An Australian couple travelling in Europe in a motorhome (Bluey), exploring Australia in a caravan and a self built Isuzu expedition 4 x 4 motorhome (Buster).
Day 122/123 total travelled 11567km Travelled:78km to Rousseloy storage 49.28562 2.37939 We spent our last day packing our bags and managed to fit all our souvenirs within our luggage limits. We then got Bluey ready for his winter rest.
The next morning we were dropped off at airport nice and early and passed through customs with no problems although they did take a second look at the back pack carrying a frypan! Not the usual carryon item.
Hopefully we won’t have any trouble catching our connecting flight in Singapore with only 55mins layover! We have had a wonderful 4 months but are now ready to see our family and friends at home.
Day 121/France 22 Travelled: 116km from Mery sur Seine Stay: La Ferte Milon- parking along Ourcq Canal N49.1818 E3.1349 Visited: American WWI memorial in Chateau Thierry
Once again we spent the day travelling north and doing preparations for our departure in a couple of days. We started with doing a wash of items we are going to leave behind, having spotted a set of washing machines in the E.Leclerc carpark in Sezanne. On our approach to Chateau Thierry we spotted a very distinctive monument on top of a hill and decided to go and have a closer look. It was an American WWI memorial built in 1937. On one side reflects the unity between France and the United States.
Overlooking Chateau Thierry
The other shows a map of American military operations that took place in the region.
We also had a look in the visitors centre giving us more detail on America’s involvement in WWI.
We continued on to La Ferte Milon where we had chosen a spot for tonight. The lovely summer weather has gone replaced by rain, so we busied ourselves with some bookwork, cleaning and sorting. Late in the afternoon the rain eased and we walked 1km along the canal into the village. The Ourcq Canal was built the early 1800’s on orders by Napoleon. It would have a dual purpose of providing shipping channels and also to bring water to Paris. It is still used by pleasure crafts and the water is used now to clean out the sewer systems in Paris.
In La Ferte Milon it was hard not to notice the ruins of an unfinished castle perched on a rock above the town.
We walked up and down the main road and then returned to Bluey.
Stay: Mery sur Seine- picnic area beside canal N48.5110 E3.8859
Visited: Flavigny sur Ozerain and Noyers both classified as a ‘Most Beautiful Village of France’ in the Burgundy region.
We were lucky last nights stormy weather passed us by the time we went to sleep resulting in a very quiet night. In the morning we consulted the internet to see what we could see on our journey back towards Bluey’s resting place in Rousseloy near Paris. We decided on 2 villages that are classified as one of the most beautiful villages of France.
It took just over an hour to reach Flavigny sur Ozerain (Our GPS taking us on some interesting back roads).
Back in 719 a Benedictine Abbey was built here on top of a rocky spur. During the Middle Ages it became a popular stop for pilgrims especially those on their way to Santiago de Compastela (Spain). The town grew around the Abbey and later became fortified during the 12th century. By the time of the French Revolution the Abbey Church was probably in ruins due to corruption. During this time the monks tradition of preserving aniseed in a coating of sugar became well known and there were several manufacturers of this candy dragée. Now all the manufacturing is done in one place in the Abbey. We visited the shop that had tastings of the various flavours as well as information on the history and manufacturing process.
Yummy flavours
We were also able to visit the factory itself with a guide where we learnt some interesting facts. The process starts with a single anise seed and over a period of 15 days it is covered with successive coats of flavoured sugar syrup using copper barrels that turn and a specific speed and kept at a certain temperature. Each day one ton of the lollies are made and packaged to send all over France and international destinations.
The images on the tins depict a love story. Under are the different sizes of the aniseed as it is covered in the sugar layers.
We then explored the rest of the village admiring various architectural features.
Abbey crypt.
We then drove another hour or so to the medieval village of Noyers, set in the Chablis countryside on the banks of the River Serein. We entered the village through one of the fortified towered gateways and strolled along the cobbled streets admiring the many half timbered buildings with some unique features.
We also had a look in the 15th century church.
We then decided to drive a further 100km to the other side of Troyes, arriving in Mery sur Seine around 5:30pm. After a walk through town we did some preparation getting Bluey ready for storage.
After a beautiful day and night spent with family in Montluel, we said farewell late Sunday morning to make our way to Dijon.
It is always easier to visit a big city on a Sunday due to reduced traffic and easier parking. We decided to not travel on the motorway so we could enjoy the countryside and smaller villages along the way. Although there were fewer kilometres it probably took us 45mins longer. In the Bresse area there were many free range chicken farms of which they are well known for. The architecture was also dominated with half timber buildings. We saw a few coloured glazes tiled roofs. We liked the church spire in Mervans.
Crossing the Doubs River
We arrived in Dijon around 2:30pm, parking in the street about 10min walk away from the historic centre. During the 12th the Dukes who ruled Burgundy, had a simple residence here. From 1365 the “Great Dukes of the West” endowed their capital with an architectural ensemble worthy of their ambitions. In 1477 Burgundy became part of the Kingdom of France and the head of parliament was setup in Dijon. A new social class developed resulting in the nobility building over a hundred town houses before the Revolution. After which many became public buildings, used in various capacities. As we walked into town we found out that many of these buildings were open to the public as part of the Patrimonial weekend.
The Templar Knights
Seals.
We visited l’Hotel de Vogüé built during the 17th C.
We then ventured around the Dukes Palace that has been the town hall and museum since 1799. Some rooms still had their original décore but most had been modernised for office working conditions and also to give better protection for the valuable artefacts.
After our visit we exited on to the Place de la Liberation.
Today’s promised rain finally came but we continued on sharing the one umbrella. We had a look at the Notre-Dame church.
We then made our way to the Cathedral and listened to the organ concert.
By the time we came out the heavens had really opened up. Luckily it eased a bit and we walked 20mins back to Bluey avoiding the puddles as much as we could. We managed to visit a couple more places along the way.
Bluey was still nice and warm from the sunny 31°c we had earlier. We headed 20km out of town to a Park4Night spot in the small village of Etuales that was on our route for tomorrow.
