Adventures With Harvey

Farewell France… but not for long

For some unknown reason the good folk at Google send me an email at the start of each month attaching a map of everywhere I’ve been in the preceding 30 days. Not sure how I signed up for that, however in the past it’s shown nothing more interesting than the same circuit around Northland on the cookie run and perhaps the odd short holiday elsewhere.

The first photo below is that map for the month of May and it shows just how much territory we’ve covered in this beautiful country. This evening we’ll be on a ferry out of Caen and bound for Portsmouth, and last evening over dinner the Woodies had the chance to pause and reflect on the adventure so far. Despite the well documented issues with the recalcitrant Harvey, we’ve done most of what we expected by now and a few extras along the way. To briefly summarise our time in France since the start of May:

1. 1. The Somme with a number of WWI sites and memorials in and around the towns of Arras and Amiens

2. 2. Heading east for a bit with a lovely stop at Compiègne en route to champagne country, Reims and Épernay

3. 3. This was followed by the infamous bicycle mishap and Harvey breakdown at Rouen (that town is on our black list now!!), however this didn’t stop our plans for the Normandy Coast from Étretat in the north to Mont-Saint-Michel in the south

4. 4. Brittany was next with some beautiful little coastal (often medievally fortified) towns, quite distinct culture/language including bilingual road signs and the like

5. 5. And finally the magnificent Loire Valley starting at Nantes and concluding with what you will read in the following paragraphs

One of our faithful readers asked, by way of blog feedback, if we ever slow down and take a break. A fair question as, on reflection, I guess we’ve set a reasonably cracking pace. The best answer I can give is that although this is an extended time away to explore, there is still more to see than we have time available. Each day is a gift not to be wasted and, in a funny sort of a way, our job at the moment is to see Europe and to make the most of the time we have. There is some down time in amongst it, e.g. yesterday we didn’t leave the house until mid-afternoon, just mooching for the early part of the day – a little bit of planning but also some book reading and generally relaxing.

Our last update ended with us departing Tours and the following morning we headed to Amboise but firstly to Château du Clos Lucé whose main claim to fame revolves around one man – Léonard de Vinci (French spelling). In 1516 the château’s owner, one King François I of France, invited Mr de Vinci to come and live there for what turned out to be the last 3 years of his life. Of course the château itself is magnificent (as they all are) however these days any visit there is largely devoted to the great man. Leonardo de Vinci is a name we’ve all heard because of course he painted the Mona Lisa, however I’ll guarantee most of you won’t know a great deal else about him. To describe the man as a genius doesn’t go close to doing him justice!!! In addition to painting and sculpting some of the world’s most recognisable masterpieces, this self-taught freak of nature was also an inventor, engineer, town planner, botanist, musician, anatomist, philosopher, writer… and the list goes on. At Château du Clos Lucé there are faithful reproductions of Leonardo’s studio and study as well as scale models of many of his more than 100 inventions. Later you are able to wander through the château’s gardens and peruse life size copies of many of these inventions. It’s almost impossible to believe that one man could possess so much intelligence and inquisitiveness and become an early luminary in so many of the fields of academia we see today. Enough said on the topic for now but let’s just say that Leonardo de Vinci is one truly astounding individual!!!

After Clos Lucé it was time for a spot of wine tasting, an encounter with a bat in a wine cave (see below for video), and a lovely dinner of gallettes (savoury crepes) in the little town of Amboise. The next morning we headed to the local market to stock up on supplies – with over 300 stalls selling everything from live chickens to mattresses, by the end of it our larder was well stocked with cheese, salami, fresh pasta and vegetables.

On the way to Blois we stopped at Château de Cheverny which was a little disappointing. Firstly, it was absolutely teeming with people and secondly, it seemed a little confused. They have turned the castle and gardens into an overgrown art gallery and somehow it now seems to do neither task well. Oh well, at least we have a winner for the ‘least favourite château’ award.

Blois is another beautiful little town with plenty to recommend it. As well as the obligatory cathedral and château, this town also has the Maison de la Magie which is the museum of magic and place where the modern art of magic became famous. Most of us will have heard of Harry Houdini but what very few will know is that he took his name and inspiration from a Frenchman by the name of Robert Houdin, the father of modern magic. You’ll see from the video below that once an hour, huge mechanical dragons poke their heads out the windows of the house which is quite something. During our visit there were a couple of short stage shows as well as an extensive museum dedicated to the art of magic – what fun!

