Towards the South of France

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Next stop was the unmissable Loire region, a long drive from Beauvior to pretty Braciuex. We visited two chateux over two days - extravagant Chambord on bike and the refined Cheverny... there are a few pics of each included here. Chambord was built by, but only lived in for around 45 days, by Francois I. Louis XIV also lived there but no-one enjoyed it much because it was too big and draughty.

Our next destination was Lyon, with a stop over in Chatel-de-Neuvre as a picturesque half way point. Lyon was great fun - our first day of sunny, warm weather - with a visit to the Musee des Baux Art, our first French three course lunch, and sight-seeing in the medieval quarter and the Roman ruins of the Odeum and Theatre. Lyon was the centre of Roman-Gaul - the theatre would have held 11,000 people and was the centre of people’s lives.

We headed for the hills the next day into Parc Naturel Regional des Volcans which was a recommendation from Sheila and charlie (Chris’ aunt and uncle). On the way we stopped off at a small town street market and stocked up on local cheeses and tasty things from the charcuterie (deli) and boulangerie (bakery). Planning went a little awry when our destination camping ground turned out to be shut so we improvised and drove to a lovely town called Murol and parked up for free (but with no electricity just gas). It was a stroke of luck as we were near the medieval chateau and animal park. We walked up a much bigger mountain the next day, the mighty Puy de Domes which has much mystique surrounding it. The Romans built a temple to Mercury atop it’s peak that reaches a little of 1400 metres. There were very few visitors which was good but from the photos you can probably tell why! It was quite a surprise to see so much snow. We also trekked a good while to see the Gorges de la Monne - very beautiful as you will see from the photos. The day finished with Lac Chambon. The snow came down overnight and reached us which was about 700 metres above sea level. Shivering, we made our way to the Milau viaduct through snow, sleet and dense fog. The viaduct was impressive but it continued to rain. We had planned to stop over in Milau but our chosen campsite was closed as was the next one we chose (we were getting the impression that unseasonal bad weather was keeping campsites ferme). We made it all the way to Le Vigan, a quiet area with rolling hills. A few days relaxation in the sun and we were on our way further South East.

Nimes! Delightful city with the best preserved Roman ampitheatre in the world, plus some excellent ancient ruins. In close proximity to Nimes was Pont du Gard, the remains of a three tier aquaduct that brought water to the city. We stopped off at Uzes and spent an hour exploring the food market which is each Wednesday. So many cheeses! Next stop was Arles, a less charming town than Nimes but with some significant Roman ruins and a museum with ancient relics plus at the time we visited a good exhibition of about the sculpture Rodin.

A fascinating treat was Chateux le Baux de Provence, North East of Arles and within an exeptional olive and wine growing region. The medieval castle is built into natural rock and took hours to explore. Afterwards we went wine tasting!

We couldn’t ignore Avignon so we popped in for a day and saw the Palais de Pape (home of the Pope in the 14th to 16th centuries) and a quirky, small private art collection.

Provence (and warm days and blue skies) to be continued...

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Comments

[Sheila]

Inclement weather and the budding spring
Good to read your latest blog. The snow must have been so beautiful but it's a drag when you don't want so much of it. Hope you are keeping cosy in the van. We flew back from Venice yesterday over 100s of square miles of snowy mountains (Dolomites & Alps). North of the mountains there was solid cloud all the way to Gatwick. When we arrived in Bologna on 6 April they had their first sunny day for weeks. The townsfolk were really happy, everyone was out enjoying the sun and eating their ice creams, and street buskers played (jazz bands, classical trios, harpist). Bologna is worth a stop. Big friendly city, 25 kms of colonnaded streets, pink, ochre and sienna colour buildings, loads of culture and music, and some of the best food in Italy. Economical too. We had 3 glorious days in the hills north of Florence and walked every day through very green fields, with the orchard blossom just emerging. Then 3 hot days in Venice 20C. We've had a perfect break in 3 Italian paradises.