esprit and then on the minor roads through the countryside. Winding narrow roads with stony, rocky fields all around us. Then the odd winery with vines and cultivated areas.
Went into the old medieval village of Aiqueze. This is where the crusaders lived before venturing off on their travels fighting wars in the name of Christianity and civilisation. We enjoyed our usual morning cup of coffee in the local bar come coffee shop, before looking for the tourist bureau. No luck as it didn’t open until 2pm and then it was for only a couple of hours. Being a small village we did our own tour up and down the narrow cobbled streets. Very old buildings dating back many centuries still being maintained as they have been for years. Not many people about, however we found a cleaner mopping the floor in the church and then bumped into a group of German tourists doing much as we were walking around and about.
It was time to hit the road and seek out the autoroute that would get us up north and through Lyon to Auxerre and home to Les Toulerons.
The only heavy traffic we encountered was as we went through the centre of Lyon. Stopped off for a rest every through hours for a drink and a sandwich and ran into rain as we entered Auxerre. We thought we knew the way through here as we had visited there previously, however in the rain we have to confess we became hopelessly lost and drove around in circles until we finally spotted a sign to Toucy which we swung around to join. Recognizing more familiar sights we knew we were nearing the areas we knew better.
Despite some of our mistakes, taking wrong turns and sometimes going in the wrong direction, we felt very satisfied that we had travelled some 1700 klms without any major problems as we pulled up in front of Les Toulerons.
In general we have found the French drivers are very tolerant and will happily wait for you without honking their car horns or giving out any abuse. They do park very badly; don’t stop for you at any of the white painted crossings and speed on the open roads. In fact the only time we did hear car horns was when there was a complete mix up as hundreds of cars lined up to go through the toll booths to pay on the autoroute and were pushing in trying to cross over the lanes in front of others. It all got sorted out though as soon as they opened up a few more booths.
Unloading the car in the rain we dropped our bags down in the bedroom to unpack in the morning, poured ourselves a drink and had something to eat before falling into bed exhausted. Being a tourist is really tiring!

