Epineuil Nr Tonnerre to Laon

Thursday 13th April

After a very quiet night, we set off on our journey back home, doing just 160 of the miles today.  We're staying tonight at a Municipal site at Laon and plan to walk into the town after we've eaten our chicken casserole.  So we may have some photos to publish later.

Tomorrow we shall move on to our familiar little site at Licques - we pre-booked our pitch when we were there 2 weeks ago, thinking it could be busier this weekend.  We'll do a bit of shopping on Saturday morning before catching our ferry home.

It's been a super holiday with lots and lots of sunshine.  Certainly has done us both a lot of good. 

Ancy le Franc

Wednesday 12th April

As we approached the campsite gate to leave this morning, we were confronted by a huge low-loader carrying the glass-fibre shell of a swimming pool.  We'd seen the dug-out and assumed that it was going to be a pool eventually.  There was no way we could pass the lorry, so turned left and followed the tiny road behind the site and managed to take this photo.
 
 We drove NE from Avallon and stopped at the town of Noyers to buy a baguette for lunch.  The way we travel often brings us lovely surprises.  Here we found a small market taking place (among the many wares were beds!) and the lady in the boulangerie said she had no more bread but there would be more in 10 minutes.
 
 
 
We went and found a cafe for a coffee/chocolate and there picked up a leaflet telling us that there was an "Exposition 100% Lego" at Chateau d'Ancy-le-Franc.  We were heading there anyway and couldn't resist seeing the Lego!  After buying our hot baguette we sat in a park by the river, entertained by some very noisy crows feeding their young in the nests above us. 

The chateau, described as an Italian Renaissance Palace in Burgundy, has been beautifully restored and has some superb painted murals and ceilings.

 

One family bedroom's walls are covered with panels, each with a different painted flower.

 
But the long room with the Lego was amazing.  These are just a few of the models on display. 

 
 
Then when the tour leads you to the garden behind the chateau - there was the biggest Lego ship ever made!  It was made in Copenhagen and is in the Guinness Book of Records. 

 

After a wander through and above the village,
 
 we continued on our way to Tonnerre, then north to the little village of Epineuil and a 'France Passion' vineyard called Domaine Dominique Gruhier.  The young lady showed us where we could park for the night and invited us to sit on the terrace if we wished.  We asked her for a 'degustation' of her Cremant de Bougogne - and very good it is too!
 
 

Avallon

 Tuesday 11th April

Another beautiful sunny day.  Bruno, our Monsieur de Camping, had told us that the walk into Avallon would take 20 minutes.  We knew it was going to be uphill all the way, so guessed it could take us a fair bit longer!  It did need lots of stops, but the views approaching the town and looking back down were worth every bit of effort.

We reached the top

Restaurant l'horloge produced a delicious lunch.  I had no idea what my pudding was going to be, except that it had something to do with almonds and raspberries.  It was two hot filo pastry rolls with a smooth raspberry filling served with a pot of sauce that I can only describe as posh nutella.  Meanwhile, John was munching on bread and local cheeses.

 
We hadn't remembered the town - until we passed a Salon de The with a board outside advertising their terrasse.  Yes, we are sure we came here with Janet & Graham many years ago and drank tea out at the back on the terrasse.  So we went through the cafe and outside to sit at one of the tables in the sunshine to enjoy a cuppa.

The church of Saint-Lazare (huge doors wide open)

 

Amazing wall paintings that look like relief

 

A wall of pictures for thoughtful prayer

 
 
 This was another very interesting town to enjoy. 

About to set off down again

The River Cousin, opposite the campsite

Merry-sur-Yonne - Clamecy - Avallon

Monday 10th April

YES!  The shower was ready - I was the first to use it this morning!  A little problem to start with in that before getting in the cubicle, I pulled the lever out to run some water to test the temperature and hadn't noticed that the shower head was pointing straight out at me!  Cold water on me and the floor - oops.  Soon got some warm water through and all was well.

Filled up the van with fresh water, said our fond farewells and set off for some more adventures. 

We drove to Clamecy, a small town a bit further south on the Yonne and spent a couple of hours discovering some of the historic buildings and having a picnic by the river.  Not a particularly attractive church of St. Martin, but it has many superb stained-glass windows.

 

A very unattractive church

 
then continued on to a campsite in Avallon, with views of Vezelay en route.

 We visited Vezelay several years ago, but don't remember if we came to Avallon. Tomorrow we shall go and explore the town and see if we recognise it or not.

Sunday in Merry-sur-Yonne

Sunday 9th April

We had spent a bit of time using the wifi, sitting in the restaurant lounge area, last night, so we knew that the staff had been extremely busy, still serving up food at 10pm.  We learnt later today that some of them got to bed around 1, others later, so we can fully understand why things were a little chaotic in there this morning.  We had booked continental breakfast at 9.30 (as an alternative to our Sunday gateau this week), but discovered that Zac had set his alarm for 6.30 but hadn't set it correctly and didn't wake up till 9.15.  This was quite a problem to him as they had one party of 33 and another of 6 (for a 90th birthday) booked in for lunch!  And there was us (and others) demanding breakfast!!!  But nothing is too much trouble here and we eventually got our freshly cooked  croissants, baguette and jam. (They buy the dough and keep it frozen.) 

We set off for our walk soon after that because we knew the temperature would be rising rapidly.  We feel so fortunate to be having such lovely weather, but some of the walk was through arable fields with no shade at all - only mad dogs and Englishmen .....  So scenic though, and we had 2 long rests in the shady woods. 

Chateau de la Tour

 Sylvie told us that this was the first time the lads had catered for a large party for lunch, so preparation was a little fraught, but all went very well in the end.  As the village has been without a shop or a restaurant since the site was closed down 8 years ago, they are gradually building up a great reputation among the locals as well as the campers. 

I did mention, back on Thursday, that David hoped he would have one of the new showers ready for my birthday.  Well, he didn't manage that, what with lots of other work to be done, but I have been promised that I can use it tomorrow morning before we leave!!  Will take a photo - but not with me in it!!

Our last dinner here - home-cooked Sea Bass, roasted new potatoes and sweet potatoes and ratatouille.  Moving on tomorrow.

A lazy Saturday

 Saturday 8th April

A very hot day today, so a good one to do not very much at all - just enjoy our beautiful surroundings and relax.

 This afternoon we wandered down to the 'plage' - a picnic area and playground by the river and watched a lot of activity on the cliffs.
It's a great place for climbers, so watched them for a while

 

Then saw that a zip wire had been hung over a wide area of the rocks.
  Eventually this chap and girl each got half way across as a 'flying fox'





 

then lowered themselves on a rope onto the grassy slope and climbed back up.  Very scary, but trust it was worth all the effort of rigging it all up.

Sylvie had arranged for an ice cream delivery yesterday and now the little freezer in the shop has been stocked up, so we cooled down with a cornetto.