Day 5 - Clermont-Ferrand to Troyes (2565km to date)

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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 traffic. We had to divert onto a minor road and follow trucks and other traffic all the way to St Porçain where we turned north onto the D2009. The diversion ended near Moulins and we picked up our original route after that.

We stopped for a bite to eat and to stock up on provisions at Carrefour and a local bakery in Yzeure (a suburb of Moulins) before Bob took over the driving for the next stage.

The weather really wasn’t kind to us through this bit of the route and we drove through pouring rain along the national roads, mostly single carriageway and mostly behind trucks. We kept looking for passing places but the conditions weren’t great for overtaking. We were also running a bit low on fuel at this stage and had to look for a petrol station.

We sailed past the Magny-Cours race circuit and could see why the Formula One teams hated it because it is miles from anywhere and there aren’t any big cities nearby. The nearest town was Nevers and we cruised through there looking for the best petrol prices. The motorbike police were on patrol here so we drove very slowly past them trying to look as uninteresting as possible. When we eventually turned around to go back to the first petrol station we had spotted, they had decided to pull someone else over so we nipped past to fill up.

Neal got back in the driving seat here because Bob had nipped off for a cigarette while he was filling up with petrol. We then had a short stint up to Sancerre where we decided to stop for lunch and to buy some of the famous Pouilly Fumé wine. We pulled into a chateau entrance but it looked shut (and it was lunchtime) so we turned around to leave but, as we did, an old man wandered slowly towards us so we asked him if we could buy some wine. He happily opened up the wine cellar and we sampled some very nice white. We bought a few bottles to share with Tom and Marta on Friday so look out for those, guys.

While we were buying the wine, Bob’s mobile phone started ringing and the old man serving us had to tell him to answer it because he hadn’t realised it was his phone. The call was from the people who monitor the badgers that live at the top of Bob’s garden asking whether it was OK to walk through to look at the set but they were a bit taken aback when he said that he was in France. They thought he was in the house.

Bob took over driving again for a fast motorway stretch up towards Paris then veering off at Montargis towards Sens and eventually Troyes. This section of motorway was called the Tree Motorway and every few kilometres, there was a sign indicating a species of tree with a few examples planted behind it. The motorway also passes through the national arboretum of France so it is aptly named.

Once we turned onto the section heading East towards Troyes, the motorway became deserted and Bob was tempted to have a go at seeing how the car performed at high speed but Neal talked him out of it?! A frenchman approached Bob to admire the Porsche and after realising that Bob did not speak French tried his best to speak English. Bob and the Frenchman were very relieved when Neal appeared and could talk to him in French about Porsches.

Neal took over again after a brief stop at an aire and then drove the last hundred kilometres into the old medieval city of Troyes.

We had an hour or so walking around the city marvelling at the houses constructed so close together that some of the roofs even touched and overlapped. It was surprising to see so many ancient houses still standing and we managed to get a few photos of them before stopping for a crêpe.

We are writing this after another Campanile restaurant meal, probably our last one for this trip unless Tom and Marta decide they don’t want any more house guests. We did look for another place to eat but it is difficult to resist the temptation to just cross the road and eat at the nearest place and the food isn’t bad. We even know the menu now!

Looks like bad weather for the next stage tomorrow. Heavy rain, thunder storms and hail are on the cards for the trip tomorrow according to the French TV weather report. We are hoping they are being pessimistic.

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Comments

[Dinah]

Envy, envy!
Troyes looks wonderful! I hope you have loads of pictures. The wine sounds good. See you in Brussels. Love Mum

[Lucy]

Troyes
Troyes looks lovely, I love the leaning old houses with their overlapping roofs. I am also jealous of the vineyard visit, I bet none of the wine will make it back to the uk?