We visited Château de Blois during the day however the highlight was returning in the evening after dark to see the sound & light show. Thankfully they gave us headsets which gave a real-time English translation so we could follow the story of how King Henri III had his great rival Henri Duc de Guise assassinated (by les mignons who were the King’s underlings and where the word minion originated) at the château following one of the great religious power struggles of the French nobility in the 16^th century! For those interested, the King also had the Duke’s brother killed the following the day however was himself knocked off his perch by an assassin 8 months later. What a bloodthirsty lot they were!

I may have mentioned earlier that there are over 100 châteaux in the Loire Valley so you definitely have to pick out the highlights. However, the grand-daddy of them all is Château de Chambord which ended up being our final stop in the area. Although sadly covered in scaffold during our visit, what an absolute colossus the place is – easily the largest we’ve seen! Built by King Francois I in the 16th century as a hunting lodge, it took more than 30 years to construct however when it was finished the King decided that it was too cold and draughty in the winter and too mosquito infested in the summer so he only spent 72 days there in total. The estate is massive and completely walled and has been regarded as the premier hunting destination for the French nobility pretty much between then and now. There’s a whole other load of history I won’t bore you with however there are photos below and let’s just say that if you’re ever in the area be sure not to miss Château du Chambord.

Looking at the map between Blois and Caen we discovered that the approximate mid-point is a little town famous for a big race. Yes, we’re talking about Le Mans and would you believe it’s race week for the famous annual 24 hour extravaganza. So here we are and yesterday your faithful correspondent’s wife was happy to be left behind to explore the town and avoid the unpleasantness of having to smell petrol fumes for the afternoon 😊. For the benefit of those who may drift off at any further explanation of motor racing, I’ll again keep it brief but add some further information below on the photo captions. Suffice to say that the museum was worth the visit alone, and although it was only a practice day, the place was abuzz with spectators and motor racing goings on. Although it’s not quite the pure petrolhead heaven it once was because these days the race cars are all hybrids (but still sound great!).

Finally for this post we will leave you with the little town of Arnage. One evening in Le Mans we made friends with a couple of locals at the pub and these likely lads explained that this little town has a drive-by of old and interesting cars around lunch time on the Thursday before Le Mans 24-hours. A little like the beach hop at Whangamata in NZ. So this morning we parked up with our plat du jour at lunch time for a petrol-head treat. Even your author’s lovely wife seemed to enjoy the atmosphere and seeing all the cars go by – an hour or so was just about the right amount of car time for her.

So with that we shall bid you a fond farewell for another day and see you in England – this is Adventures With Harvey over and out.

where we've been in May

Château de Cheverny may have been our least favourite but that doesn't mean it wasn't a sight to behold!

The above château from the opposite side of the Loire - this was a very typical sight as we followed the river inland

Leonardo de Vinci's studio

no need to visit the Louvre now - the world's most famous painting is right here!

of the many inventions, perhaps the precursor to the modern tank was the most interesting (although there were a plethora of others, very hard to give a highlight)

the gardens at Clos Lucé were really beautiful

many of the wineries, even the smaller ones, have been in business for a LONG time and have a museum in their cellar. This was a small, insignificant looking winery with an amazing museum. Sadly the owner told us that he was a 5th generation wine maker but there was no family member interested to carry on the work

we loved this cellar door - on the right are huge vats of wine where you can bring your own container and fill them for between €1.40-€2.60/litre! (although we only bought a few bottles)

live chickens at the market

how about those wheels of cheese!

the bridge at Blois

who knew a staircase could be art?!

laser light show at Château de Blois #1

the cathedral at Le Mans

every cathedral has a massive amount of the most exquisite stained glass!

a very typical scene from many small French villages, this time in Le Mans

Château de Chambord - it's too big to get into one photo, even with the wide angle

the most striking architectural feature at Chambord is the double helix spiral staircase that goes up the entire centre of the keep. amazing!

likewise the opulence inside of these château is a sight to behold

our accommodation at Le Mans was a cave before it was an apartment!

Le Mans practice day #1

they have matchbox toy models of every car to have competed in the race right from the start. this is 1923 - and yes, next year is the 100th anniversary (although there was a 9 year gap during WWII)

the museum at Le Mans wasn't just race cars but some beautiful examples of some very old vehicles. Some of them are unique anywhere in the world such as this steam powered car on the left.