France

In May 2006, we spend some days in the Auvergne. On our way back home we visited Bourges and Orleans, the city of Jeanne d'Arc.

Lapeyrouse in the Auvergne
Bed and breakfast "La Maison Bleue", the place of of Wim and Toon.

Lapeyrouse is a quiet little village but the view from the porch of "La Maison Bleue" is lovely. Also the church of Lapeyrouse is unique. There is a lake nearby where one can make nice walks. Wim and Toon are a very friendly Dutch couple running this "chambre d'hôte" and we can recommend to anyone a stay in their place.

Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand and its neighbourhood have been inhabited since prehistoric times. There is proof that the Celts probably settled here around the IV th century BC, for numerous buildings, kilns and pieces of pottery have come to light. During the conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar was confronted with strong résistance led by the Arvern Chieftain Vercingetorix, being beaten by the latter at the battle of Gergovia : the Gergovia oppidum was located close to the present-day city of Clermont-Ferrand. The town which gradually grew in importance during Gallo-Roman times was known as Augustonemetum : originally it was not enclosed but spread over a large area, being a centre not only for communications but probably also for government.

A large quantity of archaeological treasures bear witness to a highly developped community. However the insecure times towards the end of the Roman Empire caused the town to retreat inwards to take refuge behind ramparts with five main gates. This walled city encompassed just the summit of the volcanic outcrop which today lies at the heart of the conurbation.

Christianity came to the area thanks largely to Saint Austremoine. The first cathedral was built inside the city walls by Saint Namace in 450 AD, marking the beginning of a long conflict between the Count and the Clergy for power over the city until the Bishop finally won in the XIII th century. During this period the name Clairmont or Clermont came into common use and the city was important enough to be chosen by Pope Urbain II for the 1095 Synod where he preached the First Crusade

Clermont-Ferrand today is the chief town of the Puy-de-Dôme department and capital of the Auvergne region, combining fonctions as a centre for administration, service and higher education with various industrial activities. The city is also developping as a communications cross roads, with direct access to an increasing number of motorways. Its important heritage from the past is a source of pride, prompting a policy of active rénovation and restoration.

Summer holidays 2006

Bourges

Described by Julius Caesar as “one of the most beautiful cities in all of Gaule”, Bourges has continued to delight and inspire visitors down through the ages. The Gothic cathedral, sculpted mansions, stately palaces and a bustling medieval quarter are all reminders of its rich historic past.

Named “City of Art and History” by André Malraux in 1962, Bourges continues its cultural vocation today : the “Printemps de Bourges” is one of the country’s foremost music festivals, drawing annual crowds of more than 100.000 people.

Orléans

Joan of Arc, also known as Jeanne d'Arc or Jeanne la Pucelle (6 January 1412 – 30 May 1431), is a national heroine of France and a saint of the Catholic Church. She stated that she had visions, which she believed came from God, and she used these to inspire Charles VII's troops to retake most of his dynasty's former territories which had been under English and Burgundian dominance during the Hundred Years' War.

She had been sent to the siege of Orléans by the then-uncrowned King Charles VII as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence when she overcame the disregard of veteran commanders and ended the siege in only nine days. Several more swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at Reims and settled the disputed succession to the throne.

Following the coronation the Royal army attempted further campaigns, but with less success. She refused to leave the field when she was wounded during an attempt to recapture Paris that autumn. Hampered by court intrigues, she led only minor companies from then on, and fell prisoner during a skirmish near Compiègne the following spring. A politically motivated trial by the English convicted her of heresy. The English regent, John, Duke of Bedford, had her burnt at the stake in Rouen. She had become the heroine of her faction at the age of seventeen, but died at the age of nineteen. Some twenty-four years later, after the English were driven out, Joan's aged mother, Isabelle, convinced the Inquisitor-General and Pope Callixtus III to reopen Joan's case, resulting in an appeal which overturned the original conviction by the English. Pope Benedict XV canonized her on 16 May 1920.

Another very nice bed and breakfast is "Le Vieux Donjon" about 1,5 hours driving south of Paris.

And Luis, who is portuguese is a perfect host

In the vicinity of Pressigny les Pins one can make litte trips. Especially the castles of La Bussière and of Sully-sur-Loire are worth visiting. One can do shopping or go to the market (on Saturday mornings) in Montargis is a somewhat larger town about 20 minutes away by car.

