Blogs from Langres, Champagne-Ardenne, France, Europe

Langres is an amazing place. Fully fortified with a wall all the way round and lots of protective towers at intervals round the wall. A super view over the countryside below. It is entirely packed with old buildings. There are some new or at least newly renovated but all in keeping with the look of the place and nothing is over prettified as we find in so many places, like the Alsace and Dordogne tourist towns. Just plain old and interesting. We parked just outside and went in through one of the gates and quickly found ourselves on the ramparts so set off for a walk along them. Some fascinating buildings, all well labelled and in English which is always handy. Everywhere is just so old. Buildings which lean though the doors are straight. We found ... read more

Langres At the gateways of both Burgundy and Champagne regions. It seemed like a pleasant drive on a chilly autumn morning. Meandering through undulating county – some covered by dense forest and then opening out onto cleared grain farming land where the wheat has been harvested and farmers are tilling ready for later planting. Then we come to a more hilly area with smaller holdings and some very contented Limosin cattle interspersed with horse studs and chook runs ( including turkeys ducks and guinea fowl all being fattened free range). All seemed so ho-hum. Time for morning tea stop . The Town of Langres would no doubt have a boulangerie – a place to get our daily ration of baguette, gateau or croissant. So get a park and wander off. There is an Aldi nearby. But ... read more

03/09/2013 Heading 300+ miles south by Toll road Up and away early as a long way to travel today. As we needed to put some miles behind us we had decided to use the motorways and on this particular route, toll roads. We generally avoid a full day of motorways but sometimes it is the only option. We crossed back into France from Belgium after 20 minutes. The early morning, slightly autumnal, mist cleared to another perfect summer’s day and we hit the motorway. Very busy at first, 3 lanes nose to tail until we were past the turn to Paris and from then it was plain sailing all the way. Only went wrong once when Tandy swung onto the wrong exit road at a junction and took the motorway north instead of south. Cost us ... read more