Wk 5 – Mailly le Chateaux to Montfrin.

---

20110629 Wk 5 – Mailly le Chateaux to Montfrin.
A cycle ride down to Chatel Censoir early in the morning was very special. The light was great and we had the canal to our selves. Barges only start moving at 9am as the lock keepers start work at about that time . ( after a cup of coffee). Chatel Censoir is an attractive little village with water running through the village ( and under some of the buildings). There are very few shops but as usual one will always find a Boulanger ( bread shop)Charcuterie(butcher) and a bar. We bought a croissant and baguette and had a cup of coffee at the bar. As it was still quite early very little was happening in the village. I must say that sometimes we wonder if there are people living in these villages as it is so quiet . We see the odd very old person, children’s playthings in the garden, very well-tended kitchen gardens and a few cars parked in the streets. Back at camp feeling good about our 25 km ride we discovered that the camp owner had purchased baguettes for our breakfast and, as we were out he place them through the wing mirror of the “Beast”, such a thoughtful gesture. We showered and headed further along the route to Collanges-sur-Yonne. We parked the “Beast” facing the Yonne river three metres in front of us and took a trip into town. It didn’t feel like the sort of place we wanted to spend time in so decided to do the 11kms back to Chatel Censoir in the afternoon and return having completed that leg of the trip. Returning to Chatel Censoir in the evening saw many more people at the bar. We sat amongst the wine drinking locals sipping our cokes at R25.00 each. Wine would have been cheaper but thought another slip on the bike would have me ending up in the canal. Arriving back at camp, we met the barging South Africans from Scottsburgh. They knew Mike and Diedre Devitte. (Diedre is my cousin). We had plans to eat out with them but due to some of their party failing to arrive from a cycle ride in time, the meal was abandoned. I was pleased about it as we had rather a long day and the back needed to be rested.

20110630 Clamecy Municipal Campsite.
We left early and arrived at the campsite in time to get a good site, again with the river a few metres away on the one side and the canal a few metres away on the other side. The campsite was 6 mins away from the town centre by electric bike! This was very convenient. Had a chat to our Dutch neighbours and spent the rest of the morning lazing around the camp. Sometimes, I need a few lazy days to get the aches under control. This seemed to be one of those days. After lunch and rests we went into town to investigate the town and to find a restaurant that would suite our needs for Nicks birthday celebration. The town is ancient and built on different levels. Thank goodness for the motorized bike as we did quite a bit of cycling up and down hills . Little alleyways were very quaint and we thought we would easily find somewhere for the celebration. We soon realized that tourism plays quite a big part here. This town is used as a change over port for the barge trips hence many tourists traipse the streets. After an enjoyable meal at the campsite under ideal weather conditions, we were invited to have coffee and apple tart with our Dutch neighbours. He spoke quite good English but his wife struggled. He was retired but had spent his working life at Phillips in Holland. He was the project engineer responsible for the design of the Phillishave. Nick found him especially interesting. Should we visit Holland next year, we have made a promise that we will meet to drink some Dutch beer!

20110701 Clamecy Campsite
Woke up thinking today was the 2nd and Nick,s 65th birthday. I worked all morning giving him the day off ( so to speak!!) until Nick called Stu on some business. He waited for the birthday wish which did not happen so mentioned to Stu that we were going to have a celebratory birthday meal out. Stu laughed and said he thought Dad was rushing it a bit as his birthday was in fact the next day! Well after a readjustment of our brains we got ourselves back to normal ( no more extra work from me!!) and enjoyed our day in the village. We had a few skype calls with Mark as we are planning to meet the family in Provence on the 17th July. Today was the start of the annual Festival sausages and white wine in the town. Sausages are made in large quantities in a factory just outside the village. The contents are produced from offal ! The event got going at about 7pm, with food stations and music accompanying the various food stations set up in different parts of the town. Actually, the music competed and it was rather booming. We noticed the sausages being braaied and people ordering sausages and chips and sitting on benches and trestle tables. We hesitated to order these grose looking sausages, but eventually got up enough courage to place the order. Mmmm, I soon realized that the sausage was made using entrails. They had an innards smell!!. Ghastly and I was completely put off. I did have a tiny taste which sat with me for 24hours. Nick does not like to be defeated so he completed his meal. We ended up with crepes filled with Nutella. These were enjoyable and helped eradicate the aftertaste of a terrible meal. The event went on until very late in the night as we could hear the music faintly from the campsite well into the small hours. I felt for the barging folk who were moored in the town adjacent to the noise.

