Visit to Chaumont though we failed first time round to find the interesting part of town and a wet wet Sunday to follow

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We decided on waking that Troyes was perhaps not the best place to visit on a Saturday so after a study of the map found the nearest next place of interest is Chaumont. At 80km it was not exactly near by.

The area round the campsite is all forests and of course lake so though ideal fo walking and cycling not for us. We stopped at a village Bar-sur-Aube half way along when we found there was a market. Had a wander round and bought some fresh veg in the indoor market hall. Discovered later that the green beans were not as fine as they looked and will give those a miss next time but the strawberries were superb. Nothing we fancied buying from the market so we returned to Smart Arse and continued on the way.

Stopped at Colombey-Les-deux-eglises near the monument to Charles de Gaulle but didn't walk along the pathway to the actual monument as not terribly relevant to us. After all De Gaulle may be a hero in French history but he didn't actually cover himself with glory but left it to the British, Allies and Americans to free France for him.

As we approached Chaumont we were amazed by a towering viaduct, 3 layers high with about 50 arches. It is not mentioned in our guide book but that only really cares about religious buildings and artifacts. It was built to carry the railway which runs to Paris from the East. We missed the parking area on the way in so left it to view on the way back.

Found a parking spot near what was obviously the market place and paid at the machine but was given 1 hour free and it was already free 12 to 2 so got until 3pm for nothing. Excellent. The market was packing up when we got there but honestly there was nothing we fancied buying at all. Clothing I wouldn't wear in the garden and lots of equally tacky things we have no use for so that was a disappointment. The indoor market was pretty well finished trading when we arrived. The market did mean that all the cafes round the market area were full so we walked a bit further and found a restaurant outside the Ibis hotel and had tuna salads.

We were really rather puzzled as to what there was in the town of interest so pulled up a guide on the phone only to find we were quite simply on the wrong side of town. Back to the car I set my Google Maps to take us to the interesting area and Smart Arse took us there, Some really impressive buildings to be seen from a viewpoint up on the ramparts....So pleased we checked as otherwise we would have left town without seeing anything at all attractive and some point in the future someone might have said what an interesting town Chaumont was and we would have been exceedingly puzzled.

Back down the hill and we went under the amazong bridge and stopped to admire it. There is a walkway right along the first level which supposedly gives a great view of the valley but the bridge has been closed to public access since 'works' started in 2018, couldn't see what works anyone was working on so I don't suppose it will ever be open again.

Back to the campsite and of course to the pool for a swim. A quick discussion and consultation of the map and worsening weather forecast said that we would only stay one more day as just nowhere of interest for us to visit. We could have gone to Troyes on Sunday but we really had had quite a long drive in Smart Arse And we have been to Troyes twice before so it's going to be a lazy Sunday and we will move on on Monday.

We did 'not a lot' on Sunday except nip to the nearest supermarket.... 10 miles away to pick up a few bits and pieces, which we managed to do mainly between showers, and swim in the afternoon, again between showers, using the inside pool as really too chilly to want to swim in the outside pool even if I had it all to myself.
So this blog is for both days. Went up to reception to say we were leaving next day and to pay. This really is an excellent site just more suited to those who boat and walk and cycle and not at all well positioned for sightseeing the area. Certainly none of those anyway in the rain which fell for pretty well 36 hours. Glad we made the decision to move on tomorrow, Monday and in a Westerly direction as the weather forecasts show more of the same big wet cloud for at least another day here and further East.

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