Friday 21st September- Orange

Orange,
Vaucluse La Belle Provence
Friday 21st September
A late breakfast for us today as we slept in much later than usual. We must have needed the rest.
A choice today of corn flakes, orange or grapefruit juice, sliced baquette, boiled eggs, jams, marmalades and coffee or tea. Not a croissant in sight! It had been a long time since I had my cereal so I tucked in.
As we thought Orange had a lot to offer we arranged to stay another night before we left for the day’s exploration.
We walked into town stopping off at the tourist bureau to pick up the usual maps, guides etc that we find indispensable.
First stop the Theatre Antique d’Orange. This theatre is renowned for being in an exceptional good state of preservation. As we made our way up to buy our tickets Beatrice alerted me to all the legionnaires that were lining up ready to march off into the town centre around the corner. Shouts of marching orders, the band struck up and I was off down the street to take some photos. We had come across on what we believe was the passing out parade of the latest recruits from the barracks situated in the town. Truly quite spectacular, took many photos and positioned my self behind the officers taking the salute. Eyes right, arms presented, it was as though it was all for me. Perhaps a little cheeky when I think about it as I was almost standing in-between the officers on the parade steps. Lots of locals and tourists all gathered on the pavements as each squad passed by giving their salute. Red epaulettes bayonets and wearing Kepis of all colors, white, black, some trimmed with red all sorts of variations, with the generals being black with gold leaf clusters emblazoned on the sides of theirs. Bob, we really wanted to go up and ask one of them if they would give us their hat, but we restrained ourselves. It all then broke up into a display of armoured tanks, weaponary and activities for the kids to take part in. Developing into some sort of young recruitment drive I suppose. The band assembled once again on the parade ground and played some lively tunes many of which were typical of all marching bands. Beatrice dragged me away, as I was becoming quite engrossed in it all. We had tourist sites to visit and plenty of walking to do. However it had been a great bonus seeing the Legionnaires, which comprised of men of all sorts of skin colours and features. Beatrice told me that anyone could join the French Foreign Legion. Maybe she was giving me a hint of some kind. Anyhow I didn’t think my French was good enough for that!
Back to the The Roman Theatre.
We purchased our tickets and picked up our audio guides and notes. First stop we watched a short film recreating the past glory of the theatre and how now since 1972 it is being used in the summer months as a great Opera location being highly regarded for its acoustics. This operatic festival is held in July and the beginning of August each year. It all looked fabulous on the film and made me want to get tickets for the season next year. Pity I’ll be 10 thousand odd miles away by then.
This Theatre is amazing and is known to be one of the best roman buildings left in a great state of preservation. It had however been through many narrow escapes since it was built in the 1st century AD. It all fell over when the roman civilisation became very decadent, with bawdy performances, nudity and cruelty by 500AD. The Christians were rising up about it all and when the then Roman emperor converted to a Christian and declared it as the religion for the people, these theatres, temples, bath houses and all the great building the Romans had constructed over its 1000 year reign were progressively set upon and destroyed with people removing stones etc to build their churches, houses and to make roads. Fortunately the theatre at Orange some how managed to escape total destruction and despite it being cleared in the centre and a town being built inside consisting of roads and many houses, which eventually took the authorities over twenty years to evict and clear when they realised what they had and wanted to prevent it from any further deterioration. In the most recent times it was used as a prison during the French revolution with prisoners being kept there in the most appalling conditions.
Situated beside the theatre, are the magnificent ruins of a temple where the Romans would worship their Emperor. Across the road we visited the museum, which houses the history of Art in Orange from the decorative ruins of the Theatre to the décor and paintings from the last four centuries and all this being located in a private house dating back to the 17th Century.
It was then off to view the Triumphal Arch as you come into Orange from the direction of Lyon. The Romans use to follow a route bordered by tombs and then would pass through this monumental Arch. It is dedicated to the glory of the veterans of the 11 Gallic Legion, founders of the Roman colony at Orange. Highly decorated with reliefs depicting arms, trophies and naval victories, which exemplified the might of Rome at that time, on land and at sea. This thankfully had also been saved from destruction over the years and is still quite stunning to see. We walked all day and saw the whole city and agreed that we both liked this place very much.
Conscious getting the better of us we bought some stamps and posted some cards off that we had bought, just in case anyone was wondering where we had been for the last two months.
We walked back to the hotel to freshen up and before making our way back to the old quarter for dinner we watched the locals playing boule. Every town, village, city have gravel pitches (?) for the game. They gestured to us asking if we wanted to take part, we declined, as they were incredible in the way they played. We certainly learnt a few tricks, which we will use when we play again! So watch out (I might have to whisper to Noelene (my partner) the secret of winning at boule)
We found Le Pigola, a restaurant that had all the things we liked, brightly coloured tablecloths, umbrellas, candles and a great choice of food and wine on offer and being able to sit outside in our shirt sleeves, in the warm evening, without being bitten or getting cold. Here we had struck gold as we were in a rugby enclave with France playing Ireland that evening. French flags, banners, tri coloured hats and all the buzz and anticipation of a French victory. We felt the excitement as well; for France had to win tonight otherwise they would have no chance to play in the finals.
We watched the teams come out on the huge screen they had strung up and line up for the anthems. How great it was see nearly everyone stand up and sing the Marseilles at the top of their voices. Everyone one I’m sure, left there very happy that night. As for us we set off back to our motel feeling very happy and contented with life, however missing our daughters and friends. I’m sure we’ll pull through though and it will all be just a memory.
Tomorrow we were going to strike out for home, but not without making a few detours into the French countryside on the way before getting on to the autoroute.