La Bussière - Chateau des Pêcheurs

Montargis

Sully-sur-Loire

Summer holidays 2007

Our 2007 summer holidays took us to the south of France. We stayed in a resort called "The Lotus Tree" in Montclus. This is a medieval village not far away from Avignonn. On our way over there we made a stop in Laon, Reims and Lyon. On the way back we spend a couple of days in Geneva in Switzerland where Gökhan's sister lives. Enjoy the pictures of our trip.

Laon

Reims is known for two things : it has one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in France, if not the most beautifull and it is the capital of the champagne region. Two good reasons to stay overnight in Reims.

Reims

We were in Reims on the 13^thof July which is the evening before the national holiday in France. There were festivities and concerts about everywhere in town "avec bal populaire".

Reims

On the 15^thof July we arrived in Montclus

The Lotus Tree

On our way to Monclus we visited the village of Viviers

Viviers

From Montclus we did daytrips to Avignon, the Gorges d'Ardèche, Alès, Nîmes, Uzès etc.

On the way to Alès

Gorges d'Ardèche

Avignon

Overlooking the city and the Rhône river, the Rocher des Doms presents an exceptional set of monuments including the Saint Bénezet Bridge, (the famous « Pont d’Avignon »), the Ramparts, the Petit Palais, the Cathedral and the impressive walls of the Popes’ Palace flanked by four mighty towers. This architectural group has been ranked by UNESCO as a part of the "world heritage for humanity".

The Palace of the Popes stands as the mighty symbol of the church’s influence throughout the western Christian world in the 14th century. Construction was started in 1335 and completed in less than twenty years under the leadership of two builder popes, Benedict XII and his successor Clement VI. The Popes’ Palace is the biggest Gothic palace in all of Europe (15,000 m2 of floor space, which is the equivalent of 4 Gothic cathedrals).

Nothing remains of the Episcopal Palace built by John XII on the Rocher des Doms except the plans. The work carried out in the "Old Palace" by Benedict XII started in 1335 with the building of a donjon outside the Palace, called the "Tower of Angels" protected by ramparts with adjoining private apartments, and followed by the building of the Great Chapel, parallel to the Cathedral. Between 1338 and 1342, the different wings of the old Episcopal palace were pulled down, and then rebuilt around a cloister flanked by two sturdy towers. This fortress Palace combined power with austerity.

After building the Tower of the Wardrobe against the southern side of the Tower of Angels in 1342, Clement VI undertook the "Opus Novum" in 1344 with the Great Audience room which was situated above the Great Chapel. The layout of the Great Dignitaries' wing at right angles created the shape of the impressive large Honour Courtyard. Military preoccupations no longer prevailed as the elegance of the façades indicated. Inside the Palace, the ever-present intersecting ribs create some beautiful sculpted decors.

As early as 1343, Matteo Giovannetti of Viterbo was at the head of important groups of painters coming from all over Europe. After the decoration of the Tower of the Wardrobe (the Stag Room) he was entrusted by Clement VI with the decoration of the Old Palace: Saint Martial's and Saint John's Chapel. In 1352 Matteo Giovannetti began decorating the Great Audience room. The frescoes which are still intact make up an exceptional work, one of the most interesting features of the Palace, and represent the supreme artistic quality of the first school of Avignon.

Avignon

"Le pont d'Avignon"

Montclus

Nîmes

Nîmes is more than 2000 years old. Two thousand years of history, architecture, art and passion. When you wander along the streets you can feel the Roman atmosphere.

Nîmes

Pont du Gard

Uzès

The last couple of days of our holiday we went to Geneva where Gökhan's sister lives. We visited Geneva of course but also Yvoire and Annecy.

Geneva

Cathedral of Geneva

Geneva

Annecy

Yvoire

Summer holidays 2008

We drove a couple of thousand kilometers during this holiday. We first went to Brittany and stayed in Bay Quest, a bed and breakfast in a small town called Québriac. After a week in Brittany we went back to "Le Vieux Donjon" where we stayed already once back in 2006. It was so nice to see Luiz back and enjoy his hospitality.

Bretagne - Cancale

Dinan in North East Brittany, is a magical, sometimes mystical, well restored, well preserved, walled medieval town, complete with imposing ramparts, towers and a Castle. It’s full of art, history and wonderful buildings.

The old town is most atmospheric, crammed full of half timbered buildings dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, with cobbled rambling streets all carefully restored and preserved. Dinan’s population is now around 11,000. The 1907 fire in Cordeliers’ Street apparently caused citizens to become aware of the importance of the preservation of medieval half timbered buildings to Dinan’s heritage.