20110702 Clamecy Campsite
Waking up early and realizing that today was the real birthday was rather funny. No birthday presents to open as we figured out that the “Beast” and bikes will go down as birthday presents for both of us for the next few years. Not such a bad idea actually!!
An early morning cycle ride to Coullanges –sur- Yonne was the plan. The weather was bright sunny and quite chilly. It was a lovely 10km ride along the Nivernaise. Spent a bit of time admiring an old Mansion which was being retored. What a huge project, but to be admired as far as commitment to hard work is concerned. It will be a wonderful building on completion. We arrived at Coullanges and headed for the bar for an expresso. Some of the people in the bar were drinking red wine. It was 8.30 am ! The waitress thought we should be drinking Champagne, when I told her it was Nick’s birthday! Breakfast was enjoyed on a bench alongside the Nivernais Canal, eating baguettes and chassaun au pommes (apple filled croissants) We came across a farm store run by a very friendly farmer’s wife. She spoke a little English and was able to help us. We bought some steak for grilling and a kilo of braising steak for a slow cook. The beef was Charolaise and came from this farm. We also bought eggs, lettuce, fresh baby potatoes and tomatoes. We were tempted into trying fillets of smoked duck which was to be eaten with tomatoes which the farmer’s wife kindly picked for us from her garden. Having purchased this wonderful fresh produce, we decided to have a birthday meal at the camp. Lunch was enjoyed in the shade next to the river. We tried the Carpaccio of duck with salad and fromage. Ended the meal with coffee and mars bars.The meal was complemented with a couple of glasses of red wine. We decided this was a very enjoyable way to eat French food. Using Maud (Sat navigation) Nick cycled to the supermarket on the outskirts of the town where he purchased a few more ingredients for our next slow cook meals.

20110703 On Route to Provence – St Galmier in the Rhone-Alps-Provence
Val de Coise Camping.
To-day was our 40th wedding anniversary. We woke up feeling much the same as the day before so whatever anybody says, I can vouch for the fact that nothing really changes. The one thing I did notice and pointed out to Nick which would not have been the case say 40 years ago was the following. On waking Nick got out of bed , said” happy wedding anniversary, I had better get the crapper sorted out before you get up”, mmmm my thoughts of a romantic lie in bed and breakfast delivered on a tray with a red rose carefully place on the tray alongside the hot crousant was promptly crushed! We left Clamecy today as we were very keen to get toProvence. I think my darling husband felt a bit guilty as he stopped for lunch on route at a delightful little restaurant. We were the only tourists in the restaurant . It was delightful. Complete families including old people having an extended lunch with wine consumed in large quantities. Our stop off campsite was not very pleasant and we were quite worried about what lay ahead in Provence. We had been warned that we had hit the holiday season and everything would be a crush and quite difficult to cope with, especially the campsites.
20110704 Monfrin in the Provence of Languadoc- Roussillon . Bella Rive campsite to Provence.
We arrived at the campsite quite late as we had a stop off at the Carrefour and purchased groceries. Our campsite perfect just magnificent. It had been recommended to us by a Dutch couple, Inky and Dan. They were in the campsite in Clamecy and happened to overhear us talking about going to Provence. To describe the campsite I would liken it to a rustic campsite in Mozambique or next to the Zambezi in Zambia. (without crocs and hippo). Inky and Dan had set up camp in their usual spot and made us feel very welcome. As we had bought the meat and ingredients for a slow cook, I decided to crack on and get the beef borghnon done and then settle down for the night. We were very happy with the campsite . The ablutions were very rustic , ( this reduces the number of tourists ) and there wasn’t a swimming pool (this reduces the number of kids.) We faced the Gardon river with huge trees hanging over the river. Swimming in the Gardon was the perfect way to cool off.

20110705 Belle Rive Campsite Market day – Monfrin
We had heard about the markets in Provence and were eagerly waiting to get moving and cycle into the village and experience our first of many. On arrival we realized that this was a small market set up for the locals in the village and surrounding area. The area we were camping in was definitely not on the tourist map. This was good news for us as we always try to seek out the more authentic experiences off the beaten track. The market was situated as usual in the centre of the town. There is an avenue of massive plain trees which are used for shade for the traders. After quite some deliberating and decision making and phone calls to Debs , we made a purchase of two blouses for Debs and Dan. I was thrilled with them as they were a soft chiffon and a very sexy French style. Hope they like them. Unfortunately I didn’t get Nici anything as she is nearly 6 months pregnant. Perhaps baby things are best for her ! Having shopped at Carrefour Supermarket yesterday, meant we did not need to purchase any foodstuff. I must mention the river again as it has made a real impression on us and our trip. This river we are camped next to is called the Gardon. It flows into the Rhone River and is therefore part of the Rhone Valley complex. We spent many hot days swimming in the river. It seemed we were the only people using it. The Gardon is quite large and meanders slowly down its course. There are huge beautiful trees and foliage growing at the rivers’ edge, giving it a very peaceful and wild country feel. We decided to take some pictures of this area where we are spending two weeks, just to remind us that these are the back roads of Europe that we are really appreciating them. We spent the rest of Tuesday swimming and enjoying the camp.

---

Photos

DOT6539
Cycling to Chatel Censior

DOT6587
Typical Manor House

DOT6592
South Africans A'hoy

DOT6611
Nevernais Canal through Clamecy

DOT6636
Market in Clamecy

NGB9109
Montfrin Camping

NGB9145
Open air restaurant a la Mozambique.

NGB9211
Pike fishing on the Gardon River.