Seeing in The New Year at Arras and Remembering those at Vimy Ridge

Happy New Year to you all! We saw the New Year in at the lovely town of Arras, which was our next stop after leaving the Aire at Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny.  Heading out of Champagne land and on to Arras, the weather started warming up, going from 1°C up to 10°C – almost T-shirt weather ha-ha!  Most of the way the roads were quiet, straight and long.  There are so many of these lovely tree-lined roads in France, which Napoleon had planted so his troops could march in the shade.

Arriving at the official Arras Aire, the spaces were tight with everyone packed in like sardines with hardly enough room to open your door to get in and out - not ideal.  It’s a free Aire, with a couple of electric points but we didn’t need any facilities, as we were full of water and both leisure batteries fully charged, so we decided to find somewhere else. A quick check on the ‘Park4Night’ App revealed a parking area down by a canal, so that’s where we headed (N50.298673 E2.777644).  We were the only motorhome there and it was lovely and peaceful, apart from a couple of farmyard animals (a donkey, a few ducks and hens) just over the way from us.

Sonny's New Year spot at Arras, by the canal

From here it's a little over one km walk into the centre.  Arras is famous for its Flemish-Baroque style squares – Grand Place and Place des Héros. They were both virtually destroyed during WW1, including the cathedral, bell tower and town hall and only 5% of the houses in the town survived intact.  The law of 17 April 1919 relating to war damages ruled that ancient monuments should be rebuilt to what they had been before the damage and the 155 houses around the square were made listed buildings and rebuilding took from 1919 to 1934 to restore the square to how it used to be.

Place des Héros

Town Hall and Belfry in Place des Héros, with the New Year's Eve Farmers Market taking place

Former site of The Chapel of the Holy Candle of Arras - in its place now stands a café and chocolate house!

The last time we were in Arras was a few years ago in summertime and the Grand Pace was converted into a giant beach, this time it was a Christmas village, although they were in the process of dismantling it.

We started our New Year celebrations early by having a couple of lunch-time drinks in a bar with the locals.  Everything was starting to close up for New Year Celebrations and we had originally thought we would eat out but with few restaurants open, we decided to buy some food off the Farmers Market on the square.  It all looked lovely the Fish, the meat, all the cheeses and cakes.  Our first though was go for Salmon but at an expensive €32 a kilo we gave it a miss! We bought a couple of Steaks, mushrooms, garlic, and veg and some delicious strawberry tarts.  The steaks weren't cheap at €13 but when cooked were one of the nicest we have tasted!

We had two New Year celebrations, as the clock struck midnight in France and fireworks going off all around us we popped open the champagne.  We then counted it down with Jules Holland on the TV - UK time and as the clock chimed midnight we phoned our daughter, who was celebrating with her fiancé and our son and his girlfriend, who were over from Spain.  We all sung Auld Lang Syne down the phone to each other and the champagne was flowing on both sides of the water! We eventually hit the sack just before 2am surprisingly quite sober!

We set off from Arras midday and headed 10kms north to Vimy, where the ‘Battle of Vimy Ridge’ took place.  The battle was a turning point in the First World War, taking place from 9-12 April 1917.  As part of the British-led Battle of Arras, four divisions of the Canadian Corps came together and captured the German-held high ground of Vimy Ridge. The Canadian Corps and British XVII Corps captured more ground, prisoners and guns than any previous British Force Offence and its capture enabled the British Forces to advance south.

Four days of intense fighting cost the lives of thousands and inscribed on the memorial are the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were posted ‘missing, presumed dead’ in France.  The monument is the centre piece of a 250 acre preserved battlefield and built on the highest point of the ridge.  It took 11 years to build and was a tricky operation not just because of the size of it but given the fact that the site is littered with bombs and shells.  The two pylons represent Canada and France and the life size figures all bear a meaning.

Canadian National Vimy Memorial, unveiled on 26 July 1936 by King Edward VIII

Within the grounds are many wartime tunnels, closed off to the public apart from one and can only be visited by an arranged tour. Some of the trenches have been rebuilt and you can walk around these.  You can only try and imagine what life must have been like for those soldiers.  The site is full of craters and most of the area has electric fences around it, as there are still a lot of unexploded devices and traps on the land. In 1998 Colonel Watkins, a British military explosives officer lost his life whilst trying to dismantle an unexploded mine that lay 22 metres under the site since World War 1.

