Pack up Beauvais France then home

Day 93-94/France 61-62

Travelled: 124km to Beauvais

Well it’s the business end of getting ready for our departure. We drove a couple of hours to Francastle, just above Beauvais, to a motorhome accessories shop. They are a Rimor dealer and we wanted to order some replacement parts for Bluey. We also discussed selling Bluey… but not this year!

We then made our way to Beauvais where we have used as a last stop 3 times before as there is a great motorhome parking and service point. But first we did some washing at the Intermarché that had an automatic laundry in the carpark. 

So while the sheets and towels where getting clean we had lunch at the Asian Buffet. Probably not our first choice but it was the only one here and it wasn’t too bad for €13.90pp.

We stopped in the centre and had a look at the cathedral.

At the parking area we searched out the shade and later began sorting through our stuff that we want to take home. 

We managed to get our packing finished by lunchtime the next day. We went to another set of shops, got a bit of fuel and then returned pack to the parking area to wait out the day. This year we had to find a new spot for Bluey to stay and there is no service point. So at 6:30pm we had a shower got Bluey ready for his hibernation essentially dumping all the water before we drove 30mins to Breuil le Sec. We settled in and finished our To Do List. Ready for our last sleep in Bluey.

All went to plan on Friday with our early morning pick up with Andre. We had the unique experience to be bused out to the plane

.

We left from Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle whilst they do renovations at Terminal 1.  Then the flight on Singapore Airline went smoothly and on time as per usual. We treated ourselves to returning home in Business Class which had flat beds that made for better sleeping. A great end to a wonderful 3 month trip.

Champagne France

Day 91/France 59

Travelled: 65km from Asfeld to Mareuil s/Ay

After our morning coffee we drove into Asfeld to have a look at the 17th century Church of St.Didier. It has an unusual design with its viola de gamba shape and Baroque style. Made of brick, it has no straight lines. Unfortunately it is under restoration.

We passed through a village called Sydney!

We went through the centre of  Riems , passing the cathedral.

We drove through some lovely Champagne countryside.

We made our way to a lovely spot in Mareuil sur Ay, with shaded parking along side the canal (stayed 2014).

 After a cooked lunch (emptying out the fridge), we did some cleaning up in preparation for Bluey’s hibernation. 

Day 92/ France 60

Travelled: 95km via Epernay, Hautvillers, Fere en Tardenois to Pommiers (Soissons)

We had a morning stroll in Mareuil, which mainly consists of a couple of Champagne cellars, a boulangerie, a bistro,  hairdresser and tabac/newsagents. That’s ok for us as we had a lovely peaceful sleep. We contemplated wether to stay another day, as the weather is heating up again, but in the end moved on.

10km away is Epernay, the capital of champagne (visited 2003, 2014).

All the important champagne houses are located in town , especially along the famous Champagne Avenue.

Some notable buildings we walked past was:

The Hôtel de Ville 

The Gabrielle Dorziat theatre 

Notre Dame church (1925)

St.Martin portal

We have previously visited the champagne cellars so we continued to Hautvillers only 9km away. (Also visited in 2014).

This is where the monk Dom Perignon discovered the champagne wine making process in the 18th century. 

His tomb rests in the chancel of the St.Sindulphe abbey church. 

There are also some pretty forged iron shop signs scattered around the village.

Saying good bye to the vines..

We stopped to pay our respects at the Commonwealth War Cemetery 

We then set the gps for the ruined castle in Fere en Tardenois. The 1206 castle was transformed around 1528 with the addition of the Renaissance bridge being added in 1555, designed by Jean Bullant (architect of Castle Chenonceaux). We noticed the similarities. 

So after a bite to eat for lunch we made our way to another shady spot to escape the hot day (only 32°) in Pommiers on the banks of the Aisne river near Soissons (2018), slowly getting closer to our final destination.