Thursday 20th September - Nice

Thursday 20th September
NICE Cote d’Azur. and the old port
In the morning we decided to go out for breakfast in the old quarter once again. Packing up our clothes we put them back in the car and then walked through the old port, stopping to chat to a Kiwi crewman onboard the Australian TV game show media magnets yacht Aurora from Hamilton Bermuda where he lives (Grundy I think, I can’t remember and he wouldn’t tell us his name for security reasons). Then along the Quai Lunel overlooking the harbour, with its cruise ships and the Corsica ferry and then along the famous Baie des Anges overlooking the many beaches, all covered in pebbles. No sandy beaches here! Cyclists everywhere, roller bladders and walkers all making their way along the wide promenade. Impressive hotels line the road opposite the beachfront. Gleaming white with iron balconies, flags and coloured shutters, all oozing money and wealth. This is the promenade that the wealthy English descended on in the late 1800’s, escaping the cold winters in England and this is why it got called the Promenade des Anglais. It was also a favourite holiday resort for Queen Victoria who of course made it the place to be and the place to be seen especially if you were a member of the society click. We were happy to join in on the parade strolling along in the sunshine. Sat outside in the sun next to the flower market for our croissants and coffee watching all the activity.
Everybody was out. Groups of tourists making their way along the streets in snake like lines with the guides sprouting their set pieces, either in French, English, Dutch, German, or indeed any other language that was wanted. Americans everywhere and the inevitable Australians, which we heard every now and again.
We walked along the narrow streets looking in the now open shops, Beatrice unable to resist some beautiful soaps and a selection of post cards.
Back to the Baie des Anges where we spotted the Nice le Grand Tour bus, which we hopped aboard and sat up the front on the open top deck .We listened to the audio guide and for one and half hours we weaved our way through streets that I would never have gone down. We thought this was the best way to see a part of Nice in the time we had. Nice is a great place, though very expensive and very crowded. Before we left we walked back along the front and ventured down on to the pebbles so we could dip our toes into the Mediterranean, the beach shelved very steeply and was hard to walk on. Not a patch on our beautiful sandy beaches in Australia. The Hotel beaches, which were strictly controlled and sectioned off, provided chaise lounges side by side and row upon row. You would certainly know the person next to you by the end of the day, as they were so close to each other. Umbrellas and waiters walking up and down taking orders and serving drinks made it all look so commercial. On the public part of the beach there were many sunbathers stretched out on their rubber mats, some being very tanned, (not much talk about skin cancer here), however I don’t think it would be a very comfortable beach to sit or lie on using just your towel, many people though were doing just that, it was however, a beautiful day being sunny and a warm 27 deg.
How we would have loved to have driven the route of perched villages however it was
time to leave and start our journey home. Paid our 32 euros to get our car out and decided to take the same way out of Nice as we came in. Though this time we drove much further along the beach fronts until joining the autoroute that would take us to Orange where we were going to make our next overnight stop.
A couple of hours later on our exit number we were so happy to see an Orange villages Hotel, a great looking place and at one of the best prices so far. (All hotels, restaurants etc by law have to state on their door all their prices, even the ones that charge a 1000 euros a night) so you know exactly what you are up for.
We saw the car park was quite full but were lucky enough to get a room, which surpassed any that we had been in since we have been away.
Another warm evening so we ventured into the main street area and were absolutely delighted with what we saw. Just behind the main high street we found the older part of the town. Once again they had kept the buildings and the narrow cobbled streets, town squares and of course the restaurants and out door dining. Choosing the La Sangria in the Place de la Republique we finished the day off with an enjoyable meal and a bottle of wine. It was a short stroll back to our motel and a good nights rest so we could be up and about the next day exploring more of Orange, which we had taken an instant liking to on what we had seen so far.

