Watery Memories

Whenever we hear helicopters overhead we are taken straight back to the flood in Boscastle which happened 20 years ago in 2004 when many people were rescued over several hours by the very skilful pilots flying that day. Last night we were casually chomping on our galettes and salad when we heard the throb of a very low chopper above the van. It turned out to be a SAMU rescue helicopter and it landed extremely close to us in the field across the road. EEEK! The pilot did a fabulous job not hitting any of the pylons surrounding the field. I managed to get a few shots as it took off into the night. We hope the person transported to hospital is ok.

Skilful flying

Off we go

Strangely enough, where we have parked this evening also has a flooding vibe despite being tranquil and relaxing - for now. We drove along the Loire today after a change of plan. Vendôme was our original target but we thought we’d check out the Chateau du Clos Lucé in Amboise instead. It was the home of Leonardo Da Vinci until he died (I had no idea he lived in this area) and sounded really interesting. Unfortunately, the Aire in town was closed due to roadworks so we had to quickly reorganise our target overnight spot. We’ll have to save Leonardo for another day.

Worrying water height marker

We spotted Chouzy sur Cisse so headed there. It’s a lovely lakeside area with a river running through it but we have since learned that it is prone to flooding, particularly in winter. As we walked around the lake we (well, especially me) were horrified to see the flood marker that showed a 2 metre mark from 1961 and just under a metre from 2001. I’ve checked the weather report and there shouldn’t be any rain tonight - fingers crossed. I hope we don’t find any more flood prone areas on our trip. Let’s see where we end up tomorrow.

Let’s hope the water stays in the lake

Town of Writing and Town of Prehistory

Love the look of this bookshop

As book lovers, when we saw we were close to ‘The City of Writing’, Montmorillon, we couldn’t resist a stopover. Our parking place was by the fast flowing river, Gartempe, and just a five minute walk into its famous medieval centre where all its bookshops and writing museums are located. Annoyingly, as we arrived on a winter’s Saturday afternoon, everything was shut but we enjoyed strolling around, soaking up the ambience and dreaming of when we could return to experience the place when the bookshop’s doors were flung open and life returned to the quiet streets.

Vieux Pont 

Loving their window displays

On a positive note, the macaron boutique and museum was open so I made a selection of coffee and hazelnut along with rose and lychee flavours to keep us going through the evening. Apparently they’ll last in the fridge for 8 to 10 days. I don’t think so! They’ll all be gone by this evening.

For sale in an antique shop

The sun came out this morning and we drove on to Le Grand Pressigny, famous for its prehistory museum which is located in a massive chateau above the town. For a change, the place was open but Hugo wasn’t allowed in so we were happy to walk around the gardens and enjoy the replica ancient animals that have been placed in the courtyard. 

Walking to the chateau

Hugo wasn’t keen

He quite liked the mammoth though


We found a recently opened restaurant/bar called La Cabane with extremely friendly owners. We got chatting and discovered the owner is a keen walker and plans to do the Compostela. Needless to say he and Graham bonded and shared observations about the lightness of different brands of walking gear. A knowing eye roll was shared between his wife and I. Tomorrow they head to Spain en vacance and we head to Vendǒme.

It’s All in the Stones - But Not the Mud

Graham was a little worried about the amount of mud at the Aire we stopped at in the village of Sers earlier today and he turned out to be correct. We wanted to see the site of Roc de Sers which has a replica of some ancient rock carvings found in the area so thought we’d stop in the village. Bad idea!

Small but perfectly formed

Everything was closed as usual and there was nowhere to eat. The Aire had hardstanding for the parking but the exit was very muddy and very uphill. We decided to leave after getting some water and managed to get bogged on the way out. There is something quite stressful about wheels spinning, mud flying and not being able to move. Thankfully a friendly Frenchman came to our rescue, guiding us through the various reversals, turns, and accelerations to get out. Thank you, that man.

Perfectly carved

Two stags

We drove on to Roc and were rewarded with some fabulous replicas of the carved stones. There are depictions of bison, stags, horses and even humans. It was worth going despite the stress at the Aire.

Displayed quite well

A bit soggy

We’re now nearby at a much less muddy spot in Dirac. It seems an affluent town with a posh farm shop next to us and a lovely church with animal carvings above the door. Not quite as old as the prehistoric ones but around 11th century I think. It’s been a day of carved animals.

Church entrance carvings

Big Rocks Come in ‘Handy’

Troglodyte Lunch

It was a real ‘wow’ moment as we turned the corner to the market square of St Emilion and saw the magnificent troglodyte church. It was carved into the rock in the 11th Century and has been added to over the centuries. I read that it is the largest rock-carved church in Europe and has always attracted pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela (of course). Unfortunately, it’s not open today so we can’t explore the interior but the outside is impressive enough.

