Charming Clamecy

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It was a Saturday evening when we arrived in Clamecy, so we decided to go out for dinner. We'd been barbecuing a lot lately. So, after showering and making ourselves presentable, we headed off to the town centre. We walked around the cobbled streets and saw a gorgeous little place tucked away in a back street. Couples and small groups sat on the decked and fenced veranda outside, illuminated by fairy and candle lights and chatting quietly. Gorgeous coloured glasses sat atop unique antique tables draped in pristine linens and silks. Inside we could see walls chock full of cuckoo clocks, teddy bears, old French posters and Arabian drapes. A waiter in a suit and a petite middle aged woman draped in elegant silks and sporting beautiful jewellery waited on people. It looked like a fabulous combination of traditional France meeting sensual Arabia and the menu was fantastic – lots of fish, right up my street! We went in, but unfortunately they were fully booked. We decided to come back the following lunchtime. At the end of the street we emerged onto a small square dominated by an impressive church equipped with a huge square stone tower. Opposite the tower was a small rustic-looking restaurant called 'La Tour'. It specialised in Italian and offered a three course menu for just 15 Euro’s each as well as an extensive a la carte menu. We got a table outside, with a great view of the tower, and ordered from the bargain menu. Our vin du maison arrived in a little clay jug, quickly followed by our starters. We chatted and looked at the tower, and I soon moved to the same side of the table as Mike so I too could people watch and watch the skies change over the tower. Mike is good to look at, but behind him was only a hairdressers and an alleyway, and a girl needs to see more than just her husband's face sometimes! Our mains arrived, pizza for both of us, and we watched the sky change from a subtle sunset to an azure blue before it darkened and the stars came out. The restaurant was busy so service was fairly slow, but that didn't matter. The food was good, the wine was cheap and the views were fantastic. After a lovely dinner rounded with a heavenly, but boozy, home-made tiramisu, we linked arms and walked back to the boat under the stars.
We got up early on Sunday to go off exploring. Food supplies were at an all time low for us and, more importantly, we'd run out of wine. About a 20 minute ride out of the town we lighted upon a commercial centre with a carrefour supermarket and fuel station amongst other things. Unfortunately, as it was Sunday, it was closed. We decided to return the following morning to stock up and get some fuel. We headed back along the canal, taking the scenic route, and exploring by road part of the journey we'd completed the previous day. “shall we ride out to that medieval village?” asked Mike. “why not?” I replied “How far is it?” “Only about 15k,” he replied “shouldn't take long.” So we crossed the bridge and cycled in the sunshine back along the tow path towards the medieval estate. Once in the surrounding village, we followed winding narrow roads to get to the estate. “I hope we can go in,” I said “It must be even more impressive inside.” As we neared it, we realised going in would not be an option. The massive wooden gates studded with iron swung open to let a car in. As they opened, three huge guard dogs ran forward, barking. A man got out of the car and petted the dogs, sending them back inside. He eyed us with interest. Then he drove into the gates and they closed behind him. We could see no other entrance. “I'm guessing they're either closed on Sundays, or the place is privately owned,” said Mike. “I reckon you're right,” I replied “Let's just see if we can see any notices announcing opening times – if you can visit it, there must be a notice somewhere.” We circled the estate but saw nothing. Oh well. “Shall we go back to Clamecy?” said Mike after we'd taken some photo's. “Yeah,” I said “I'm getting hungry.” we took the scenic route back and arrived in Clamecy at 2.30pm. We tried several restaurants but most had stopped serving. We went to the gorgeous little one we'd seen the night before but they too had stopped serving. However, they were open again at seven, serving a limited menu. We looked at the menu. It looked amazing, so we booked a table for seven and headed back to the boat, stopping to but some wine and cheese from a little grocers on the way back. We ate some cheese and had a few glasses of wine back on the boat and consulted our books to formulate a plan of action for the following day. The local police stopped by to collect money for our stay. 4 Euro’s a night. Bargain. We paid them the 8 Euros and returned to our pilot guides. I worked out how far and how many locks we'd have to do to get to Lyon in time to meet Fred and Becky. I had a little panic. We still had 114km and 78 locks to do on the Nivernais. After that we had 65 km and 15 locks to do on the Canal Lateral a La Loire and 108 km and 60 locks to do on the Canal du Centre before heading 142km down the river Saône. That added up to 429km and 156 locks. We were meeting them in less than a month. “Can we do it?” I said to Mike. “Yeah, he said “we could do the Saône in a day or two, there are only three locks from Chalon to Lyon, and we'll be travelling with the current. We just need to travel for longer each day to get the Nivernais and other canals done and try not to stay anywhere else longer than a night after here.” “OK,” I said. “Anyway”, Mike said “If it comes to the worst we can always see if they can meet us somewhere else.” “I know, “ I said “But Lyon is the best place, it's a major city so it'll be the easiest for them to reach.” “We'll get there,don't worry,” he said “we've covered nearly 1000 km since we left Honfleur and that was only 5 weeks ago.” We changed our clothes and headed off for our dinner.
We were greeted at the restaurant (which I can't remember the name of for the life of me!) by the elegant petite lady. She showed us to our table and gave us the wine list and a card telling us what we'd be eating. She immediately brought over little hors d'œuvres of blinis topped with caviar and what I guessed was another fish roe (very similar to caviar but a pale pink in colour) and we ordered a bottle of crémant to drink. The place was gorgeous. She told us in impeccable English that the cuckoo clocks had been collected by her husband over the years and many had been given to them by friends and customers. She collected the teddy bears and again, many had been given to them by friends and customers. She explained that they were only serving the one menu today as they had had a very busy week and had not been able to stock up. They'd gotten only the fresh produce available that morning for tonight's menu, hence the set menu. The starters arrived and I shot Mike an “Oh my god” look. Exquisitely arranged on my plate were scallops, king prawns and spinach leaves, with a delicious garlic, pine nut and basil oil drizzled over. My kind of dish. I suddenly felt pleased that we'd put on smart clothes for this evening. Our starters were cleared and a basket of warm home-made buns was brought out. I selected one covered in seeds and cut it open. At that moment a couple dressed in shorts, sweaty t-shirts and sandals entered with a shaggy, dirty dog in tow. They'd clearly just returned from a day hiking. They weren't expecting to eat here with the dog were they? However, the woman greeted them warmly, told them of course their dog was welcome and seated them, bringing a bowl of water and some treats over for the dog. I was flabbergasted. I knew the French loved their dogs (the cemetery in Asnières had been proof of that, as had the numerous dog stylist shops we'd seen along the journey) but never dreamed they would be welcomed into fancy restaurants like this one. I immediately liked the restaurant even more – they were classy and served amazing food but there was not an ounce of pretence.
Our mains were equally sublime; little fillet steak parcels stuffed with basil, garlic, pine nuts, red peppers, onions and some sort of cheese, pan fried and left rare and served on a bed of asparagus, fennel and shredded carrot. Delicious! Mike and I were having a lovely evening, looking at the clocks, bears, silks and posters, chatting, sipping crémant and enjoying delicious food. Dessert was a light individual pavlova accompanied by a fruit coulis, fresh berries and caramelised almonds. After came a small cheese board and coffee. Every part of the meal, from the warm welcome to the handwritten thank-you at the bottom of the bill was fantastic. We paid (only 80 Euros including the crémant, not bad by my reckoning), thanked the hostess, complimented her restaurant and returned home for a sleep before we got stocked up and left the following morning. I loved Clamecy, and I particularly loved that little restaurant, if we go back there I will definitely be paying them another visit!

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