Arles 19th September

Arles Wednesday 19th September

Breakfasted paid the bill and drove into Arles, finding that we had to park outside and walk into the walled town. Once again the endless row upon row of motor homes and coaches already there in addition to all the private cars.
Very windy today and much cooler than we like. Arles was first occupied by the Celtic tribes, then by a Greek colony, and became Roman when Julius Caesar gave the colony to the veterans of his legions. From the earliest days of Christianity the city became an important religious centre. It was destroyed and ravaged by invasions during the Middle Ages. It was rebuilt during the 12th Century. Stately homes were built during the 17th and 18th centuries joining the many others with some dating back 2000 years.
We made our way up to the Amphitheatre built around 90 AD; originally it could hold 20,000 people. Today it is used for shows and features bull fights during the season. Following the guided walking tour we braved the cool wind and went on to visit Van Goghs reconstructed home (the original was bombed in the war) in the same location. Walked up to his room recreated as it was and to view the locations where he painted many of his famous and well-known paintings. Then on to the Roman Theatre, late first century, Saint Trophimes Cathedral and outside the former Hospital of Arles where Van Gogh was a patient.
Coffee time we stopped at the Rond Pont Les Arles sitting out of the wind in the warm sunshine. Before leaving we thought we would check out the thermal baths, but found it was closed between 12 and 2pm so they could all be off for their lunch and a nap. We still find this very odd especially with so many tourists in town. However I suppose it drives them all into the restaurants and coffee shops over the two hours.
Left Arles about 2pm having walked all around the walled town. We then had all sorts of problems finding the road we needed and we both felt quite tense about it all. However after some tense moments and almost resorting to some fisticuffs, we eventually found the autoroute we wanted which would take us on to Nice, about two and a half hours away. Heading south we passed turn offs for Marseilles, Toulon, Cannes, St.Tropez all names we know and conjure up all sorts of thoughts. Country side very dry here, very rocky marble looking mountains, some very pointy and reaching great heights, making it look a bit like the wild west in the USA. Houses looking very Mexican, ochre walls and pale blue shutters, they seem to blend into the hills, very yellow soil and small vineyards in some of the valleys.
Drove into Nice at about 5.30 after paying the last toll to enter the city. The road took us right along the beachfront whilst we were keeping our eyes peeled for the tourist bureau. Eventually we managed to find it and pass through the security gates to park the car. They really make it hard for tourists sometimes! Picked up the usual maps and information and booked a hotel room for the night. Just another 6 klms along the same road, very easy to find and very reasonably priced. We just forgot to ask if we would be able to park the car there. With great difficulty we found the Hotel Carnot of course in Rue Carnot. No parking anywhere, in desperation Beatrice jumped out and went up the stairs to ask advice at the reception desk as to where we could park. Anywhere in the old quarter was the answer. No luck we drove around and around, having entered a small supermarket car park by mistake and paying 3 euros to get out again, until we settled on parking at Eglise Notre Dame du Port car park, (the old port car park) where all the luxury yachts were berthed. It was going to cost us a fortune but we had no other choice, as we would still have been driving around Nice now.
We were a few blocks from the hotel room so we put a change of clothes into a carry bag and walked. Checked in and paid for the room. Then up three flights of stairs to find a small room with the bed pushed against the wall a shower closet and a cupboard when opened revealed a toilet and hand basin. Using the toilet you would have to have the doors open and be virtually sitting in the middle of the room. Luckily there was also a normal toilet just along the hallway, which I decided I would use. We washed and immediately set out for a walk into the old quarter, which was close by. A beautiful warm evening 26 degs, we walked through narrow winding cobbled streets, with towering buildings each side, painted either pink, beige, white or ochre, shuttered windows cast iron balconies and way above our heads washing hanging from lines strung across the buildings. Side streets, illuminated with the old fashioned hanging lights and then opening out into squares with restaurants tables all set out under umbrellas and soft coloured lights and candles. Restaurants everywhere most of them looking very appealing and offering something for everybody. It all had a very Italian influence. We settled on one of the most popular places to eat sitting out in the Hotel de Ville Square at La Claire Fontaine. The Italian influence her is not surprising as the Italy borders is only 20 minutes away.Spaghetti for me and Beatrice a salad. A pichet of red wine and we were happy. It was great to be able to sit out late at night in the warmth and without being bitten. We walked back feeling quite safe as we wandered through the side streets to our shoebox of a room. It was going to suit us fine, we opened our shuttered full-length windows and the French doors to get some cool air through the night and were soon fast asleep.

