Chateau Gaudras – part 1

A core element of any RWC is to experience some shared accommodation. This year we were an hour south of the 2007 chateau. Chateau Gaudras is just a little out of a village called Roiffeux near Annonay. It is a very picturesque. (I visited last year and made a video for the team - see

https://www.screencast.com/t/9XUjkjpnY62i).

As you travel down the drive the view slowly opens up.

First activity – some cheese, biscuits and drinks in the grounds.

Followed by our first in house dinner with of course plentiful supplies of wine. This was just before a dine in meal (cauliflower cheese, local sausages and new potatoes).

By contrast the aftermath of an externally purchased meal….

Australia’s second match was at St Etienne and we opted travelling by bus rather than individual cars. We had also arranged a Equipe Les Gaudras shirt – don’t we look resplendent!

The driver (Jack) was as good as we could hope for and reversed the bus several hundred yards to reduce the need for walking. He also had wonderful English with a Nottingham accent despite being born and raised in France. Natalie whispered for me to ask Jack his surname and that confirmed her suspicions – would you believe they are first cousins once removed. 6 degrees of separation is a ridiculous over assessment!

I should say here that although we are on a rugby trip there will be no mention of Australia’s performance. If you are interested - Google the results! Suffice to say it is the first time we are unlikely to make the QFs.

One of the nearby towns which has some fascinating history is Vienne. It has a Roman temple honouring the Emperor Augustus and looks quite out of place in a square surrounded by units.

As we wondered through the streets we encountered a similar surprise – the rear of a large cathedral which was built in the 4^th century. All this in a town with a population of a mere 30,000.

Our next stop was Geneva. A walk along the front took much longer than expected due to two major displays – the first on the protection of reporters and the number killed and the second on climate change. When one amongst us likes to read every sheet, any walk can take quite a while…that said they did make interesting reading. Of course, the fountain (just a tad larger than our Canberra version) tends to creep into most shots.

We did take a cruise which enabled an aligned view.

And this new pedestrian crossing under the main bridge takes you below water level. An imaginative solution to jaywalkers.

While back at street level I suspect this is the most expensive Macaron shop in the world. (Of course we had to make a purchase.) After a few hours strolling on both sides of the lake we found our way to a restaurant for a fondu in the old part of town. Highly recommended and in the midst of some interesting displays. This unusual covered cannon display with mosaics was next to the restaurant but unfortunately I have not been able to find anything about it!

Whereas just down the street was a park with a unique claim - the longest seat in the world. Built in 1767 it is called the Marronnier de la Treille and is 120 metres long ! (The views aren’t bad either.)

The horse chestnut trees were shedding their conkers and gave rise to a biology lesson.

Our next town was Annecy. When you walk out of the underground carpark to this view you know you are in a photogenic town.

The walk along the Southern edge of the lake was adorned by some reflective art which mingles the town with the lakeside. 

As we walked around the lake in search of a suitable lunch spot La Brasserie de Imperial (part of the imperial palace) was the obvious drawcard.

Energised, a walk around town was appropriate. The town has many waterways lined with laneways. These were effectively doubled in width by some old permanently covered walkways which kept the temperature down and would have the opposite effect in winter.