Bretagne - Dinan

Saint-Malo during the Middle-Ages was a fortified island at the mouth of the Rance River, controlling not only the estuary but the open sea beyond. The promontory fort of Aleth, south of the modern centre in what is now the Saint-Servan district, commanded approaches to the Rance even before the Romans, but modern Saint-Malo traces its origins to a monastic settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the 6th century. Its name is derived from a man said to have been a follower of Brendan, Saint Malo.

Saint-Malo had a tradition of asserting its autonomy in dealings with the French authorities and even with the local Breton authorities. From 1590–1594, Saint-Malo declared itself to be an independent republic, taking the motto "not French, not Breton, but Malouins".

Saint-Malo became notorious as the home of the corsairs, French pirates. The corsairs of Saint-Malo not only forced English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute, but also brought wealth from further afield. Jacques Cartier, who sailed the Saint Lawrence River and visited the sites of Quebec City and Montreal - and is thus credited as the discoverer of Canada, lived in and sailed from Saint-Malo, as did the first colonists to settle the Falklands -hence the islands' French name Îles Malouines, which gave rise to the Spanish name Islas Malvinas.

Bretagne - Saint Malo

Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometer off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches.

Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to powerful tides between Normandy and Brittany stands a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St Michael, and the village that grew up in the shadow of its great walls. Built between the 11th and 16th centuries, the abbey is a technical and artistic “tour de force”, having had to adapt to the problems posed by this unique natural site. The island, with its fast and fickle tides, was a notorious prison during the French Revolution of 1789. Only a narrow causeway built in 1880 links the island to the mainland, although a bridge is due to be completed in 2012.

Bretagne - Mont Saint Michel

In Mont-Saint-Michel we met Hans & Lars from Copenhagen

Bretagne - Lars, Hans & Gökhan

Bretagne - Mont Saint Michel

After a couple of days in Brettagne we went back to Le Vieux Donjon. As usual Luiz and Serge proved to be the most gracious, the most friendly and kind hosts you possibily can imagine. We also visited Sancerre and Aubigny, two lovely small towns in the neighbourhood.

Le Vieux Donjon

Aubigny-sur-Nère is een Franse gemeente in het departement Cher ten noorden van Bourges.

De stad telde 6055 inwoners in 2005, die Albiniens worden genoemd, en is vooral bekend om zijn Schots verleden. Karel VII van Frankrijk schonk Aubigny in 1423 aan John Stuart, een Schotse legeraanvoerder die hem terzijde had gestaan in de Honderdjarige Oorlog. Nadat de stad in 1512 door een brand verwoest werd, bouwden de Stuarts haar opnieuw op in typische Schotse vakwerkstijl. Uit deze periode zijn een tweehonderdtal huizen zeer goed bewaard gebleven.

Ook het kasteel van Aubigny en het kasteel de la Verrerie zijn het werk van de Stuarts. Stad en omgeving staan bekend onder de naam Pays Ecossais. Tot in de 19e eeuw leefde de stad voornamelijk van de lakennijverheid.

Aubigny-sur-Nère

In the XIIth century, Etienne de Champagne, the first Count of Sancerre, built a defensive castle and fortified this city which played such an important role in the Middle Ages. The Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion (during which Sancerre became a Protestant stronghold and underwent a terrible siege in 1573) and a royalist uprising during the Revolution called "The Sancerre Vendée" are some of the city's most remarkable historical events from the XIIth to the end of the XVIIIth centuries.

From that period onward, Sancerre lost its strategic importance and was forced to submit to the laws of the State despite its naturally resistant character.

Numerous legends indicate that vineyards have existed in the Sancerre area since ancient times. Gregory of Tours wrote of their existence in 582 AD.

In the XIIth century, the vineyards experienced considerable development owing to the efforts of the Augustinian monks from the Abbey of Saint Satur and the Counts of Sancerre. At that time, Sancerre produced a red wine made primarily from Pinot Noir and exported via the Loire River. For this reason it is often mentioned in royal writings of the period. Duke Jean de Berry considered it the finest wine in the Kingdom.

Closer to our era, the Sancerre vineyard has known many upheavals. The original parcels of Pinot Noir vines were destroyed by phylloxera toward the end of the XIXth century. Sauvignon Blanc vines, particularly well-adapted to our climate, were planted in their place. The terroir and the men of the Sancerre region produced a wine of such quality that it was awarded AOC status in the first decree of 1936. In 1959, the red and rosé wines of Sancerre, made from the noble Pinot Noir, were also classified.

Sancerre

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