Blogs from Troyes, Champagne-Ardenne, France, Europe

Après un petit orage cette nuit, nous nous voyons bien contents de quitter ce camping en connaissance de cause… pour plus loin… Il nous faudra être vigilants pour chaque étape de notre voyage… Des orages énormes éclatent en direction des endroits où nous comptons nous rendre… mais heureusement ce n’est pas pour demain et d’ici là les choses peuvent encore bien changer… Nous nous promettons donc de bien regarder si possible sur le net, si possible à la télévision… la météo du jour suivant, là où nous devons nous rendre. Je dis la télévision si possible car nos deux premiers campings se trouvent bien peuplés d’arbres… alors l’antenne satellite de Pollux ne capte rien… comme internet gratuit nous nous contentons de regarder Auvio… et d’avoir les nouvelles de chez nous… puis nous prenons la météo de ... read more

What a night of thunderstorms, and it is still raining this morning. We open the window for some fresh air only to have a smoky smell waft in. Who would have a fire going on a warm, wet, sticky day like today? We’ll just shut the window and suffocate. Better to suffocate with fresh air than smoky air. The Seine looks decidedly dirty and flowing higher than the previous day. There must have been some rain overnight. The programme today might just work out. Breakfast, laundromat, sightseeing. That will fit the weather forecast of rain, drizzle, sun. Here’s hoping. With bags of dirty laundry we head off in light rain in search of a laundromat. We think we know where there is a car park close by. Sure enough we start to follow a sign, only ... read more

Nous voici à nouveau route avec Pollux, direction Sud de la Bretagne… Nous prenons le temps d’y arriver tout en flânant par-ci, par-là… C’est ainsi que notre première étape fut Troyes, camping où nous nous étions déjà arrêtés lors de notre retour du Portugal et de l’Espagne alors qu’un terrible orage éclatait… Aujourd’hui, ce ne sont pas les magasins d’usines qui nous intéressent mais bien la ville de Troyes. Pont Sainte Marie s’y trouve à l’entrée, ce qui ne nous fera que deux kilomètres à pied pour y arriver, plus un bon gros km 200 pour arriver au centre-ville… Il fait beau, et même chaud… toute notre promenade est parsemée de curiosités... Quand il fait chaud il faut boire… dit-on ! on s’assied donc à une terrasse où comme des curieux on regarde les touristes passer… ... read more

We woke at a reasonable time this morning and were able to get ready and depart about 0830. We managed to load the car and get ready to go in the dry but as soon as we started it began to rain and the clouds were covering the surrounding volcanic summits. Some of them even had snow on the upper peaks still. We had easy access to the motorway from our overnight stay and soon made good progress north on the A71. As we drove away from Clermont-Ferrand the clouds cleared and we were soon in sunshine. However as we made further progress north we could see the clouds ahead that we were about to drive into. At junction 11 on the motorway we turned off towards Moulins only to find the N79 closed to all ... read more

On Wednesday morning, we meet Erwan at his office in the village of Ville sur Arce. He shows us the process by which champagne is produced. The huge hall is empty now, but this is where the grape harvest will arrive, to be washed and placed in the pneumatic presses. The new facility has been designed so that gravity feeds the juice to tanks beneath the presses, to minimise the use of electricity for pumps. The tank room is like the engine compartment of a vast ship, all gleaming stainless steel and wire walkways. We see how the wine is riddled: residue is frozen in the neck of the bottle and removed in a lump of ice. We taste a selection of vintages before a lunch of local artichokes and trout at a nearby hotel. Fortified, ... read more