Le Blanc

Le Blanc, another picturesque village along the Creuse River. 

We followered the Creuse River again today until we reached le Blanc. Tomtom has a preference for the back roads! And he chose those again today - for 15 km we only met one car! We are also traveling through a large natural park, the Brenne Naturel Régional Parc, one of France's most important inland wetlands. These wetlands have been largely man made. 

The Creuse River separates le Blanc in two and was the natural frontier of two ancient regions of France , Berry and Poitou. The "lower town" in Berry was built along a Roman road, while the "upper town" and chateau was built on the rocky limestone out crop. But it all adds up to a picturesque location. 

The"upper town" with chateau, ramparts  and church. 

The "lower town " from the "upper town"!

We spent time in le Blanc, doing the obligatory town walk and climbing the rocky outcrop to explore the Chateau and what ever else might present itself. The rocky outcrop at le Blanc is where the 12th century Chateau Naillac is located and which now houses a museum. Our tour took us through more cobble stoned alleyways and past medieval houses that once were the centre for  the craftsmen of the area. 

The remains of the Chateau Naillac. 

Near the ferry crossing for the river,  these buildings housed the very important workshops of the commercial district outside the walls of the chateau. 

Some ancient doorways of the buildings above. 


Metal crafted figures in the museum of the Chateau. 

It was getting near lunch time so a short trip further along the river to the Abbey Notre-Dame de Fontgombault for lunch. This very impressive old monastery was first founded here in 1091 and saw its heyday during the Middle Ages. Looted several times over the years, seized and sold during the French Revolution, the ruined Abbey was bought by the Trappist monks in the 19th century, and today it houses a community of Solesmes monks.  The abbey itself is a large construction with evidence of rich farmlands and orchards  attached. 

After lunch we drove a little further along the river to Tournon-St-Martin, a pleasant spot beside the river. We took a walk around the village after dinner and were surprised as to the number of houses for sale, and the number of what you might call derelict houses - and in the centre of the village. What does this say about the economy of France, and about this area, which is near the very renowned region of the Loire Valley?

Bazaiges

The wind was non-stop overnight - and very hot. The locals tell us that these hot winds come straight from the African continent - very much like our northerly winds in Tassie in summer. Fortunately they had moderated this morning and a cooler breeze had taken over.  

Another rest day today! 

The "aire de camping" here at Bazaiges is so inviting we decided to stay another day. The other overnight motorhomers all left this morning. The French couple from the north of France gave us some good tips on places to stay in our journey back to Calais. The Dutch couple were interesting, he thought that Holland was ****** and would like to live in Australia - he works for an Australian firm.  They spent last summer traveling around the sea-coast of the whole of Europe. Not a bad  focus for a trip. 

We set out for our walk this morning to the centre of Bazaiges- Google Maps was telling us that it was 650m - and after a lengthy period of walking definitely in excess of a km along a boring country road we decided that Google was full of it!  We walked on a little further and when reaching the crossroads the signs were saying we had a further kilometre to go! Another person was not happy. Bloody Google! But we felt much better for the walk, so we keep telling ourselves! We later discovered that we were walking towards Baraize - spelling does make a difference in France too!

A very elegant tree in Baraize - the village we didn't mean to go to!

We also spent the day charting our remaining three weeks in France - so many great options too. The main centres on the Loire will be interesting to navigate through - but we have attempted to pick smaller villages to visit rather than the better known towns. But, all our plans could change on a whim!

The rain came in the early afternoon - a very welcome relief from the past few days. The temperature didn't get anywhere near the predicted forecast. At least it kept the bugs away. 

Tomorrow will see us venturing a little further south to Saint Benoit du Sault and then start heading towards the La Manche (English Channel) again.

Loved this cartoon in the Guardian yesterday:

Vesdun and La Châtre

Just a few kilometres from where we stopped last night is the village of Vesdun - the geographical centre of France. We decided that it would be  worth a detour to get the feel as to what it would be like to be in the "centre" of France!

It took me back to the days when you had to locate the balance points of an irregular shape - a few vertical drop lines intersecting - and wondered how that could be achieved with a huge landmass. But I'm sure technology has improved from those times!

Nevertheless, Vesdun claims that they are at the centre of France - geographically. In fact, there are several other claimant villages for this "prestigious" title. But I am assured that with the new technological advancements the more accurate determination is that Vesdun is the geographical centre of this great country. 

Vesdun is another pretty little village with people going about their daily business. A group was rehearsing singing in the interesting 12th century church - and it is Monday morning! 

Our short drive back to Culan impressed upon us just how the landscape has changed over the past weeks - from patch work of greens to now mainly browns. Mid-summer has certainly arrived with harvest well underway leaving the more parched landscape look. Our trip brought us back passed the sun drenched Chateau de Culan - a very dominant figure in the landscape. 

We made our way to the village of Châteaumeillant, known for its museum of archaeology and the treasures uncovered in old Roman water wells where artifacts had been thrown over time. Also discovered were the old amphoras from the trading with Italy in the Gallo-Roman period. An odd interesting fact, Châteaumeillant was burnt to the ground in the 1st century BC on the order of Vercingetorix, the Gallic leader against Caesar, as part of his scorched earth policy against the invading Romans. 

We later moved on to La Châtre to do our Monday restock! Another town commencing its time as a Roman castra (camp). Later developed as an important commercial town for tanneries and mills, and is better known today with its association with the author George Sands  - you can do a whole tour of her connection with the region. 

La Châtre is an interesting town with many people areas. The layout allows folks to move freely without the constraints of  heavy vehicles thundering through the middle of their smashed avos and latte. 

Maison de Bois - a glorious 15th century timber-framed  house in La Châtre. 

And the superb door of the Maison de Bois. The grape engraving over the column indicates that the house belonged to a wealthy wine merchant. 

A stylish cobblestoned alleyway. 

Late afternoon sun on the church spire.