Lower part carved from rock

Market Square - used to be a graveyard

We didn’t think the 11th Century was far enough back in history for us to go today so we searched for and found a 4,500 year old megalith, the Menhir de Pierrefitte, which is about 4 km outside St Emilion. This is apparently the largest menhir in south west France and is unusually shaped like a hand - if you look at it from the right angle. 

Hugo posing well for a change

Hand in the hand

Pines to Pissos

A 1940’s vibe

The town of Hagetmau looked like it might have been a good next stop. There’s a crypt, an ancient Mary Magdalene church, and a couple of good restaurants. Perfect. However, on arrival we found the crypt was closed, the church was closed - and the restaurants were closed. Sigh. It was a nice place walk around but we ended up spending the afternoon chilling out in the van watching tele as Graham had wanted a short drive and didn’t feel like moving on. We were greeted by primroses and violets on our morning walk so the visit was worthwhile after all.

Good morning

We felt like we needed some yummy food after our disappointing culinary experience and noted that the unfortunately named Pissos (a place we’d stopped at on the way down which has an excellent restaurant) was on our way so we put that in the Tom Tom and headed off. The whole way all we saw along the roadside were pine forests, pine forests, and more pine forests. They like a bit of wood around here.

As we drove along I noticed a statue of a person on stilts and remembered there were shepherds in Les Landes area who used to work the fields by walking on stilts. I found a website with some amazing photos of these shepherds doing what they do best. Click the link Here if you’d like to get more information on this.

Just the occasional pine tree

Pissos didn’t disappoint with the restaurant and the weather was really warm so we took the opportunity to explore a bit more than last time. The forest behind us was dotted with small holiday cabins, probably for Scouts. Opposite was a very interesting cemetery with some unusual headstones. The white gravestones belonged to those killed in both the First and Second World Wars and were obviously very well kept.

Angelic child’s head

War graves in white

Metal headstone

We’ve finally moved on from the pine forests and are parked by the Garonne Canal in Fontet. It’s unseasonably warm and I actually got down to my singlet on our 6 km walk along the tow path - no photos of that you’ll be happy to hear. I fear the weather maybe turning tonight so we’re braced for rain tomorrow.

A change of scenery

A beam of light

Still in the jumper 

Pootling in the Pyrenees

 We took the road across the Pyrenees at a pacey 35km per hour. The weather was clear and bright but the way was dotted with a constant stream of cyclists who were making the most of the gorgeous weather. I was quite happy to go at this snail pace as I didn’t want us to be responsible for a cyclist’s terrible end on such a gorgeous day. We’ve been across these mountains so many times but I think this is the first time we’ve driven it with bright blue skies and not a hint of snow in the air.

St Jean Pied de Port was our stop and we enjoyed a stroll around the ancient streets where many start their journey along the Chemin de Santiago de Compostela. It was 20 years ago almost to the day that Graham set out on his walk to Santiago. The sun stayed out but we woke to fog and cloud this morning - a very different view across the river.

From one day…

…to the next

The ancient road in the town centre is full of 17th and 18th century houses marked with the names of those who lived there and the date the house was built. It makes an interesting walk up the winding cobbled streets.

Worth a walk

Up this medieval street

House of 1722

 When the fog cleared (and after we’d done our washing - boooring) we drove a short 40 km to Sauvetterre de Béarne, another medieval village but this time with a more French, rather than Basque, vibe. We found a fabulous restaurant so Graham tucked into a lamb shank while I consumed a confit of duck and Hugo had several mouths full of both. We came through here last year but everything was closed as the town centre roads and buildings were undergoing a massive refurbishment. I must say it looks a lot better this time.

12th century church

Cute (and yummy) restaurant

View to the Bridge of Legend

Carrying On from Carrion

 It sounds like we left Portugal just in time as I’ve read that the Portuguese farmers have blockaded some of the border crossings into Spain as part of the growing EU wide protests. We actually saw some tractors congregating on the side of the motorway this morning as they prepare to mobilise for their own protest.

Pyrenees in the clouds

 We managed to drive through a vast swathe of vineyards to reach Elciego in the Rioja region unscathed. It’s a lovely medieval village that boasts many wineries, one of which has a bodega designed by none other than the famous architect Frank Gehry.

It’s certainly a contrast

The more usual architecture

One of the joys of being in this region is the choice of good wines and we found Bodega Muriel where we could buy a dozen Rioja Crianzas for 25 Euros. Hoorah!! We tried one last night and it was so good we bought another box this morning. We’re now on the outskirts of Pamplona in Sarriguren surrounded by high rise flats and the sound of children playing basketball in the background. We will head into France tomorrow, taking advantage of the lack of snow on the Pyrenees.

Gotta love a cheap dozen

It’s not only wine they do well here; they also do good doors.