The art of Paris

Our site ESE of Paris was one of the best caravan sites we have encountered in Europe (Camping 4 Vents). The sites were large and hedged with good facilities, good internet, 15 minutes to the railway station and a non stop half hour train to Garde L’Est. In short – brilliant!

Our first trip into Paris was centered around Montmartre. The temperature was in the 30s so the funicular was the only way to travel up to take in the view from Sacre Coeur. We opted not to queue and go in but set off for a stroll of Renoir's gardens.

The vineyard to one side of the garden is the last one in Paris. Not sure of the vintage quality but the quantity will be small.

One of Renoirs famous paintings is “The Swing”. This apparently is the tree and swing (viewed from the other direction). The seat could be original. The ropes were very worn, hence the supporting spring.

Many of the streets were dedicated to art and various artists. This display was all about Van Gough.

While this was a wonderful, albeit unusual, display of pottery.

Around Sacre Coeur there are the inevitable pick pockets and three card tricksters. Away from the crowds there were further opportunities for thieves – when caught red handed with a fig, theft apparently becomes scrumping…

Out team had decided our first catch up would be Moulin Rouge. We didn’t want to be late so we had a perfect reason for a pre-show drink in the adjoining pub. Jo flew in for a few days and as the show was the day prior to her birthday a second celebration was appropriate on the actual day and a quick river trip fitted the bill nicely.

Notre Dame is slowly being repaired after the awful fires of 2019. 

As we slipped by Musee D’Orsay (previously Gare de Paris – Orleans) we were prompted that this was still on our bucket list and hence became the focal point for the following day.

We started with lunch at the level 5 café which sits behind one of the wonderful external clocks. 

The comparative outside view of the clock helps to underpin the scale of the building. 

Given there is so much to see we decided to focus on the Impressionist galleries. The entry piece by Maximillien Luce was particularly moving and depicts “Bloody Week” (21- 28 May 1871) and the suppression of the Commune who wanted workers management of the city of Paris.

There were so many well known pictures including one of Monet’s many versions of 'the haystacks'.

And Renoir’s ‘Dance at the Moulin de la Galette’

As we worked our way through the artwork it was hard not to be struck by the wonderful conversion from railway station to museum. The original station was built in 1900 for the ‘exposition’ and was the first station in the world to cater for electric trains. It started to fall into decline in the middle of the century with the advent of longer trains as site restrictions prevented the platforms from being lengthened.

In the 1960’s many older buildings were faced with demolition but due to a lack of exhibition space it was decided to convert the station to a museum and work got underway in earnest in 1978. 

And what a wonderful job was done. The old architecture has been refurbished and the new internal areas designed to enable the original building to be really appreciated. A level 5 viewing platform gives a great overall view.

This closer shot shows off the detail of the internal clock which appears to have caught the attention of the statue of liberty. (This 1/16 version of the NY statue was cast in 1900 for the exhibition.)

Natalie had arranged an evening dinner cruise for us. We had a unique table with petals scattered around supporting a romantic evening. (Her suggestion that it was an incorrect on-line-booking box tick was not a believable lie!) 

The cruise turn around was by a second (this time ¼ scale) statue of liberty. There are in fact 5 official versions in Paris all of which are more correctly called ‘liberty enlightening the world’ to celebrate the Franco- American relationship.

La Loire

After an early start, very wet and foggy crossing (Poole to Cherbourg) and 5 hour drive we arrived at a site close to Amboise on La Loire.

By chance 15 minutes from the site was an international school children 7 aside rugby competition. How sppokey is that? The village was decked out with national flags and the competition held in the grounds of a beautiful chateau. The players were clearly having a fantastic time. In addition to rugby all sorts of activities were underway with perhaps the most dramatic being wheelchair rugby. Apart from the physical exertion, the clashes with hardware rather than the usual flesh had the ability to make this a painful experience. Of course being schoolchildren the fun overtook any fear.

Our main focus of the day was Angers castle. Not that there are any shortages of old structures in the Loire area but this houses a world famous artifact. There is only one entry unless you fancy scaling these walls. 

The 17 towers originally had a cone roof but in the 18^th century these were removed and replaced by flat platforms to accommodate a newly developed weapon – cannons! Of course, with business changing from defence to tourism the gardens also vie to be different. These joined hedges certainly ticked that box.

However, the real standout for Angers is the Apocalypse tapestry, which was commissioned by Louis 1, the Duke of Anjou and was woven over 5 years from 1377. Originally it was about 140 metres long but some has been lost and it is now a mere 100 metres! (That still makes it the longest in the world.) Divided into six sections it illustrates the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation. It is housed in a special air and light conditioned space and wraps round two long walls in a double layer. 

The level of detail in each panel is extraordinary. It is hard to imagine how many people must have been involved in its making.

Another lengthy display is the Amboise markets on the banks of La Loire. They are the largest I have encountered at some 100 metres with four aisles. The range of items is extraordinary, particularly the food stalls. These were mouthwatering and unplanned purchases of prunes, black pudding, several breads and melon resulted. One of the highlights was this wild boar sausage stand with the remnant heads an added ‘attraction’. Enormous stacks of cheeses (in the distance) made up the second half of the stand.