Over the years we have visited many war cemeteries around the Somme, Normandy, Brittany and other parts of Europe. Seeing all the graves makes you realise all the sacrifices made.  Although this is a memorial, with no graves the fact that there are over 11,000 names of those who died fighting makes it nonetheless moving.  Fom Vimy, it was a short drive to Maisnil-les-Ruitz (N50.44049 E2.57465).  It’s a barriered Aire within a park - for €9.50 you get all the usual facilities plus electric.  As it is part of a camping/Lodge area there are heated shower and toilet blocks as well.

We move on to Calais later today in readiness to catch the train through the Channel Tunnel tomorrow, as our Year 2 travels around Europe comes to an end. We have spent the last few days reminiscing about all the places we have visited in 2018 and where we go next.

In 2017 we did 11 months straight on the road but this year was a year of 2 halves, January to July, then August until now.  We love motorhoming and the lifestyle, and we are lucky to be able to travel and see so many wonderful places. We are not sure though if we could do another long stretch on the road so our next tour will probably be between 3-6 months, health and money permitting.  It is sad that this tour is coming to an end but we are looking forward to going back to the UK and excited to see our daughter and son again.  And then, who knows what 2019 has in store for us! 

Wishing you all a Very Happy and Healthy 2019.

Sally x

Following the wine and champagne route to Troyes

We left the campsite at Lyon and had a frosty and foggy start to the journey. But luckily this is France and the roads are good and with very little traffic on them. Since coming in to France temperatures have struggled to get above 4°C.

'Pea soup' weather as we leave Lyon

 After having done a lot of motorway journeys leaving Italy and into France, it was nice to stay off the motorway and pass through some pretty French villages.

Love what they have done with this old water tower in this village

Now we know the French love their bread, especially baguettes but we did a double take as we passed a baguette vending machine in one village.  We have been travelling around France for many years and this is the first one we have seen, so guessing it is a new concept to help them out when the boulangerie (bakers) is closed!

Baguette Vending Machine

We have hardly seen any motorhomes on the road over the last few months but now they were back out in force, mostly French although we did pass a few Brits heading south for the winter!  We did a long stretch of 115 miles (184kms) and stopped on a France Passion – Domain Dury, at a little village called Cissey, near Beaune (N46.9594 E4.86881). Everything is free, including electric and Wi-Fi.  We have stopped at a few France Passions over the last 8 years, and you are supposed to pay to the organisation (yearly) to become members.  They then send you a book and a membership card and then you can stop on them.  However, we haven’t joined for a few years now as they never ask for proof that you are members and to be honest they don't get any money out of it, it's just so they can be listed in the France Passion Book. They are all privately owned and are happy for you to stop, do some wine tasting with them and then if you want, buy some wines.  There is no pressure to do so but we always do as a way of saying ‘thank you for having us!’  Domain Dury specialises in Bourgogne wine - white and rosé; we’re not a fan of rosé wine so white it was!

From here we continued to follow the wine route ‘Route des Grans Crus’ around Dijon and then into Champagne land to Buxeuil (N48.05468 E4.39247).

Sonny, is enjoying himself nestled by the river Seine and surrounded by Champagne houses

15 Champagne houses in this village!

The village is small and we walked around all 15 Champagne houses.  None were open though and we saw nobody – it was like there had been an evacuation!  It was a nice overnight stop though and very peaceful.

We continued our journey north, stopping of at Troyes.  We were last here just over 4 years ago, during summertime and remembered it was such a pretty medieval town that we couldn’t resist stopping off again. It's full of narrow cobbled streets with colourful, half-timbered houses dating from the 16^th century. It feels a bit like stepping back in time and reminds us a bit of Chester.

Square des Trois-Godets - One of these houses is called Maison du Pont-Ferré, so named because up until 1530 the Bishop collected a toll from people crossing through here.