Nice Cote d'Azur

the route of the perched villages

www.canton-de-levens,com

www.eze-riviera.com

www.mairie-falicon.com

www.mairie-lagaude.fr

www.saintjeannet.com

www.tourrette-levens.org

Tuesday 18th September -Avignon

Tuesday 18th September
No breakfast as we decided to leave early. Still raining and very misty.
Hit the road heading for Arles today but stopping off at Avignon. We kept off the autoroute and travelled down the N roads. Signs are quite good though they get some getting use to as thy seem to point the wrong way to us, sort of 45 deg to the road entry point. They also seem to change the road numbers or just sometimes leave them off altogether. Still we managed to drive into Avignon around noon having passed through country side that looked different, very hilly, different trees and houses made of stone some two storey and poplar trees all over the place. South of Montelimar (the home of nougat)there was still evidence of the terrible fires that had raged through this area not so long ago.
We had a real problem finding somewhere to park, almost giving up until we very luckily came across somebody just leaving. Cars parked all over the place, just anyhow with many blocking others. However we were very lucky and quickly locked the car up and walked away as we kept being asked if we were leaving. At least it was free.
We followed the stream of tourists making their way up to this city walking through an underground passageway under the road and into this magnificent ancient walled city.
Avignon has been inhabited since Roman times. It was an important trading century in the 12th century due mainly to its great bridge, which was the only crossing point on the southern Rhone at the time.
The city sits above the Rhone all cobbled streets and the huge Papal Château, magnificent, like a fortress built by the 9 successive Popes who lived there when they were unable to live in Rome through political reasons. It was built over 20 years starting in 1335.Today it is the biggest existing Gothic Palace in the world. During this time Avignon was then the capital of Catholicism for centuries.
A walk through the city, takes you back to Medieval Avignon, through the streets, Cardinals’ palaces, chapels, squares and narrow winding streets. We visited the Palais Des Papes, (Palace of the Popes) the largest Gothic palace in the world. We did our usual thing and picked up our audio guide and toured here for a good couple of hours. So much to take in that we almost became overcome with it all. We then walked around the city squares, churches, shops and everywhere we could. Tourists everywhere, bus loads of them from every corner of the globe. We heard many Australian accents but we kept being very French and ignored them all. In the height of the summer season I don’t think you would be able to move in this place, it would be so crowded and very uncomfortable. The town centre was full of market stalls and artists with their fine original watercolours. Beatrice had a long chat with a lovely French artist, very brown, blond and healthy looking. She did great Provencal scenes at 40e each. She was mighty impressed with Beatrice’s French especially from someone who came from the other side of the world!
Stopped off for lunch and a beer at Les Domaines in the Place De L’Horloge sitting just inside the doors, as it was still quite windy and cool.
It was getting late and realising that we hadn’t found anywhere to stay the night we thought we should head off to look for somewhere, as we knew there were a lot of tourists around who might also be looking for a bed for the night.
Regrettably we had to just look over to the famous Pont Saint Benezet the bridge built in the 12th century and destroyed and rebuilt many times until they gave up and abandoned it in the 17th century leaving it as it is now, only half a bridge, with its legend and the beloved song Sur La Pont d’Avignon which goes back to the 15th century and is known the world over.
So much to do here, river cruises on the Rhone, more monuments and museums to visit, the culture oozes from everywhere, we’ll just have to put it back on our list to visit again one day.
Weaving our way back through the winding narrow streets, with the aid of our map and a request for a few directions from the locals, we eventually found our car still safe where we had left it in a still very crowded car park.
We drove out of town following the Toutes Directions signs and after 30 odd klms we pulled into the Hotel Montmajour, just outside of Arles, where we were relieved to find had a room vacant, which we eagerly accepted. Settled in, we drove into Arles entering the walled town to find somewhere we could have dinner, parking the car just inside we had no problem finding a spot.
Many places closed however we found a Moroccan restaurant and enjoyed a very satisfying meal washed down with a small amount of red wine.
Back at the car we realised we were in a one-way street, not by much and Beatrice thought I should just reverse out, as it would be much easier. As a law abiding citizen I didn’t think it wise and as I reversed out of my angle parking looking in my mirror and found a police car waiting as I backed out, a wise decision had been made and we drove on and around the block and out through the walled archway and back to our Hotel for a goods nights rest, thankfully without the police following us.
We ordered breakfast and headed for bed. tired and much to dream about.

Monday 17th September To the South!