Of course, Amboise has its own chateau and our first glimpse was from the other side of La Loire where a hot air balloon was just taking to the skies. Interestingly this occurs in the late afternoon which is quite different to Canberra’s ‘balloons’ aloft festival which always starts in the morning cold.

We spent the afternoon wondering around the chateau and I lost count of the many opportunities for photogenic pictures. I eventually opted for this one which was taken while we sat in very comfortable chairs near the end of our exploration and shows the chateau and gardens with some of their numerous small, rounded and perfectly aligned hedges together with the bridge and view over La Loire. So picturesque.

Our last chateau for La Loire would have to be one of the most photographed. (Many will have seen this view although probably, like me, having no idea where it was!)

The Château de Chenonceau straddles the river Cher and was started in 1513. There was a slight breeze which prevented the perfect reflection but the biggest challenge was keeping numerous canoeists out of the picture!

 

South Wales to KO another RWC year

Our trip North this year was geared to the RWC but started with a little nostalgia. Helen had spent many a school holiday in South Wales and had a hankering to return. The trip down with her own air-conditioned front seat was in stark comparison to her earlier memories where she sat on Dad’s lap (as the car was well overloaded) with everyone smoking.

Our first foray out was to Skomer island - seen in the distance. Although we were too late for the puffins our timing was perfect for the newly born white seal pups. 

We opted for a boat trip along much of the island’s coastline where some seals seemed curious but this may have been a defensive position given the week old pups on the foreshore.

Just down the road from the boat ticketing office and shop was a small building that included an outline of some of the local wildlife. Martins had decided this was an excellent place to set up home both in the eaves and within the rooms. Quite clearly no fear of humans.

Our next foray was to Laugharne to view a bit of Dylan Thomas country. His final years were spent in a boat house in a wonderful location overlooking the River Taf, although he actually worked in a garage slightly away from the house. This is where he wrote Under Milk Wood an everyday story of local folk with infinitely better prose than today’s The Archers….

We went for a 5 mile round walk which included a small part of the Welsh coastal path and ran close to this much photographed grave.

Laugharne’s focal point is its castle. We arrived just as a display of birds of prey was about to start. This was run by ‘Wings of Wales’ and was less about the birds performing and more about conservation. The first bird was a Gymogene which, when we arrived was flying around doing whatever it wanted.

It is an African Harrier Hawke but seems better related to the castles of Wales given its wonderful headgear which looks more attuned to chainmail and jousting.

The castle is a potpourri with little other than the outside walls representing any sort of planning. Random arches, filled in windows and varying levels all pointed to an ad-hoc approach. That said it does look formidable and would be quite imposing for anyone approaching be sea.

Even the tides would be a challenge to an attack with significant changes in level. Local vessels clearly need to plan their day well.

Nearby to the caravan site was the beautiful walled city of Tenby. Although busy with tourists is has a certain panache in stark comparison to the likes of Brighton or Blackpool. The colour and tidiness were apparent despite the overcast day. Although we strolled through the streets our main focus was Caldey island a 15 minute boat trip away which has been the base for Cistercian Monks for centuries.

The monastery may be relatively new (just over a century) but the original priory goes back to 1798. This includes the island’s leaning tower of Caldey!

The other significant structure is the lighthouse although the local residents were clearly not as impressed as us.

After a few short days it was time to make our way to Poole and a ferry to Cherbourg. We did decide on a small but fantastic detour. In Australia we had watched a short series on the River Test presented by Richard Hammond. Part of the show included a recently opened gin distillery which although only four years old has won many awards. I sent them an email asking if we could pop in (with the plan to purchase a couple of bottles) and specifically if there was room for the ‘van.

Reply – room for the ‘van and time for a tour (we have had a few Australians visit).

Not only that but the samples and tasting bottles were already lined up. Jonathan and Sarah Nelson are both ex-teachers and not missing their past life one bit. They have clearly worked hard with Jonathan doing the distillation and Sarah marketing. Sarah clearly has a great capacity to get noticed and send gins off for competition whereas Jonathan was far from convinced that what he was producing was any good! He has (rightly) overcome that worry. Each element of the production has its own fascinating story – some luck and a lot of hard work.

For instance, the bottle design reflects the clear waters of the Test flowing. As you move the bottle it seems to replicate water flowing – a brilliant design. Our education included why is a London Gin so called. Apparently if you do not add botanicals after distillation (ie get it right first time) then it is a London gin. I suspect there may be more to it than that but in itself that is quite a hurdle.

Mind you the accommodation is not too hard to get along with… The ‘garage’ where all the action occurs is on the right. Interesting large window with the original wooden structure clearly visible behind the window.

The Test water source is a chalk aquifer so is wonderfully pure and clear. An anglers delight as these clearly visible trout are very tempting but at £300 per day licences you need to be keen.

The botanical for the London gin is meadowsweet picked on the far bank. Only a handful is needed as once dried in the sun it has quite a strong aroma and flavour. The challenge for us was which of the three gins to select and of course the answer was to buy all three. Should be at least OK for the first couple of weeks on the continent!