Gothic cathedral

In 1964 the Maison du Boulanger (the Bakers House) was the first one to be renovated in Troyes.  Originally, it was going to be demolished but the local people rallied and it was saved.  Well, the French love their bread!

Maison du Boulanger (the Bakers House) on the left

Ruelle des Chats - so named because the roofs and lofts are so close together cats can jump from one side of the street to the other

You've got to love a carousel!

The Christmas Trees looked like they were floating over the River Seine

A walk around any town would not be complete without a visit to the market and the market hall in Troyes has some delicious food!

Although Troyes provides a parking area for motorhomes along the river, we decided to move further on into Champagne land and to an Aire at Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny (N48.91263 E4.05570) - no idea why the French have such long names for some of these towns!  We were joined by a Dutch motorhome and 2 French.

We stopped here 4 years ago, and it is a lovely place for an overnighter.  It has all the facilities, you just pay 5 euros for electric.  We were offered a free Champagne tasting session but they then like you to buy a box of 6 bottles - so technically not free!  We kindly declined and just bought one, ready to see the New Year in, which we plan to spend at Arras.  
Have a great New Year's Eve wherever you are spending it!

Sally x

Christmas Time at Lyon

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas – we certainly did, as we spent it on a campsite on the outskirts of Lyon. Before that though we had a stopover at Susa. We left the snow-capped alps at Turin, and headed 50kms west to be surrounded by more snow.

Leaving Turin

Our one night stop over at Susa was on a free Sosta, you just paid for electric. (N45.1388 E7.05383). The small town is near to the Italy/France border and surrounded by snowy mountains.

Sonny, surrounded by more snow at Susa

Not long after we arrived, the local motorbike group gathered in the car park near to the Sosta.  They were aged from about 5 to 70 and all were dressed up as Santa Claus and rode around the town - not quite sure if it was in aid of charity or they just fancied dressing up!

Susa Santa Bikers

It's a lovely old town, with some lovely medieval buildings and Roman ruins.

Roman ruins - Arch of Augustas and Roman Aqueduct

A strange thing happened during the night.  We were surrounded by snow, strong winds got up blowing in hot air and temperatures rose from 4°C to 19°C - very weird!

Temperature on Sonny's gauge as we set off - 19°C

We had an early Christmas Eve start, as we headed to a campsite at Lyon to spend Christmas.  The weather got colder the closer we got to the Frejus tunnel, soon dropping to 3°C.  The tunnel is 13kms long and cuts through the Cottian Alps and runs under the Col de Frejus - 2.542m high (8,340ft).  It was opened in 1980, took 6 years to construct and very expensive. It cost 2 billion Francs (equivalent to £700 million).

It was a very expensive day for us too with the tolls.  It cost €8 to get around Turin and to the Frejus Tunnel, the tunnel cost a further €59.80 and then 2 French Tolls at €37 - €104.80 in all!
The campsite is at a little town called St-Genis-Laval, just outside Lyon (N45.68703 E4.78622). It costs €26 a night and isn't an ACSI site, so no discount for us.  There were 9 other motorhomes here over Christmas, a mix of French, German, Spanish and us Brits.

Enjoying the sun on the campsite - and no snow in sight!

We took the local bus in to Lyon, about a 15 minute ride. Lyon is over 2,000 years old, built on the confluence of Rivers Rhone and Saone, it is known as the culinary capital of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

La Place Bellecour – one of the largest open squares in Europe

We crossed the Napoleon Bonaparte bridge to the old town and took the Fenicular railway to the top of Fourviere Hill. Unfortunately, it is enclosed in a tunnel so you don’t get any views of the city until you get out at the top.  Within the tunnel are Roman artefacts in the niches but blink and you miss them. No idea why they put them in the tunnel.

On the Fourviere Hill stands the magnificent Basilica, the oldest part of the city.

Notre-Dame de Fourviere

View from the top of the hill

Lyon’s Gothic Cathedral - the majority of the original stained-glass windows remain as they were dismantled and packed away during WW2 to save them from bomb damage

Astronomical Clock, installed in the 1300s.  Underneath is an astrolabe, that can show the position of the earth, sun and moon

'The Weight of Oneself’ sculpture.  Depicting a man carrying himself and tells the story of someone trying to save himself.