Our 1700 klms trip to Nice and back.
Monday 17th September.
(Notes taken as we drove along.)
Raining today for the start of our adventure. Packed our clothes and took some blankets and a couple of pillows in case we might need them.
We set off for Auxerre, which we have previously visited so we could connect up to the autoroute for Lyon. At Auxerre we picked up our ticket as we went through the booths, so they know where we joined the toll road when you come to pay at the tollbooth on your exit.
Here the country side is much like the UK, farm lands and gentle hills except there are Chateaus dotted all along the way. Chateauneuf on a hill near the roadside was very impressive. Still very misty and visibility was quite poor. Hilly here and very wooded on the tops, vines growing everywhere. Stopped for coffee at one of the many very well appointed places, with restaurants, petrol, toilets etc available.
It just kept on raining however not too much traffic on the roads. Past some very dense forests. Stopped off at Aire de Rossigoal for lunch, which we had brought along with us. Here again there are many stopping off places, besides the commercial ones, which have toilets, picnics benches and play areas for the children to have a bit of a run around to stretch their legs. On to Lyon and the road seemed to go on forever as we circled the town on the ring road. The city looked huge as we passed over a very long bridge across the Rhone. Beatrice looked around and wondered where her great grandma from her mothers side, had lived, as she had come from Lyon.
At various times the rain was very hard and the trucks caused all sorts of bother with the spray they threw up as you passed them. Must say the discipline on the roads is very good. Speeds are reduced to 110kph in wet weather otherwise its 130. Trucks are not permitted to travel in the outside lane on three lane roads and mainly keep to the nearside one.
We continued along the wine route –Beaujolais route all along the Rhone valley. It was a great road right next to the river and hills covered in vines. Very hilly here with the Rhone winding itself from gorge to gorge. We left the Autoroute at exit 14 and handed over our ticket we had picked up at Auxerre and paid up our 20e40 (about $32.00) it was worth it, as we had covered many Ks very quickly.
6 o’clock we decided it was time to find somewhere to stay. We had passed many places along the way and now all we wanted to find was a Logis, or somewhere similar to stay overnight. We stopped at Pont De L’Isere at the Hotel La Batida (just north of Valence) which is very much like a motel in Australia, a basic room etc no fridge or tea and coffee provided though. Had dinner in the restaurant choosing from one of the 3 basic menus they have to provide.
Sat there watching one of the guests come in with three huge dogs sitting himself down at a table with his dogs around him. Thankfully the owner came out and told him he couldn't stay with the dogs and asked him to leave. Strange as dogs are usually allowed in restaurants, the same way that smoking is permitted everywhere.
It was a very stormy night with thunder and lightning so we wound down our shutter and felt safe and secure for a good night rest.

Sunday 16th September -Sancerre

Sunday 16th September
Destination Sancerre today as we have been told that it is well worth visiting.
Once again a beautiful day clear blue sky and quite warm. Decided to drive through St Fargeau and past Guedelon where we visited yesterday so we could stop at the Poterie de la Batisse hoping that it might be open today as yesterday it was all closed up.
No luck today either, still all closed up. Continued on through Cosne-Cours-s-Loire to Sancerre after enjoying our usual cup of morning coffee.
Just fantastic scenery, in fact stunning, vineyards, acres and acres of vines growing on hillsides, chateaus, history everywhere stopping to take numerous photos.
In Sancerre we sought out the tourist bureau to pick up our walking map. All very organised here, as it’s a tourist town. Following the red line through the narrow street and stopping at the numbered locations with information plaques in English as well provided us with all the history details of the buildings and events that has unfolded over the many centuries. (The web site is very interesting)
We climbed and climbed up the only remaining tower (our des Fiefs) from the ancient city wall. It gave us a fantastic view of the town and the surrounding vineyards.
Home at 5pm after a very enjoyable day. We watered the garden and then sat outside having our evening drink to watch the sun setting over the farm fields that surround Les Toulerons.

Saturday 15th September - Guedelon

Beatrice trying to lock me up in the dungeon!

