Ardèche France

Day 55/France 40

Travelled: 129km via Villefort, Les Vans and Gorge de l’Ardeche to wild parking spot near Viviers on the Rhône River (44.4548, 4.6966)

 

Not far from our overnight stay was Villefort Lake nestled in the heart of the Lozère Cévennes, it invites all the usual water pursuits. 

For us was a scenic walk along the shore.

Then a stroll around the village along with the daily baguette purchase.

By the time we descended down to Les Vans, the heat had begun to make its impact. We strolled through the alleys in the old quarter which lead us to the main square where a brocante (flea market) was in full swing. We couldn’t resist a look and a purchase of the iconic ceramic cicada as a souvenir as their sound is constantly in the background.

We had planned on exploring a few of the villages in the area but as luck had it the first one we chose had a No Motorhome sign.. so we had to double back and we lost the mojo. So plan B came into effect, the gorges of the Ardèche (previously done in 2013). It’s a 32km drive of spectacular grandiose landscape. With many lookouts showing off the deep canyons of limestone cliffs that reach up to 300m all the way down to the Ardèche River. It is a mecca for canoe hire.

In the end we needed to escape the heat and find a shady spot on the banks of the Rhône River to finish off the day. We managed to find one on Park4Night and with fingers crossed made our way there. Lucky for us we were able to fit in. We were entertained by jet skiers, boats, barges, trains and cars crossing the lovely bridge… 

Beaujolais France

Day 117/France 18

Travelled:169km from Artaix through Chateauneuf, Bellroche mountain pass, Beaujolais wine region to St.Priest Motorhome supplier finishing in Montluel (cousins’ home).

It was a fresh autumn morning but the sun was shining, promising another beautiful day. 

We left the peaceful camp on banks of the Canal and crossed the Loire River. The older buildings in the villages here have a distinct yellow rock giving them a golden glow in the sunlight.

 As we approached the mountains the terrain became much greener and we enjoyed the lovely drive up and over Belleroche. 

As we decended over the other side we were greeted with the wine area known as the Beaujolais, with vineyards on every conceivable hill side. There were many groups of people busy picking the grapes as it’s that time of year to make more wine! 

We even drove past Mt Brouilly which is one of Mark’s favourite reds.

 It wasn’t long until we were in the busy outskirts of Lyon making our way to a motorhome supplier in the hope to find a cartridge for one of our taps. After buying one for €11 Mark has do do some adjustments but managed to fit it. Then he checked under the basin to discover that the pipes were still leaking, so he had to pull everything apart again and this time replaced the joiners. So fingers crossed it won’t leak again. We eventually arrived at my cousins home in Montluel, to once again enjoy their company over good food and wine. A great way to end the day.

Old Lyon France

On Sunday afternoon we strolled through the streets of ‘Vieux Lyon’ (Old Lyon) soaking up the atmosphere.  The narrow cobble streets are lined with many medieval and Renaissance houses.

We walked over the Saône River to the magnificent fountain located in Lyon France's central square (Place des Terreaux) which was created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdiand  who also designed the ‘Statue of Liberty’. 

From the river we could see the beautiful Basilique Notre Dame.

We popped into St.Jean church and admired the astronomical clock. 

Lying beneath and between these buildings are 315 traboules (secret passages) which link 230 streets and add up to 50km. Some date back to Roman times, whilst most were constructed by canuts (silk weavers) in the 19thC to facilitate the transport of their products between river to manufacturers.

 

We decided to eat a different kind of local delicacy ‘ brioche praliner’, a little less adventurous but very tasty! 

 Many of these are now cafes and traditional restaurants called ‘bouchon’ where you can eat all different parts of a pig. 

Along our wall we came across one of the city’s ‘tromp-l’œil murals. This one is called ‘Bibliothèque de la Cité’ which features five storeys of shelved books.