Cinema museum of over 450 authentic props and costumes including those from Batman

It was then time for mulled wine and a quick walk around the Christmas Market before heading back to the campsite.

Mulled Wine Time!

All set for Christmas

We went all French/Italian for Christmas dinner.  Starter of Camembert, olives and Parma ham, main course of Beef Bourguignon, garlic potatoes and Brussels sprouts, followed by a triple chocolate French dessert. Washed down with Prosecco, red/white wine and Limoncello - hic!

We have come far enough north west now to pick up English TV.  So, that meant only one thing lots of Christmas films!  All the usual repeats and ones we have seen umpteen times but we didn't care as it has been many months since we have watched UK TV!  It was our first Christmas away from home since being married and did feel a little strange but after phone calls to our son and daughter all was good.

We move on tomorrow heading further north through France.

Sally x

Our last few days in France

Leaving Courville sur-Eure we drove to an Aire at the little village of Saint-Saire, but not before enjoying some delicious strawberry/blueberry tarts from the local boulangerie (bakery).  The French certainly know how to make delicious cakes!

These strawberry tarts looked almost too pretty to eat

The Aire at Saint-Saire (N49.69677 E1.49476) is on a grassy area, next to a disused railway line, that is now a cycling/walking route.  There is a machine that you can get drinking water but you need to buy a token (€2) that can be bought from the restaurant next to the Aire.  However, it's only open Thursday to Sunday - luckily we had filled up at Courville sur-Eure and done all the other ablutions Sonny, the motorhome needed!  The village is pretty but there isn't anything here other than the part-time restaurant; however, it is only 3kms from Neufchâtel-en-Bray that has plenty of shops and restaurants.

Sonny, the motorhome melting under the sun at St-Saire, next to a friendly Dutch couple - there is no shade to be had here other than under our awning!

A walk along the disused railway line, took us to the old station that has been turned into a house and the owners must be a Harry Potter fan as there is aHogwarts Express, platform 9 ¾ sign on the side.

From here we moved 73 kms to an Aire at Montreuil-sur-Mer (N50.45922 E1.75953),  There are 8 individual bays and an overflow car park next door.  The Aire is free, with facilities to dump your waste, but you pay for water - €2. 

Aire at Montreuil-sur-Aire

The upper town of Montreuil is encircled by ramparts, first parts of which were built in the 9^th century and has many beautiful preserved old houses along its cobbled streets.  Its origins lie in Roman times when the sea ran up the estuary of the river, La Canche and was once a major port, but due to tidal changes the river silted up and is now landlocked, with the sea now about 10 miles away.

The citadel was built on the site of a former royal castle.  Montreuil was a source of inspiration for Victor Hugo, when he passed through the town in 1837 and used it as a setting for ‘Les Miserables’.  Every year the town puts on a sound and light show of Les Miserables next to the citadel at end of July/beginning of August.

The Citadel

The town became the settlement for British forces during WW1, chosen for its position between Paris and London and the fact that it’s surrounded by robust fortifications.  A metal sculpture of Field Marshall Douglas Haig on his horse is in the town square.  There is also a museum within the Citadel that tells the history.

Sculpture of Field Marshall Douglas Haig on his horse

Enjoying a lunch of Moules et Frites in the centre

We needed to walk off our lunch, so walked the 3kms around the ramparts.

Walking around the ramparts

Mel doing.... well not sure what he is doing!

Pretty gardens around the ramparts

Cutting through the narrow but thick walled walkways of the ramparts

The houses on Rue Clape-en-Bas are the last of Montreuil’s pre-revolutionary working-class housing.

Steep cobbled street that was used as part of the setting for Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables'

We are currently parked up on the free Aire next to Cite Europe, Calais (N50.93287 E1.81105), along with many other Brit motorhomes.  We have stocked up with plenty of French wine and catch the Euro Tunnel Train tomorrow morning at 9.15am, which is only about a 500m drive away.  We first head to Dorset to catch up with friends we haven't seen in over 16 years, then back up to County Durham to see our daughter and a family wedding - we are looking forward to catching up with family and friends.  We will be back on the road though again in August, with no set plans!

Sally x