This morning we drove through St.Fargeau to guedelon about 45 klms away going SE.
guedelon is the building of a castle as they would have done in the 13th century. A fascinating place which we walked around for a good couple of hours.They commenced it 1997 and expect to complete it in 25 years time (2022). It was also the only place that we have seen so many of the locals out and about being tourists. Bus loads of them but still not too crowded that we couldn't enjoy looking at everything. (Check out the website its worth a look)
Made our way home and was surprised to find an ATAC open (supermarket).We were the only people in the place and the 10 or so checkouts had only one cashier in attendance. Clearly the French are not into weekend shopping! Anyhow we bought our cheeses,wine,bread etc for our drive out tomorrow to visit a few more places relatively nearby. We are getting more and adventurous each day.
In front of the TV to watch Australia play Wales. Great game which I'm pleased to say we won.
(Commiserations to the Welsh) However the Welsh really came back in the 2nd half so it was a good job they had left their run too late otherwise they might have got a little closer in the score.
Celebrated with a beer! Next game against Fiji on the 23rd.
France play Namibia tomorrow which they have to win and then they play again against Ireland, on the 21st.
Beautiful day again today the the temp up in the mid 20's. We are really getting to like this place, the country side is just beautiful.

14th September

(My first effort of painting this trip!- I'll have to improve!)

A quiet day today.
I drove into Rongy and did some sketching. Beatrice stayed at home busying herself around the house and garden, not forgetting to do the watering,which I helped with!
Watched England play South Africa in the rugby. Or should I say watched England running around on the same ground as SA.
My commiserations to all the England supporters. Maybe they'll stop talking about themselves as the world champions now and stop talking about the one time Johnnie Wilkinson managed to play a game and kick a field goal.! (Just joking) Must see how Australia do tomorrow against Wales!

Montargis visit 13th September

Montargis
Set off early today for Montargis some 35 klms from where we are staying. It looked like it was going to be a great day, no rain and plenty of sunshine. Perhaps a little on the cool side to start with but certainly warms up during the day.
As we are finding our way around a little better and I’m getting use to driving on the right hand side of the road we didn’t expect any problems, well not big ones.
As luck would have it we drove into town and found a very handy car park, which happened to be the only one near everything that was gratis! A good start.
Looked at our map and found we were right next to the tourist bureau and yes it was open. Picked up a few pamphlets and set off on the guided walking tour, following the yellow dotted line on the map.
It all looked good but it just was not doing it for us so we deviated down a street mall to find a great coffee shop that we could sit and watch the passing parade and look at our maps again.
How many churches can you go into that’s the question, for every town we visit, they all have one, or two or three or even more. Anyhow the Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine was worth looking in at and I’ve attached a few photos of the inside as it is noted as being one of the most beautiful churches in the Diocese of Orleans, 12th. Century and all that. Check out the web page! Hope I’m not getting to blasé about it all.
Montargis, la Venise du Gatinias, 127 bridges criss-cross the town centre, each one almost worth a photo!
For lunch we just had to sit out in the plaza along side one of the many small waterways at the strangely named The Blue Mountain Café. Didn’t get to ask why it was called this, perhaps we wouldn’t have understood the explanation, though Beatrice is quite good and I’m improving daily! I think. We did our usual walk around looking at all the buildings, shop windows and everything else that caught our interest. Once again the whole place shut down between noon and 2pm whilst every one went home or out for lunch. Great business for all the cafes and restaurants.

Saw a plaque on a wall saying the building was once lived in by many of the Chinese that use to work in the area, one of them being a young Mao.

Regrettably the two places we wanted to visit being the Musee Des Tanneurs and the Musee Du Gatinais were closed on Thursdays!
With a little detour we found our way out of the town after doing a U turn (Beatrice had the map upside down) to make our way home to Dammarie Sur Loing so we could sit outside and sun ourselves for a while and water the garden, but firstly stopping off at Rogny our local big little village to buy the boule that we like from our local baker.
We are now planning our drive down to the south of France. I think I’m up to it as I’ve had a bit of a go on the auto route. In fact they drive slower here at 130kph speed limit than they do in the UK.
Enjoyed our usual drink and saw the sunset over the fields on what had been another beautiful day.